Darkness Visible (novel)

For other books, see Darkness Visible (disambiguation) § Literature.

Darkness Visible

First edition cover
Author	William Golding
Cover artist	Russell Drysdale "The Rainmaker" [1]
Language	English
Publisher	Faber & Faber
Publication date	1979
Publication place	UK
Media type	Print
Pages	265
ISBN	0-571-11646-9
OCLC	5754188

Darkness Visible is a 1979 novel by British author William Golding. The book won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. ^[2] The title comes from Paradise Lost , from the line, "No light, but rather darkness visible". ^[3] It marked Golding's re-emergence as a novelist, eight years after the publication of the collection The Scorpion God.

Synopsis

The novel narrates a struggle between good and evil, using naïveté, sexuality and spirituality.

A dark and complex novel, it centres on Matty, introduced in chapter one as a naked child emerging horribly disfigured from a bomb explosion during the London Blitz in World War II. He becomes a ward of the state and is put into a boarding school, where he is shunned by all. When he grows up, however, his selfless kindness and mysterious persona attract a devoted following who believe him to be a saint.

The second part of the book centers on twins Toni and Sophy from the point of view of Sophy. Their story starts from their childhood, when they are around 10 years old, and follows their growth as they become young adults.

The recurring theme in these two stories is madness, Matty split between his two faces, and schizoidSophy as she is split between her sister and others.

References

1. "Modern first editions", Flickr, 23 December 2010, retrieved 13 January 2023
2. "Fiction winners". The University of Edinburgh. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
3. Tiger, Virginia (1990). "William Golding's "Darkness Visible": Namings, Numberings, and Narrative Strategies". Style. 24 (2): 284–301. ISSN   0039-4238. JSTOR   42945856.