This is the concluding part of the
Francis Urquhart trilogy and once again that is an interesting mix of
insight into the moment of its writing alongside a contemporary
mirror to our current politics.
For example part of the plot relies on
events, past and present, in Cyprus which is portrayed as a far away
“Banana Republic” - a very dated picture of what is now a fellow
EU Member State.
One thing I found intriguing was the
similarity of the cross country march of Makepeace, this novel's
rival to Urquhart, and the tour of the King in the last book. This
displays a believe on the part of Dobbs in the divide between the
Westminster bubble and the “real world” - but also the belief
that it is possible to escape the bubble and quite readily establish
“authentic” encounters with “real” people. I think we accept
the existence of the Westminster bubble but I wonder if the idea of a
senior politician being able to step out of the bubble is so
plausible today.
And even if they could – is there
anyone out there to respond anymore? In part the dynamics of social
media are corrosive to authenticity. In a week where some have
transitioned from hashtaging protests at events in Gaza to protests
at events in the bake-off tent and back again – seemingly without a
change of tone or the bat of an eye-lid - it is hard to maintain too
much faith in “real” people.
While this is another gripping read it
is a fairly depressing one, the negatives are all too believable
while its glimmers of hope seem fanciful.
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