Darkness at Noon
by Arthur Koestler
Book Read on 30 / 6 / 2007
For some reason a lot of the books in the Top 100 list are diatribes on the dangers of tyranny, communism, social change, revolution and individuality. This, like "1984" is a preachy book. The fact that it is #8 in the list of the Best Novels in English is insane. It's good, but nowhere near great. If anything, the placement of this book that high on the list is a statement about the zeitgeist of when the list was made. It also says a lot about the people polled. The book was at times interesting but mostly didactic and dull. The last pages were very powerfully written though, which leads me to believe that Koestler could write, he just chose not to on this occasion. Anytime an author chooses to take the long slog down the roads of Duty and Honour, I always shudder. This book, along with 1984, Animal Farm and Brave New World could be made into a survey course on communism and social experiments gone awry. A class that I would not attend.
Reviewer: William Koplitz
2 out of 5