On a Darkling Plain

“They came to New York. That’s where the money is, that’s where the action is, that’s where freedom is. That’s where they get what’s coming to them. This first novel heralds auspiciously a distinguished career for the young author as a novelist.”— Norman Mailer

This thrilling and powerfully written first novel by Clifford Irving intimately explores the heartbreaks and ideals, the restlessness and wild passion of war-scarred youth struggling to find meaning in life. Joe, Mike, Barbie, Liz, Fletch and Pete want money, sex, and their freedom – without compromise or copout. Clifford Irving illuminates the discovery that life without illusions can be just as difficult as life with too many. The New York Herald Tribune called it "A vital and vibrant, bold and sensitive novel in which young people attack their lives head on.”

“Author [Clifford] Irving is a brilliant new writer. His spontaneous exuberance in depicting his characters inevitably will be compared with Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway.”
— Florida Times-Union

“Frantic and feverish, thrilling and memorable. A fine debut.”
— New York Times


Genre: Mystery