Fugue for a Darkening Island

Fugue for a Darkening Island (published in the US as Darkening Island) is a dystopian novel by Christopher Priest. First published in 1972, it describes a man's struggle to protect his family and himself in a near future England ravaged by civil war. The violence is brought about by a new far-right political party entering government, voted in to combat a massive influx of African refugees. Those refugees are aligned with the principal opposition faction, known as the Secessionists, leading to a multi-sided conflict.

Fugue for a Darkening Island

First edition
Author	Christopher Priest
Cover artist	Judith Ann Lawrence
Language	English
Genre	Dystopian
Publisher	Faber and Faber
Publication date	1972
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print
Pages	147
ISBN	0-571-09794-4

Premise

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 occurs in 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 traveling the countryside in search of safety; and a final period in which he is traveling through the 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.

Main characters

Alan Whitman: A former college lecturer, who soon becomes a refugee, along with his wife and daughter. The story starts with the family abandoning their house, fleeing the various warring factions of the country. Though more favorable to the Secessionists faction when the civil war was beginning, he is later torn between the factions, as each commit atrocities which greatly affect him, culminating in the revelation of his family's whereabouts, and eventual discovery of their fate. He never endorses a particular side, and has come to distrust all the factions towards the end of the conflict.

Isobel: Whitman's wife, who has a strained relationship with her husband, which is explained by several past events in the book, and culminates in their separation. She and Sally are missing in the later parts of the novel, and Alan ultimately discovers their fate.

Sally: Whitman's young daughter, Alan cares greatly for Sally and assumes care of her when Isobel departs from the group with which they are traveling.

Lateef: The leader of the group of refugees Alan and his family join, his and the group's origins are unknown.

Tregarth: He is referred to by Alan several times, explaining his early political history and actions concerning the afrim landings and their subsequent treatment. He is revealed to have originally been an independent MP with strong ultranationalist and protectionist ideological leanings. He later assumes power as prime minister, having gained a majority in parliament. He becomes an authoritarian leader quickly after the election, and exerts executive power with little regard to civil liberties.

Factions

Nationalists: The ruling power, led by Tregarth who takes a hardline approach to the arrival of the afrims. The faction consolidated its power after the election of Tregarth, who uses executive powers with little regards to civil liberties.

Secessionists: The main opposition to the nationalist forces. They are known to promote integration with afrims and take a much more liberal approach to the social issues of the conflict. The faction was primarily organized by defectors from the British military and police forces.

Afrims: The immigrants from Africa, who have been fleeing the state of turmoil on the continent that resulted from use of nuclear weapons and covert foreign intervention by major powers there. It is this exodus of people which catalyses the civil war. Some afrims choose to side with Secessionists, whereas others remain within their homogenous group.

Welfare groups/Red Cross: Throughout the novel, different welfare organizations, including the red cross, are mentioned. These provide humanitarian aid to refugees.

United States: The only reference to the United States in the conflict is a mention of a detachment of Marines sent as an advisory force to the nationalist side.

United Nations: The U.N has peacekeeping forces present on the island, which occasionally intervene in the conflict, but overall can do little to stop the violence.

Other nations: It is implied that other world powers, such as Russia and China, are selling arms to certain factions in the conflict as proxies.

Reception

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." It has also been strongly criticized for its depiction of race, despite the author's desire to avoid such issues, particularly in the 2011 revision. Thomas Wagner at SFF180, while acknowledging prescient aspects of the story, notes that "there’s no hiding the racism baked into the book’s premise. This is seen most starkly in its treatment of the Africans. Africa is always referred to in the text only as ‘Africa,’ as if it’s some kind of monoculture, not a vast and diverse continent but a single nation with a single people."

2011 Revised Edition

The novel was re-published by Gollancz in 2011 in revised form, with the text updated and changed by the author.