Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler

Darkness at Noon (Heritage of Literature S.)

by Arthur Koestler

Originally published in 1941, Arthur Koestler's modern masterpiece, "Darkness At Noon," is a powerful and haunting portrait of a Communist revolutionary caught in the vicious fray of the Moscow show trials of the late 1930s.

During Stalin's purges, Nicholas Rubashov, an aging revolutionary, is imprisoned and psychologically tortured by the party he has devoted his life to. Under mounting pressure to confess to crimes he did not commit, Rubashov relives a career that embodies the ironies and betrayals of a revolutionary dictatorship that believes it is an instrument of liberation.

A seminal work of twentieth-century literature, "Darkness At Noon" is a penetrating exploration of the moral danger inherent in a system that is willing to enforce its beliefs by any means necessary.

Reviewed by Briana @ Pages Unbound on

3 of 5 stars

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Initial Thoughts: Short on plot, long on political reflections. Not bad if you're into that sort of thing, but the line between novel and non-fiction is a bit blurred.

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  • 5 January, 2018: Finished reading
  • 5 January, 2018: Reviewed