The Agony Of Occupation: 'The Flies Have Conquered the Fly Paper'

[bemildred]

These are the opening lines of The Moon is Down, John Steinbeck's brilliant novel about the German occupation of Norway, a story about conquerors – decent, home-loving soldiers under the sway of nationalism – who occupy a foreign land. What happens when an invading army proclaims "mission accomplished" prematurely?

It is impossible to read Steinbeck's masterpiece without thinking about our own soldiers in Iraq and Fallujah, about their daily fear, the growing tendency for revenge, the agony of conquest.

The Moon is Down is not primarily about the Norwegian people, or even about the resistance. It's about the terror, the self-doubts, the slow transformation of arrogance to self-loathing, under which invaders live.

Steinbeck conveys the breakdown of morale, the shock of recognition, in a series of dialogues – outbursts and remarks of tense and frazzled soldiers.

LewRockwell.com