John Fowles

Like many adolescent boys I was captivated by John Fowles's The Magus. The mixture of psychological thriller, romance, fantasy and would-be existential fable pushed all the right buttons.

Fowles latterly saw the book as a somewhat juvenile work and indeed, went as far as rewriting the novel. With the passing of time The Magus waned in my estimation, although not necessarily in my affections. Even now I would recommend it to any teenager (or adult for that matter). Whatever Fowles's view of its merits it at least does not qualify for the 'kidult' category.

If the appeal of The Magus declined, my estimation of other Fowles works - most notably, The Collector, The French Lieutenant's Woman and (best of all) Daniel Martin - increased.

Both of the latter two books experimented with form in intelligent and entertaining ways. The multidimensional Daniel Martin was clearly marked by the 1970s upsurge in the interest of English departments in the works of Gramsci and Lukacs, but was none the worse for that. For me, Daniel Martin was an admirable work.

Fowles's later novels were less satisfactory, the inventiveness more strained, and a certain prurience - if not misogyny - crept in. However, taken as a whole, Fowles leaves a strong body of work informed by a progressive sensibility, and for those who are not familiar with his work or have only seen the films, he is well worth investigating. Suffice to say, the film of The Magus, - unlike the Pinter-scripted French Lieutenant's Woman - is not.

Who needs Parliament?

So now Blair tells us that 'complacent' MPs should think carefully before ignoring the views of those who know better. Rather than questioning the wisdom of the police and meddling in things of which they know little, our elected representatives should fall into line and give unalloyed support for the chief constables' preferred anti-terrorism measures.

Blair's latest remarks underscore both his natural authoritarianism and the deference to technocrats implicit in New Labour thinking. Given that the Party that now little more than a vehicle for the career ambitions of management consultants and lawyers it is hardly surprising that it should be so willing to defer to the 'professionals' of law and order. Framed within a Blairite logic the police are disinterested guardian's of public safety. The notion that the police (or army) might have a less benign agenda or have a natural predilection for heavy-handed solutions does not enter into this discourse.

I am not concerned here with questioning Blair's sincerity or whether he inhabits this ideological construct - he may do, he may not. What I am concerned with is its effect, a diminishing of the value and legitimacy of Parliament, its members and the democratic process. And for that Blair must be roundly condemned.

And the Man Played Waltzing Matilda

.... well actually he wrote a song that, with a nod to Australia's unofficial national anthem, stands as one of the greatest anti-war songs of all time. Most people know it via the Pogues whose marvellous version can be found on Rum, Sodomy and the Lash but it was Eric Bogle, profiled here who we can thank for a moving reminder, if any were needed, of the follies of war.