Tremor of Intent: An Eschatological Spy Novel
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Tremor of Intent is an espionage novel by the English author Anthony Burgess.
First published in 1966, it was in many ways a reaction to the heavy-handed, humorless spy fiction of John Le Carré, and to Ian Fleming's James Bond, a character that Burgess felt to be a relic of imperialism.
In You've Had Your Time, the second part of his Confessions, Burgess relates that the title came to him on a hungover morning when his hand began to shake. "That," his wife said, "is tremor of intent."
The subtitle, "An Eschatological Spy Novel," refers to the novel's depiction of the Cold War as a form of hostile symbiosis, an "ultimate conflict" in which "good" and "evil" are no longer adequate terms. In Burgess's view, Russia and the West formed a duoverse, a yin and yang.
The novel confused critics at the time, as it straddled the lines between serious and comic fiction, popular genre storytelling and metaphysical philosophy.
[edit] Plot summary
The completely amoral Agent Hiller of MI6 journeys to the city of Yarylyuk aboard a passenger ship called the "Polyolbion." His mission is to infiltrate a convention of Soviet scientists and bring back to Britain his childhood friend Roper, who has defected to Russia.
Along the way, he meets the sexually precocious 16-year-old Clara, the voluptuous femme fatale Miss Devi, and the shadowy tycoon Theodorescu (modelled loosely on Orson Welles).
[edit] Extracts
| “ | …my two chronic diseases of gluttony and satyriasis…
‘This damnable sex, boys - ah, you do well to writhe in your beds at the very mention of the word. All the evil of our modern times springs from unholy lust, the act of the dog and the bitch on the bouncing bed, limbs going like traction engines, the divine gift of articulate speech diminished to squeals and groans and pantings. It is terrible, terrible, an abomination before God and His Holy Mother. Lust is the fount of all other of the deadly sins, leading to pride of the flesh, covetousness of the flesh, anger in the thwarting of desire, gluttony to feed the spent body to be at it again, envy of the sexual prowess and sexual success of others, sloth to admit enervating day-dreams of lust. Only in the married state, by God’s holy grace, is it sanctified, for then it becomes the means of begetting fresh souls for the peopling of the Kingdom of Heaven.’ …the cold deflation of crapula… …British louts with guitars and emetic little songs…infantile screamers… ‘…Women I do not much care for myself - I prefer little Greek shepherd-boys…’ ‘…you read mostly menus and the moles on whores’ bellies….’ …satyromaniacal… …enjoyed Dravidian transports. |
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