Fugue for a Darkening Island
First edition
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| Author | Christopher Priest |
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| Cover artist | Judith Ann Lawrence |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
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Publication date
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1972 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 147 |
| ISBN | |
Fugue For A Darkening Island (published in the US as Darkening Island) is a dystopian science fiction novel by Christopher Priest. First published in 1972, it deals with a man's struggle to protect his family and himself in a near future England ravaged by civil war brought about by the failings of a Conservative government and a massive influx of African refugees.
The novel's story is told in an achronological fashion, jumping back and forth between several time periods. The protagonist, a former professor of English named Alan Whitman, is initially concerned only with protecting his wife and daughter, but is gradually drawn further into the broader conflict over the course of events. The narrative consists of three broad time periods: the early days of the conflict, in which Whitman goes about his life while being casually aware of the burgeoning crisis, a later period in which he and his family have been displaced from London and are travelling the countryside in search of safety and a final period in which he is travelling through heavily war-torn countryside with a group of male refugees, a setting which initially makes no mention of the fate of his wife and daughter. The narrative jumps back and forth between the different time periods rapidly, creating a stark contrast between the different stages of conflict and the nature of Whitman's character at these different points, as well as generating tension by not illustrating how the increasingly degraded state of affairs has come to pass.
Fugue For A Darkening Island was well received both upon release and in later years, coming third in the 1973 John W. Campbell Memorial Award, while a 2011 review in Starburst magazine stated that it is 'positively prescient in its foretelling'.
The novel was re-published by Gollancz in 2011 in revised form, with the text updated and changed by the author.
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