Point of View

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is told, quite subjectively, by the protagonist, Manuel ("Mannie") Garcia O'Kelly-Davis, a fairly typical "Loonie," primarily interested in "beer, betting, women, and work," but who is called by fate to the center of truly monumental events. He is looking back some seventy years at the events he narrates in the first person past tense (Davis is 32 when the novel starts and not yet 100 at the end).

Free born, third generation Loonie, Davis is a rarity only in having twice been to Terra and, having lost an arm in an industrial accident, giving him a prosthetic that enables him to perform precision work. This brings him to maintain an extraordinary computer, Mike, who controls most of what goes on in Luna—and has self-awareness, curiosity, and a sense of humor. Mike's curiosity brings Davis to a rally by political radicals...