t
the turn of the thirty-eighth century, London's greatest orator, Plato,
regularly delivers public lecture on the long, tumultuous history of what
is now a tranquil city. Plato focuses particularly on the Age of Mouldwarp,
which spanned from a.d. 1500 until 2300, when the sun disappeared and the
planet was held in darkness.
Plato presents what is known about that period
from archaeological evidence. He lectures on
the prolific author Charles D.'s greatest novel, The Origin of Species.
And he explores the confusing rituals of
Mouldwarp, including the cult of webs and nets that covered and enslaved
the population. In the midst of these public
performances, Plato begins a dialogue with his soul that leads him
closer to the citizens of Mouldwarp than any strict historical inquiry
might allow.
THE PLATO PAPERS, as with the best of Ackroyd's
fiction, treads a thin line between fantasy and biography,
the genre of which Ackroyd is a heralded master. It is at once remarkably
funny and erudite, a wise and entertaining
portrayal of the ways in which the past is misrepresented. Perfectly
timed for the year 2000 as we imagine millennia
beyond our own, "this masterpiece of contemporary writing
will entertain readers for years to come" (Jay Parini, author of The
Last Station).
t
the turn of the thirty-eighth century, London's greatest orator, Plato,
regularly delivers public lecture on the long, tumultuous history of what
is now a tranquil city. Plato focuses particularly on the Age of Mouldwarp,
which spanned from a.d. 1500 until 2300, when the sun disappeared and the
planet was held in darkness.
