Darkness At Noon

Arthur Koestler during an expedition to Arctic Russia on the Graf Zeppelin, which he covered as a journalist, July 1931 - ullstein bild/Getty Images

Arthur Koestler was a German writer. He wrote for newspapers and he also wrote some books, and here he is flying over northern Russia in Zeppelin. The New York Review of Books has a readable story about his novel Darkness At Noon. At least the first half is enjoyable, up until you get to this picture. After that is starts getting into the differences between the various translations. Yes, you could argue that different translations of a German phrase would change the color of the story. On the other hand you can't argue with success. Could it be that one reason for the books' popularity is the style in which it was written? A better translation might not have been as well received. But we're quibbling about what might have happened.

I think Arthur must be someone all aspiring espionage novelists must read. I'm reading Masaryk Station by David Downing right now and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I was wondering why I seem to gravitate to espionage thrillers. I think it's because I am curious about that moment when civilization breaks down. When does having a copper show up your door change from:

• taking a trip downtown, talking to your lawyer and getting bailed out, to
• taking a trip downtown, being taken into the basement and shot in the head.

The guys in these thrillers are all walking the line between civilized society and tyrannical rule. Sometimes they are demented, sometimes they are drunk, and sometimes push comes to shove and they wander off the line a bit and somebody gets hurt.

So how do you know when the government has really gone over to the dark side? Well, everybody's standards are different. Lots of people think the government has gone too far already. Some people don't think it has gone anywhere near far enough. One thing I haven't heard is that those who aren't having trouble with the police think that the police are the ones best suited, by experience, to deal with those people whose behavior warrants their attention.

Big Cities seem to have trouble with corruption which often finds its way into the police department. So it's a trade off. There is some kind of advantage to being in a big city, but the bigger the city, the darker it is. So is it worth it to you?