My well-read friends. At the end of Achebe's Things Falls Apart, Okonkwo kills the court messenger. Achebe writes: "[Okonkwo] sprang to his feet as he saw who it was." He is reacting not just to the messenger, but to who the messenger is, so it could be his estranged son, Nwoye. Thoughts? #books

I didn’t start it and not sure it exists. I was replying to a post by Otto English.

here is me with one of my 6 cats (and two dogs) to prove I am not a psycho.

We seem to be kindred spirits then, which is nice. I suspect that Otto English, who started this whole thing is as well (check out his bio) - I think he shared my post because I spotted the independence to which he referred. A bit of satire, I suppose, which can easily pass for the real thing now

for 'not lac' read 'no lack'; again my typing skills let me down.

And that just about gets us into the 1700s. I'm not an historian and I am 'of the left' (which I will defend as part of the British tradition) but I see not lac of sensitivity in this. And there is not such thing as being quintessentially British.

Also the lineage from the present Charles and Charles I is stretched at best. If memory serves (and it may not) it is: Charles I - interregnum - Charles II, James II (Catholic, last of the Stuarts) followed by the 'Glorious Revolution" (more attacks on the Irish) of the house of Orange (Dutch).

Not sure I claimed to be quintessentially British at any stage, but I happen to have been born in the UK. That aside, since the war of there 3 kingdoms (or Civil War) there has been a strong republican tradition, some of it quite radical (starting with such groups as the Diggers).

quite possibly, and your date is correct. It also seems likely that the treatment he received hastened his demise, which I rather like. Sorry that my typo above gave the impression I confused my Charles II for Charles I. Both died from strokes, of rather different sorts.

rampant digit. First, of course

What does "prose that sings" mean? Asking because a literary agent was looking for such a thing. My prose (although very fine indeed, I might add) sings like Tom Waits.

Charles II executed on 30 January 1649. A brief independence (although technically not for the UK, which didn't exist as such, and not if you were Irish who were about to experience all sorts of horrors). That said... all right, I give up. I'll have a cup of tea and a lie down like most days.

If Bronte intended us to believe Cathy when she says 'I am Heathcliff' towards the beginning of the whole Wuthering business couldn't she have at least given us a clue in how they behave towards each other? Re-reading after many years and things seem very different now, or were they always this way

3 Thomas Bernhard novels delivered in a single week. Woohoo! Yay! Get in! As I am sure Bernhard never said. #booksky

I think you'll find, Sir Michael, that the Keta is, in fact, MINE. Expect sanctions forthwith.

New to me, thanks Peter. Hope you are thriving between Durham and down south.

Wondering about "japs"; not come across that before. an NI thing?

Probably the most important UK novelist at the moment.

I'm a Beckett scholar, and I was wondering what your main thoughts were? The general perception is the English leans more into the comedy aspects, but are you thinking of more local differences?

Oops. There was meant to be a link to an article in The Guardian about the Nottingham TV workshop. Doesn’t seem to have worked.

I trained there in the 80s.

‘It shouldn’t be such a fight’: the drama school supporting working-class actors

Bloody paywall! It was reading v nicely too. My review will be out in the next JOBS. We should have a chat about it sometime soon.

James Joyce

Oligarchy, on the other hand, seems to retain its original meaning. Odd that. Almost as if the rich have always held power.

Exactly

Yet, formally, the novel has been stagnant for 50 years.

I’ve had 3 novels published but with a small press in Cyprus, where I live. How to find a wider audience when only a small, independent publisher has your back?

The word Dictator has had an interesting journey. From a valid and constitutional term in the Roman Republic to its current usage. Julius set the pattern when he was made dictator for life.

Leftist propaganda: Mathematics, Physics, Literature, Geography, Chemistry, Biology, Geometry, History