Arthur Otto Koestler

British novelist and journalist. Born in Budapest. Jewish. After studying at the University of Vienna, he served as a correspondent for Wolfstein in the Near East and Paris. In 1931, he joined the Communist Party. In 1932, he visited the Soviet Union and fled to Paris to avoid the Nazis. During the Spanish Civil War, he was arrested by Franco's side and sentenced to death while reporting for a British newspaper, but was released thanks to the efforts of the British government. This reportage was called "A Spanish Testament" (1937). He left the party in 1938 and has lived in Britain since 1941. He became famous for "Darkness at Noon" (1940), which depicts the consciousness of a high-ranking party member who was accused in the Moscow Trials and leads to self-denial, and he wrote many political novels, including "Join and Leave" (1943) and "The Pilgrim and the People's Commissar" (1945). The distinctive feature of his works is that he goes into the midst of political tensions and raises the central issues in a reportage-like format. He also published his autobiography, "An Arrow Shot into the Sky" (1952) and "Invisible Books" (1954). Around the time of "Sleepwalker" (1959), he became interested in Eastern thought, but in 1983 he and his wife practiced euthanasia.

[Kenzo Suzuki]

"The Spanish Testament" (1974, Shinsensha), translated by Jisaburo Hirata ; "The Ghost in the Machine" (1984, Pelicansha), translated by Toshitaka Hidaka and Takashi Nagano

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イギリスの小説家、ジャーナリスト。ユダヤ系。ブダペスト生まれ。ウィーン大学に在学後、ウルフスタイン社の通信員として近東、パリなどに駐在した。1931年共産党入党。翌1932年訪ソ後ナチスを避けてパリに亡命。スペイン内戦では英紙の特派員として取材中、フランコ側に逮捕され死刑の宣告を受けたが、イギリス政府の尽力で釈放された。このルポルタージュが『スペインの遺書』（1937）である。1938年脱党、1941年来イギリスに住む。モスクワ裁判の高級党員被告が自己否定に至る意識構造を描いた『真昼の暗黒』（1940）で一躍有名となり、『参加と離党』（1943）、『行者と人民委員』（1945）など多くの政治小説を書いた。彼の作品の特徴は、政治的緊張の真っただ中に赴き、その中心的な問題をルポルタージュ風な形で提起する点にある。このほか自伝『空に放たれた矢』（1952）、『見えない書物』（1954）などを発表。『夢遊病者』（1959）あたりから東洋思想にも関心を深めたが、1983年妻とともに安楽死を実践した。

［鈴木建三］

『平田次三郎訳『スペインの遺書』（1974・新泉社）』▽『日高敏隆・長野敬訳『機械の中の幽霊』（1984・ぺりかん社）』

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