Darkness at Noon: A Novel

The clearest and most even-handed explanation of the Communist ideology and its inherent flaws that I've come across in fiction. Through Rubashov, Koestler presents a perverse worldview that makes claims to rationality even as it is narrow and dogmatic; that believes itself the salvation of the masses even while exterminating great swaths of them; that begins with the lofty collectivist...more

The clearest and most even-handed explanation of the Communist ideology and its inherent flaws that I've come across in fiction. Through Rubashov, Koestler presents a perverse worldview that makes claims to rationality even as it is narrow and dogmatic; that believes itself the salvation of the masses even while exterminating great swaths of them; that begins with the lofty collectivist ideas of naive intellectuals and ends with brainwashed, "Neanderthaler" ciphers under the control of a single man at the top. "Thought-provoking" would be an understatement.   hide