THE SECRET AGENT

Conrad's 1907 novel about Adolf Verloc, a grubby shopkeeper, and his efforts to satisfy the terrorist paymasters who demand that he blow up the Greenwich Observatory has been called the most ironic novel in English. These verbal and dramatic ironies extend to the picture of Verloc's homelife, which comes across as pitilessly as that of the London society in which anarchists, police, subversives and politicians plot and counterplot. David Threlfall navigates Conrad's rich, long sentences with no loss of clarity or emphasis. Threlfall's soft, sometimes whispery, cadences suit beautifully the wry, confidential tone of the text. His sharp characterizations balance this understated narration with some colorful people, especially the jaded Assistant Commissioner and Stevie, Verloc's kind-hearted but simple-minded young brother-in-law. Conrad's masterpiece benefits from Threlfall's intelligent, careful work: It's exciting to hear a performance so perfectly matched to a text. G.H. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 98]