Darkness at NoonDarkness at Noon
Score Classic
What it's about
Rubashov, an old Bolshevik who helped lead the Revolution, is arrested by the Party he served and put in a cell. Over weeks of interrogation by a former comrade and a younger, colder official, he looks back at what he did in the Party's name and is pushed toward confessing to crimes he never committed.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Modern Library list of the best novels and is one of the great novels about totalitarianism. Koestler, a former communist, shows from the inside how revolutionaries came to destroy themselves.
You'll love it if you liked
1984
The Gulag Archipelago
Brave New WorldGood to know
It's short but dense with political argument. It was based on Stalin's show trials of the 1930s. A newer translation from the rediscovered German original is now available.
By the numbers
- Readers67 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics59 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller18 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #71 of the 313 science fiction books we rank
- #244 of the 762 classics we rank
- #771 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Dark, Thought-provoking, Adventurous
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Quick answers
Is Darkness at Noon worth reading?
Yes. It's on the Modern Library list of the best novels and is one of the great novels about totalitarianism. It ranks #771 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 75.3 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Darkness at Noon about?
Rubashov, an old Bolshevik who helped lead the Revolution, is arrested by the Party he served and put in a cell. Over weeks of interrogation by a former comrade and a younger, colder official, he looks back at what he did in the Party's name and is pushed toward confessing to crimes he never committed.
How long does it take to read Darkness at Noon?
About 7 hours (267 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Darkness at Noon?
If you liked it, try 1984 by George Orwell, The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn or Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.