by Joseph Conrad
With a character that walks around wearing a bomb ready to detonate any moment, I expected Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent to be primarily a political drama. And while Conrad assembles a group of so-called anarchists led by his main protagonist, Verloc, in 1890s London, they are the sorriest bunch of radicals one is likely to meet. We follow Verloc as he attempts to prove his mettle as a double agent, but it is his wife, Winnie, and her mentally handicapped brother, Stevie, who become the heart of the story. When Stevie is unwittingly drawn into Verloc’s terrorist plot, Winnie’s safe, domestic world is shattered. Conrad’s only novel set in London, it is laced with enough irony and plot turns to keep the reader curious until the final page.
--Corrie
1 comment:
One of the gloomiest books I've ever read. But it was very satisfying when Winnie finally did get around to killing Verloc. If only Conrad had let her get away with it...
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