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The Desperate Plight Behind “Darkness at Noon”

55 points by jseliger 7y ago

oh_sigh 7y ago
Has anyone noticed that literary reviews generally get very few or no comments but frequently end up on the front page. Why is that? Is there a cabal of users upvoting these stories for some reason?
- andyjohnson0 7y ago
  Perhaps its just that sufficient people find them interesting enough to upvote, but few people in the HN demographic have much to say about the subject. Nobody comments because nobody has commented.
  - saalweachter 7y ago
    I myself upvote submissions I want to see other people comment on rather than ones I wish to.
h2odragon 7y ago
>"At least one woman accused Koestler of rape, but many others described behavior that today would certainly be classified as sexual abuse. " Aren't we supposed to erase him and his works from history now, then? after all: >"Anyone who disagrees with the Party’s dictates is on the wrong side of history, and so deserves to be eliminated. "
- earthboundkid 7y ago
  Being against rape isn't a niche 21st century politico-cultural thing. People have always at least pretended to be against rape. If you can't see the difference between rape and say, having a different opinion about trans issues, you're the weirdo.
  - renox 7y ago
    > People have always at least pretended to be against rape. Depends: the notion that a husband forcing his wife to have sex is rape is quite new.. Plus what about slaves? Women in a conquered city?
- empath75 7y ago
  > Aren't we supposed to erase him and his works from history now, then? I rather think the point is to prevent people who are currently engaging in sexual abuse from being in a position where they can abuse their power to do it again. I don't think very many people think that Harvey Weinstein's extensive library of films that he produced should be tossed onto a bonfire, even if they think he should no longer be in a position to coerce actresses into sleeping with him, and should face charges for having done it in the past. This author is long dead. There's nothing to protect anyone from.
MichaelMoser123 7y ago
I have a slight problem with all the references to psychoanalysis that authors of that age were stuffing into their books. I mean it used to make some works look very persuasive, but nowadays I keep wondering what of it is truth and what of it is just bullshit.
cafard 7y ago
His Age of Longing is worth a look, I think. I haven't read either book in years, but it seems to me that it was better than Darkness at Noon. I also think that quite a few writers gave better accounts of the purges and trials than Koestler.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
Arete314159 7y ago
I've always been struck by the detail that he and his wife died in a double suicide, because he was terminally ill. This man who wrote so profoundly about brainwashing and thought control in the end persuaded a woman that since he wasn't going to live any longer, her life wasn't worth living, either. I only have the profoundest respect for Darkness at Noon. I read it in high school and it has stayed with me ever since. But it strikes me that sometimes you escape great trauma and sometimes you don't. A man who spent a lot of his time having a great public will forced upon him tried to escape that, but turned around and exerted the same abuse on other people in his private life. Sort of like the man who says, "I'll never be like my alcoholic father. He drank whiskey. I only drink beer."
- MichaelMoser123 7y ago
  # This man who wrote so profoundly about brainwashing and thought control in the end persuaded a woman that since he wasn't going to live any longer, her life wasn't worth living, either. Charlotte Altman, tbe wife of Stephan Zweig also committed suicide with her husband. But that was because Zweig thought that all is lost as the war has almost been lost, but why did this lead to her suicide as well?

55 points by jseliger 7y ago

Has anyone noticed that literary reviews generally get very few or no comments but frequently end up on the front page. Why is that? Is there a cabal of users upvoting these stories for some reason?

andyjohnson0 7y ago
Perhaps its just that sufficient people find them interesting enough to upvote, but few people in the HN demographic have much to say about the subject. Nobody comments because nobody has commented.
- saalweachter 7y ago
  I myself upvote submissions I want to see other people comment on rather than ones I wish to.

h2odragon 7y ago

>"At least one woman accused Koestler of rape, but many others described behavior that today would certainly be classified as sexual abuse. " Aren't we supposed to erase him and his works from history now, then? after all: >"Anyone who disagrees with the Party’s dictates is on the wrong side of history, and so deserves to be eliminated. "

earthboundkid 7y ago
Being against rape isn't a niche 21st century politico-cultural thing. People have always at least pretended to be against rape. If you can't see the difference between rape and say, having a different opinion about trans issues, you're the weirdo.
- renox 7y ago
  > People have always at least pretended to be against rape. Depends: the notion that a husband forcing his wife to have sex is rape is quite new.. Plus what about slaves? Women in a conquered city?
empath75 7y ago
> Aren't we supposed to erase him and his works from history now, then? I rather think the point is to prevent people who are currently engaging in sexual abuse from being in a position where they can abuse their power to do it again. I don't think very many people think that Harvey Weinstein's extensive library of films that he produced should be tossed onto a bonfire, even if they think he should no longer be in a position to coerce actresses into sleeping with him, and should face charges for having done it in the past. This author is long dead. There's nothing to protect anyone from.

MichaelMoser123 7y ago

I have a slight problem with all the references to psychoanalysis that authors of that age were stuffing into their books. I mean it used to make some works look very persuasive, but nowadays I keep wondering what of it is truth and what of it is just bullshit.

cafard 7y ago

His Age of Longing is worth a look, I think. I haven't read either book in years, but it seems to me that it was better than Darkness at Noon. I also think that quite a few writers gave better accounts of the purges and trials than Koestler.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

Arete314159 7y ago

I've always been struck by the detail that he and his wife died in a double suicide, because he was terminally ill. This man who wrote so profoundly about brainwashing and thought control in the end persuaded a woman that since he wasn't going to live any longer, her life wasn't worth living, either. I only have the profoundest respect for Darkness at Noon. I read it in high school and it has stayed with me ever since. But it strikes me that sometimes you escape great trauma and sometimes you don't. A man who spent a lot of his time having a great public will forced upon him tried to escape that, but turned around and exerted the same abuse on other people in his private life. Sort of like the man who says, "I'll never be like my alcoholic father. He drank whiskey. I only drink beer."

MichaelMoser123 7y ago
# This man who wrote so profoundly about brainwashing and thought control in the end persuaded a woman that since he wasn't going to live any longer, her life wasn't worth living, either. Charlotte Altman, tbe wife of Stephan Zweig also committed suicide with her husband. But that was because Zweig thought that all is lost as the war has almost been lost, but why did this lead to her suicide as well?