I'm midway through Joseph Conrad's '
The Secret Agent', my first
foray into Conrad's works, and am in awe of the ingenuity and clarity of his prose. Furthermore, the sheer audacity and subversiveness of the book, considering it's early 20
th century origins, is amazing. The depiction of late
Victorian London as a hotbed of anarchist activity wherein ordinary citizens unwittingly share public transport, meals and glances with others who are hell-bent on bringing chaos to the city's streets is ominously resonant with the London of today. (Incidentally, the National Portrait Gallery has a small collection of what can only be described as
understated yet statesmanlike portraits of Conrad on display in Room 29 marking the
150th anniversary of his birth that are worth seeking out).
Elsewhere,
George Galloway continues to entertain. This time on
Newsnight.
The
Wellcome Collection's newest exhibition entitled '
Sleeping and Dreaming' is worth a visit too if only to find out just how damaging a week of night-shifts can potentially be!
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