Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Darkness at Noon
Book Review: Excellent Novel
Summary: 5 Stars
An excellent portrayal of Stalinist Russia, and the show trials that engulfed many of the original Russian revolutionaries.Book Review: Excellent commentary on the nature of communism.
Summary: 4 Stars
Finally finished Darkness at Noon. It was quite good. It's basically an account of the arrest, interrogation, and trial of N. S. Rubashov, a fictional Russian communist. He is one of the few survivors of the original revolution. No. 1 (Stalin) has decided that Rubashov must be removed from power and killed. He is arrested, jailed, and placed under the jurisdiction of a former friend, Ivanov. Ivanov is arrested and shot for being too soft with Rubashov. Rubashov then falls into the hands of Gletkin, a young and brutal communist. Gletkin subjects Rubashov to brutal interrogations and eventually obtains a confession of treason. Rubashov is then tried and shot. Much of the book tells the story of Rubashov's life through flashbacks. It tells of his work for the party, offering harsh evidence of the communist principal that the end justifies the means. This principal, along with several others, is examined and referenced throughout the book. Koestler offers much social commentary on communism, man's nature, and his historical plight. Overall, the book is bleak and depressing. Dark images such as the suicide of a dockworker who cannot understand the changing position of the party, the torture and execution of Rubashov's secretary, and the condemnation of a faithful but misguided communist youth pervade Darkness at Noon.
In just over 200 pages, Koestler offers philosophy, history, and fascinating characterization.
Book Review: Fantastic
Summary: 5 Stars
Darkness at Noon is ranked 8 on the top-100 list of books (past century) by the New York Library and I can now see why. This novel has a very simple story line about the imprisonment of a political figure in 1930's Soviet Union. The perspective with which the protagonist approaches his situation and the personal philosophies he employs to deal with his situation are impressive. Koestler dials into the character's mind and paints a picture that is at once complex and yet understandable. His ability to put you into this persons shoes (so to speak) make you feel as though you are there. You understand the reasoning behind his actions and comments. The way that he interacts with the world around him becomes understandable if not almost familiar and you end up feeling as though you have known Nicholas Salmonavitch. This story does not demonize the Soviet Union, it's government or its people in the tumultuous political climate of the 1930's, but rather portrays it simply as it was. Koestler's command and grasp of writing are similar to Hemingway in that he creates a powerful and meaningful story without a lot of flowery prose or a vocabulary that has you running to the dictionary every five minutes. I found this novel to be as impressive and well-written as anything by Joyce, Faulkner, Huxley, etc. if not more (for me) more fun to read. I found the style to be similar to Nabokov and Konrad, both of whom I also enjoy reading.Book Review: Fictional account of moscow trials
Summary: 4 Stars
Nicholas Salmanovich Rubashov is a member of the revolutionary old guard and a leader in bringing the revolution to the masses abroad. Each morning as Rubashov awakes he recalls his arrest and imprisonment many years ago for his revolutionary activity in the days before the revolution succeeded. It is thus with a sense of irony and detachment that Rubashov faces his arrest one morning at the hands of his own party. In prison, Rubashov waits his turn at interrogation and makes the acquaintance of the unseen prisoner in the cell next to him. This unseen acquaintance is a army officer who has been arrested for his anti-revolutionary views and displays unrestrained glee that the revolutionaries are now turning on themselves. Rubashov waits for his interrogation and reflects on his years of Party activity recalling the members of the Party whom he personally deposed.
Little Lowry was devoted to the Party and assured Rubashov that his local union would not unload shipments for fascist nations. However, when the leader of the nation decided to trade with fascist countries, it became Rubashov's job to remove intransigent elements like Lowry. Arlova served as Rubashov's secretary and lover but when she was wrongly denounced for factionalism, he did not speak to save her and in then end denounced her himself. These actions were justified in his mind as being for the good of the Party and necessary to advance the revolution.
His first interrogation is conducted by an old party comrade, Ivanov, who treats him with firmness but also kindness. Ivanov attempts to coerce a confession out of Rubashov but is unable to do so at their first meeting. Later when Ivanov visits Rubashov in his cell, they have a long talk through the evening. Here Rubashov continues to admit that he was not guilty of the crimes stated but admits that he had begun to have doubts about the revolution. His interrogator then points out that he is guilty of being a counter-revolutionary if his thoughts were not with the Party at all times. Ivanov reminds Rubashov about Arlova and suggests that if Rubashov had doubted her guilt he should not have allowed her to be shot. Rubashov begins to accept that he is guilty of crimes against the revolution simply by his doubts and that he must offer some form of confession.
When he is next interrogated, Rubashov discovers that Ivanov has been himself purged and in his stead is Gletkin. A product of the revolution Gletkin knows nothing of the older order and shows no compassion. Rubashov is subjected to a series of interrogations at all hours of the day and night; he is deprived of sleep and unable to gather his thoughts. It is with amazement that Rubashov notes the robotic stamina of Gletkin who being solely in charge of the interrogation must also be going for days without sleep. While Rubashov is willing to write a confession and to stand trial for some counter-revolutionary thoughts, the Party has decided in advance the crimes for which he must plead guilty and written the confession for him. For days, the old revolutionary and the product of the revolution battle over the semantics of the confession. Eventually worn down by fatigue and confusion as to what the truth is, Rubashov gives in and signs the confession proffered to him. This is his interrogator tells him, "will be the last service you can do for the Party." Rubashov is then tried, convicted and shot.
Reflecting Koestler's own disenchantment with the Russian Revolution and the regime of Stalin, the novel attempts to show how the flawed ideals of the revolution have warped the basis of society. In a society where the ends always justifies the means there are no ethical boundaries and truth exists only in relative terms. This is exactly the kind of society that Rubashov helped to create and he is now the victim of the same ruthlessness that he himself practiced on so many others to advance the cause. Over and over Rubashov tries to justify his own actions and to understand how these actions have brought his country and his revolution to the totalitarian state it is.
The chief source conflict is not between the authorities and the prisoner but rather in the mind of Rubashov as he attempts to reconcile the socialist society he helped to usher into existence. While a prisoner, the protagonist has time to reflect on the suffering he caused in a relentless pursuit towards his ideals. The people discarded along the way are simply part of a mathematical calculation that is designed to bring the most happiness
Rubashov, throughout the novel, has the nervous habit of removing his pince-nez eyeglasses and rubbing them on his sleeve. Repeatedly during his interrogations or when he is lost in thought he attempts to clean the lens of the eyeglasses. When Rubashov drops his glasses on the way to his execution, they fall to the floor and the lenses shatter. This leaves Rubashov now "nearly blind, but he has solid ground under his feet again." (214) In this sustained metaphor Koestler shows the futility of Rubashov's attempts to justify and explain away the errors and excesses of the revolution and the leaders of the Party. For all the protagonists efforts to clean his pince-nez he is still unable to see clearly. For all his efforts to justify the inhumanity of the revolution he is unable to reconcile his doubts. His vision like his party was flawed from the beginning and no amount of cleaning could put it right. Only at the end of his life is he able to regain his footing with solid ground under his feet when he casts away the flawed vision of the Party.
Book Review: Great anti-totalitarian novel
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the great anti-Stalinist novels. In my opinion it ranks right up there with 1984 as a literary examination of the internal workings of totalitarianism and as an exploration of the authoritarian mentality. It tells the story of Rubashov, a high-ranking communist party official in a fictional country that is clearly modeled on Stalin's Soviet Union. I have read that the character of Rubashov is largely based on Nikolai Bukharin, the old-guard revolutionary who was arrested during the Stalinist terror and executed following a public show-trial.
Rubashov has been arrested for counter-revolutionary activities and attempting to assassinate the country's leader, who is referred to throughout the novel as No. 1. This is more than the simple story of one man's imprisonment. Through Rubashov's diary entries, reminiscences, and conversations with his accusers, Koestler explores some of the most fundamental political issues of the day. Rubashov himself, having been indoctrinated to serve the party and subsume his own individual will to the party's directives, ironically sympathizes with his accusers. Throughout his political life he has never questioned the assumption that the ends always justify the means and that moral principles have no place in the realm of politics. One of the chief elements of suspense throughout the book is whether Rubashov will ultimately come to denounce this political philosophy which views human beings purely as dispensable instruments to be exploited in the pursuit of the party's objectives.
Overall, this book deserves its reputation as one of the great works of 20th century literature. I think that it is indispensable reading for those interested in the Stalinist terror or in totalitarianism more generally. But Koestler also deals with more universal questions, such as individual freedom vs. the collective will, the ultimate ends of political life, praxis vs. theory, and the meaning of morality. Perhaps one of the most impressive aspects of the book is Koestler's even-handed treatment of the justifications for totalitarianism. Rubashov's accusers are truly persuaded of the justness of their methods and convictions. Rubashov himself in his diaries writes a fairly sophisticated intellectual defense of the methods to which he is now being subjected. Even though Koestler is ultimately sympathetic to Western liberalism, he resists the urge to portray Rubashov's accusers as inhuman.
If this isn't enough of an enticement to read the book, I should add that it is a very quick read! For those wishing to read more about the Stalinist terror, I would recommend Eugenia Ginzburg's Journey Into the Whirlwind and the memoir of Bukharin's widow, Anna Larina, This I Cannot Forget.