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Scribner Book Company

Darkness at Noon: A Novel

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Description

The newly discovered lost text of Arthur Koestler’s modern masterpiece, Darkness at Noon—the haunting portrait of a revolutionary, imprisoned and tortured under totalitarian rule—is now restored and in a completely new translation. Editor Michael Scammell and translator Philip Boehm bring us a brilliant novel, a remarkable discovery, and a new translation of an international classic. In print continually since 1940, Darkness at Noon has been translated into over 30 languages and is both a stirring novel and a classic anti-fascist text. What makes its popularity and tenacity even more remarkable is that all existing versions of Darkness at Noon are based on a hastily made English translation of the original German by a novice translator at the outbreak of World War II. In 2015, Matthias Weßel stumbled across an entry in the archives of the Zurich Central Library that is a scholar's dream: “Koestler, Arthur. Rubaschow: Roman. Typoskript, März 1940, 326 pages.” What he had found was Arthur Koestler’s original, complete German manuscript for what would become Darkness at Noon, thought to have been irrevocably lost in the turmoil of the war. With this stunning literary discovery, and a new English translation direct from the primary German manuscript, we can now for the first time read Darkness at Noon as Koestler wrote it. Set in the 1930s at the height of the purge and show trials of a Stalinist Moscow, Darkness at Noon is a haunting portrait of an aging revolutionary, Nicholas Rubashov, who is imprisoned, tortured, and forced through a series of hearings by the Party to which he has dedicated his life. As the pressure to confess preposterous crimes increases, he re-lives a career that embodies the terrible ironies and betrayals of a merciless totalitarian movement masking itself as an instrument of deliverance. Koestler’s portrayal of Stalin-era totalitarianism and fascism is as chilling and resonant today as it was in the 1940s and during the Cold War. Rubashov’s plight explores the meaning and value of moral choices, the attractions and dangers of idealism, and the corrosiveness of political corruption. Like The Trial, 1984, and Animal Farm, this is a book you should read as a citizen of the world, wherever you are and wherever you come from. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribner; Reprint edition (September 17, 2019)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1501161318


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 15


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.38 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #22,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #107 in Political Fiction (Books) #853 in Classic Literature & Fiction #2,219 in Literary Fiction (Books)


#107 in Political Fiction (Books):


#853 in Classic Literature & Fiction:


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • When the Far Left Morphs into the Oppressive Right
Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon" is a history lesson -- a terrifying, blunt glimpse into some of the horrors of the 20th Century, and, in 2010 a distinct wake-up call. This is no ordinary novel. One primary character and 3 or 4 others comprise the entire cast in this story of mind-warping totalitarian "purification" and psychological brainwashing used to make people confess to crimes they have not committed in the - then - Soviet Union in the late 1930's. Subsequent events have vindicated people like main-character Rubashov. Americans historically have focused on the evil doings of Hitler during that era and have glossed over, for the most part, the mass murders carried out in Josef Stalin's name in the Soviet Union - on a par with, if not worse than, Hitler and Nazi crimes against humanity. The far left or the far right can be equally oppressive. Granted, this book -- at its core -- is a first-rate polemic. It is ponderous and slow moving at times, sort of like the political philosophy of communism, itself. The book's messages and statements are one-sided and devastating. We are re-taught lessons and problems facing those who think about where the individual fits into the group, to what extent freedom of expression is or can be allowed in any society and about the inevitable bad result when society is ruled by men (or women) rather than by laws and due process. Whether it's Sulla of ancient Rome, those responsible for the holocaust of the Inquisition, or Stalin, the result is the same. Here, Koestler reminds us how individuals can be and have been murdered merely for their beliefs and their audacity to question authority, or as in Rubashov's case, even for his own conduct. "Darkness at Noon" is beautifully written. Perhaps I should say it is beautifully translated to English from its original German. Page 61, "Those of the bearded men (describing a photograph of the Marxist Russian Revolution begun in 1917) in the old photograph who were left had become unrecognizable. They were clean-shaven, worn out and disillusioned, full of cynical melancholy." The book hits its stride at about page 160 - 165 with Rubashov's rant against the known ills of late 1930's Soviet-style communist experiment. Page 163, "We have built up the most gigantic police apparatus, with informers made a national institution, and with the most refined scientific system of physical and mental torture. We whip the groaning masses of the country towards a theoretical future happiness, which only we can see." And as he faces death, Rubashov says, Page 263, "Perhaps it was not suitable for a man to think every thought to its logical conclusion." This book is required reading for all free men and women. It is a glorious historical statement from the recent past. We all must take note of its lessons, think about the philosophy it reminds us of, and renew our vigil to replace tyrants (even those within Democracies) with progressive laws intended to help make better, not merely control, mankind. As was memorably written by Sir John Dalberg-Acton (1834-1902), "All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority." It's a 5 of course. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2010 by David Island
    • Part of the required Trilogy
Arthur Koestler was a prolific writer and contemporary of both George Orwell and Aldous Huxley. Koestler and Orwell were friends and all 3 British men of letters knew each other and corresponded, much prompted by their 3 books on dystopian world orders - Brave New World(1932), Darkness at Noon(1942) and 1984(1949). I consider these books to be the Trilogy of Totalitarianism in the 20th century, required reading for everyone, especially those harbouring any neo-romantic or idealised views of Socialist, Communist or Marxist ideology. Koestler and Orwell experienced first hand the real world manifestations of communist ideology, Orwell as a volunteer soldier in the Spanish Civil War, Koestler as a member of the Communist Party under Stalin during the brutal purges of the 1930s. Both men became profoundly disillusioned with both ideology in general and communism in particular. Darkness at Noon is the most personal of the 3 novels, spanning just 3 weeks inside a Stalin era Communist prison and recounting the final days in the life of “Comrade” Rubashov, a former high level communist party apparatchik now accused of betraying party orthodoxy and turning dissident. Rubashov is tried and convicted of treason in a sham trial inside the prison reminiscent of the many show trials during the 1930s under Stalin. The psychological depth of the novel is profound on both a personal and political/ideological level. Rubashov reminisces of a political life built on lies and brutality. He goes to his death having ultimately rejected both the ideology and the system that has turned on him, after willingly confessing to the trumped up web of lies his accusers have prepared for him. Darkness at Noon peels back all the layers of totalitarian ideology to reveal all that is left - the destruction of Man’s soul - but it offers a final and hopeful thought that after such destruction in this life, perhaps death, after all, could offer a release to something, perhaps better. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2021 by Brien A.
    • A disturbing, yet essential book
I just finished reading Darkness at Noon, a 1940 novel by the late Hungarian-British author Arthur Koestler. It's a disturbing, yet essential, book for anyone who wants to understand the dark side of political orthodoxy and human behavior. Set in Russian during the Stalinist purges of the late 1930's, Darkness at Noon tells the story of the fictional character , Rubashov, a hero of the 1917 revolution and one of the founders of the Communist state. As Stalin (simply referred to as" No. 1" in the book) tightens his grip on power and eliminates all of the old guard, Rubashov is arrested, interrogated and tried for treason and other crimes against the revolution. He relives his life through flashbacks of those he has had exterminated over his career for petty failings, failure to strictly adhere to the party line, and, in one case, to protect himself from accusation. Now a victim of his own methods Rubashov takes an introspective look at his life, his party, his philosophy and the meaning of it all. The book portrays Communism as it was practiced in Stalin's era as philosophically empty. The party exists and acts only for self-preservation. Everything else, even - especially - the stated goals of the revolution become secondary to that end. This is how the Party can justify the extermination of millions to starvation, the prison like conditions that peasants must work under and the utter disregard for the truth that is practiced at every turn. Any thought, deed or mistake that disagrees with the orthodoxy of the day is cause for suspicion -- or worse. Koestler, the author, is an interesting person; I suggest reading up on him on the Internet. This book of his is one of the most important books of the 20th century. It exposed the Communist Party for the corrupt entity it was. By the way, it also was a great influence in a later work by a fellow named George Orwell. That book? 1984. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2010 by Gary M. Scoggin

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