Thursday, 26 March 2020

A Northern Line Minute by William Leith



This is part of a Penguin set of books published alongside the 150 anniversary of the London Underground – slim volumes of around 100 pages.

A Northern Line Minute refers to the way that the information broads on the platforms will say your train will arrive in one minute, yet the reality of the period of time is elastic.

It is a study on anxiety, the narrator struggles to overcome fear of the Underground only to find themselves on a train with a brake fire.

I found the account of the tricks anxiety places on your brain vivid – it is well pitched – and I was drawn in to the point where I was sharing their discomfort in a physical way.

This is the first of this eccentric series and a strong start – I hope the others I have now ordered life up to it…

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