Review from a Transgressive Fiction Fan
Definitely one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. I am embarrassed, frankly, that I’m 37 and reading this only now. This is a work I should have read in high school, then in college, then again almost every year since. Standing guard silently behind greats like Orwell and Hitchens is Arthur Koestler. Rubashov is one of the best-realized characters and Darkness at Noon is a near-perfect novel. Dostoevsky would have killed Koestler with an axe, and Tolstoy would have pushed his ass in front of a train just to have stolen this one piece.
“Insightful” Review from a Mainstream Reader
Terrible. I hated every chapter, almost every sentence. Long passages are spent talking about abstract concepts related to the beginning of the communist revolution. The dialog is poor, but certainly less annoying than listening to the droning-on of the protagonist’s inner-monologue.
There is very little action, and what action there is takes place in the main character’s fuzzy, sentimental memory. At least the book is short.
I can’t fathom why it’s loved by so many critiques.