The Croquet Player by H.G. Wells: a review.

Written during the Spanish Civil War, the historical context explains the bizarre nature of The Croquet Player. War as a contagion affecting the human mind and behavior is the story's theme.

Satire and hyperbole fuel the telling of the tale. A series of conversations between the emotionally stunted protagonist and antiheros occur at a resort where croquet and other genteel games are played. The protagonist is an accomplished croquet player who learns of a mysterious, remote village where atrocities are occurring. Villagers prey upon each other and their animals. 

The antiheros include a parson, a doctor and psychologist all of whom have become infected with the village malaise. Each conversation draws the protagonist into an unwelcome world of experience and thought that is both fascinating and debilitating. Ultimately, croquet rescues him from the apocalypse (a lesson for all Cowabungas).