An ill-fated romance: Dark is the Morning, by Rupert Thomson, reviewed

11 Jul 2026

issue 11 July 2026

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As a prolific writer of literary fiction, Rupert Thomson has had plenty of practice in creating a good story. In Dark is the Morning, he seems drawn to the question of whether a satisfactory narrative structure can be imposed on life. The tug between the meaningless, chaotic nature of reality and the more conventional art of storytelling is at the centre of the novel, which concerns the ill-fated romance between the narrator, Gino, and the enigmatic Franca. Thomson even appears awkward about how neatly fabular this tale turns out to be in his opening chapter: ‘I still find the whole thing hard to believe.’

This self-consciousness is apparent throughout, with Thomson making repeated reference to the power of storytelling in his characters’ lives. Gino needs ‘a story for myself, a story I could live with’. Indeed, everyone is ‘looking for something that will make them feel better about their lives’. Words have the capacity to turn the meaningless into the profound; they are ‘able to open up a whole new world with one short sentence’.