ARAB TIMES, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021 NEWS/FEATURES 13

People & Places

Books

‘Slough House’ soon ‘Slow Horses’ are spies for our times LONDON, Feb 8, (AP): Like a spy in the night, writer Mick Herron’s success has been stealthy. It took a while for the world to catch up with him. A decade after he introduced a crew of fl awed se- cret agents caught between sinister plotters and cyni- cal spymasters in the novel “Slow Horses,” Herron is a best-selling, award-winning writer who has been called the heir to master of espionage John le Carré. A seventh novel in his spy series, “Slough House,” is out this week, and a TV adaptation is in production with an A-list cast led by Gary Oldman. But initially, few took notice. “Maybe it just wasn’t the right time,” the soft-spo- ken Herron recalled recently. “There were voices in my pub- lishing company at the time that were saying the politics of the book were pretty ridiculous because it’s all about the far right and references to (Brit- ain) possibly leaving the Euro- pean Union.” Herron’s original British publisher declined a second book, but Soho Press in the Herron United States stuck by him, and UK publisher John Murray later championed the novels. After a decade that saw Brexit roil Britain and pop- ulism surge around the globe, Herron’s fi ctional world of damaged secret agents, self-serving politicians and buck-passing bureaucrats seems to capture 21st-cen- tury anxieties much as le Carré’s morally ambiguous tales caught the spirit of the Cold War. The Weeknd performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 55 football game between during the halftime show of the NFL Super Bowl 55 football game between Herron’s spies have all been banished from MI5 the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Feb 7, in Tampa, Fla. (AP) headquarters to do dull work in a drab London of- fi ce building - Slough (rhymes with cow) House - for career-wrecking mistakes. This band of “slow horses” is presided over by Jackson Lamb, a fl atulent, chain- Super Bowl smoking former fi eld agent who alternates between lethargy, insults and fl ashes of ruthless brilliance. Herron’s spies bicker in the offi ce kitchen and wor- ry about money - a mundane existence periodically interrupted by traumatic events. Sullivan, Church blend beautifully on anthem It was one such trauma that Herron says “made me want to write about larger events.” He was working as a copy editor in London when suicide bombers killed 52 commuters on the city’s transit system on July 7, 2005. The Weeknd bores at halftime Victims NEW YORK, Feb 8, (AP): His name “I realized that to be involved, in however small a is The Weeknd but his Super Bowl way, in something like that, all you had to do is be a performance felt like a dreary Monday citizen, a member of a city,” 58-year-old Herron told morning. Amanda Gorman, in a first, The Associated Press from his home in the university The pop star headlined the Super city of Oxford. “We’re all, I don’t want to say combat- Bowl halftime show, running through ants, but we’re all potential victims. his many hits like an Olympic relay brings poetry to Super Bowl “The idea of a terrorist event as an intrusion on or- track team aiming for the gold. But he dinary life, on everyday life, that became something I wasn’t victorious Sunday night — no NEW YORK, Feb 8, (AP): Amanda how much Gorman has seized the wanted to write about.” silver or bronze medals will be handed Gorman, the 22-year-old poet who nation’s spotlight since the inaugu- At the time Herron was writing a detective series, out here. stirred America at the inauguration ration. but found spies better suited his desire for “state of the The Weeknd kicked off his of President Joe Biden last month, Gorman, previously the country’s world” novels. Actress Christina Ricci attends the 14-minute set in his signature red again commanded the spotlight on first National Youth Poet Laureate, Juliet Grames, Herron’s American editor, calls his Christian Siriano Runway Show dur- blazer and sunglasses, directing his one of the country’s biggest stages, was the youngest person to ever re- books “smart, sophisticated takes on real-world prob- ing New York Fashion Week on Feb robotic ensemble and singing “Call the Super Bowl. cite a poem at the U.S. presidential lems, but with sly humor that cuts through the dark- 9, 2019, in New York. Ricci turns 41 Out My Name.” His nasally, semi- Gorman read an original poem inauguration. Her reading of “The ness.” on Feb 12. (AP) Michael Jackson-esque vocals shined Sunday during the pregame festivi- Hill We Climb” at the Capitol im- Violence, usually senseless, often erupts in Her- — especially during “The Hills” and ties in Tampa, Florida. The poem, mediately became a sensation. An ron’s books, but it’s offset by a large dose of mordant “Earned It” — but the performance titled “Chorus of the Captains,” was illustrated book of her poem quickly wit. His cleverly plotted page-turners are driven by felt like it was designed for a typical a tribute to three people for their zoomed to the top of bestseller dialogue that bristles with one-liners. awards show in the vein of the Bill- contributions during the pandemic: lists. Shortly after the inauguration, board Awards or MTV VMAs — not educator Trimaine Davis, nurse she signed with IMG Models, an Much of the humor comes from Herron’s sharp manager Suzie Dorner and Marine agency that represents supermod- eye for the way bureaucracies, whether corporate or the Super Bowl stage. veteran James Martin. els, tennis star Naomi Osaka and clandestine, function and malfunction. The world of Maybe he had restrictions — either Gorman didn’t perform on the playwright Jeremy O. Harris. This Slough House is closer to “The Offi ce” than to 007. creatively, or COVID-ly? Who knows, field but appeared in a taped video week, she covers Time Magazine, “I have no experience of the covert world,” Herron but overall his performance felt limited message that combined Gorman’s in an interview conducted by Mi- said. “But I have worked in offi ces. And I’ve worked and inadequate. Special guests should reading with images of Davis, chelle Obama. for a company that ended up being part of a much have been a non-negotiable. Dorner and Martin. Recited Gor- Gorman’s Super Bowl appear- bigger company. And what I’ve noticed is that the The Weeknd fi nally came to life - 10 man: ance had been planned before the larger an organization gets, the more dysfunctional it minutes to the performance — when he “Let us walk with these warriors, inauguration. She seemed to grasp becomes. Casanova Pope Francis and dozens of his dancers hit the fi eld Charge on with these champi- the unlikeliness of her pre-game “I wanted to show a world where bad things hap- to perform the explosive hit “Blinding ons, reading, the first in Super Bowl his- pen because people make errors. And that’s the basis Lights,” giving off fl ash mob vibes. And carry forth the call of our tory. And with potentially 100 mil- of the series, because all the people in Slough House Variety He was fi nally center stage, where captains. lion viewers on the CBS telecast, have made errors of one sort or another. But also it just he needed to be all night. But it was We celebrate them by acting, it made for one very well-attended seems to me it’s how the world works.” too late to save the show -most of the With courage and compassion, poetry recital. “Slough House” was written before the coronavirus singing was done on the sidelines, as if By doing what is right and just. “Poetry at the Super Bowl is pandemic, but there are plenty of real-world echoes, VALHALLA, NY: Rapper Casanova, it was an afterthought. Maybe because For while we honor them today, a feat for art and our country, including references to Brexit and the 2018 nerve- who is jailed in New York in a gang- it was. It is they who every day honor because it means we’re think- agent poisoning of a former Russian spy in the English related federal racketeering case, is Who did impress the world at the us.” ing imaginatively about human facing disciplinary charges over a dance That Gorman brought poetry connection even when we feel city of Salisbury. Super Bowl? Jazmine Sullivan and to the Super Bowl was an almost siloed,” Gorman said Sunday on challenge video posted on social media. Eric Church. Character The 34-year-old rapper, whose legal unthinkable collision of grace and Twitter. “I’ll honor three heroes The odd couple proved why they glitz. But if the Super Bowl, an an- who exemplify the best of this ef- Then there is the rumpled, unscrupulous, bicycle- name is Caswell Senior, will be disci- plined by offi cials at the Westchester are multiple Grammy-nominated stars nual rite of excess, was an unlikely fort. Here’s to them, to poetry and riding British politician Peter Judd, a character Her- County Jail after a woman recorded him in their own right, blending their vo- platform for a poet, it showed just to a Super Bowl like no other.” ron insists “was never specifi cally intended to refl ect” accepting the so-called Junebug chal- cals beautifully to create a memorable, Prime Minister Boris Johnson. lenge during a video visit, the Journal enjoyable rendition of “The Star Span- “He was intended to refl ect a particular kind of News reported. gled Banner” on Sunday. together — Church letting Sullivan of “America the Beautiful.” Her vocals privileged, self-seeking, self-interested, ambitious, The challenge asks TikTok users to Church kicked off the performance, untrustworthy, unprincipled politician,” said Herron, stand front and center with her beam- were soft and strong, as she strummed perform a set of moves in the strangest strumming his guitar and giving all the ing vocals and him right behind her, her guitar like a true star. who attended Oxford University’s Balliol College at location they can think of. The woman feels with his raspy vocals. Sullivan the same time as the current prime minister. “I can see melding in epically like a perfect Sullivan, Church and H.E.R. per- recorded Casanova dancing in jail and later joined in, her voice also raspy but teammate. formed in Tampa at the Raymond why people do relate that to Boris Johnson.” heavy and rich, belting the lyrics like a posted it on Instagram, the newspaper Before that performance, Grammy- James Stadium before Tampa Bay Herron’s damaged but indomitable secret agents reported. veteran singer. They both gained new include River Cartwright, grandson of a legendary Westchester County Correction Com- fans Sunday night. winning guitar slayer H.E.R. proved Buccaneers took on the Kansas City spymaster; dependable recovering alcoholic Catherine missioner Joseph Spano said correction They finished the song singing her rock star status with her rendition Chiefs. Standish; socially inept computer wizard Roderick offi cials have revoked Casanova’s video Ho; and Shirley Dander, a dynamo fueled by rage and visitation privileges because record- cocaine. ing videos and taking pictures during a particular passion for musical perfor- musicians with a question, asking them emptiness or are we just in a phase of Herron says he is fond of them all, but he has no virtual visit is prohibited. mance though he is known to be a big fan if the silence imposed on them as a result listening?” he asked. “Will (the silence qualms about killing off long-standing characters. It “I’m happy to say we don’t have a lot of the tango and milonga of his native of the pandemic isn’t actually a sign that now) let a new song emerge afterward?” helps to keep readers on edge. of issues with video visits because in- Argentina. something new is coming. (AP) Herron is grateful for his loyal readers, though he mates know it’s a privilege, not a right,” Francis ended his message to the “Is the silence we’re living in an ❑ ❑ ❑ is slightly alarmed by how much some embrace the Spano said. misanthropic Lamb and his repertoire of luridly offen- Casanova faces another charge for not SAN DIEGO: Paul Grisham’s wallet sive put-downs. wearing a mask, authorities said. was missing for so long at the bottom of An email seeking comment was sent to the world he forgot all about it. “Some people have assumed that because I cre- Fifty-three years later, the 91-year- ated this character who does take joy in trampling all Casanova’s attorney on Sunday. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ old San Diego man has the billfold back over barriers of political correctness, that I must be along with mementos of his 13-month like that, too,” he said. “I’ve had emails from peo- ROME: Pope Francis offered encour- assignment as a Navy meteorologist on ple who’ve written to me in terms that Lamb himself agement to musicians who have been Antarctica in the 1960s. might use, and my jaw drops.” silenced as a result of the coronavirus “I was just blown away,” Grisham told Now the slow horses are headed for the screen. pandemic, acknowledging many have The San Diego Union-Tribune after the Herron was a script consultant on the Apple TV se- lost work and the ability to practice wallet was returned on Saturday. “There ries, which stars Oldman as Lamb and Kristin Scott together due to closed concert halls and was a long series of people involved who Thomas as slippery MI5 chief Diana “Lady Di” Tav- social distancing norms. tracked me down and ran me to ground.” erner. Further cast members are still to be announced, In a video message to a conference on The wallet contained his Navy ID card, and Herron says “there are some names there which liturgical music organized by the Vati- driver license, a pocket reference card on people are going to be very impressed by.” can’s culture ministry, Francis recalled what to do during atomic, biological and By the time it is broadcast, the world may have re- the importance of music to the life of the chemical attack, a beer ration punch card, a turned to something like normality. Herron has been church, citing in particular its prominent tax withholding statement and receipts for working on his next book during lockdown, but he role in indigenous Catholic liturgies. money orders sent to his wife. He said he hoped that once the pan- Grisham, who was raised in Douglas, doesn’t think it will dwell too much on the experience Arizona, enlisted in the Navy in 1948. of the pandemic. demic passes the church’s musical life can be reborn “and we can resume sing- He became a weather technician and then “All the characters in it obviously will have undergone ing and playing and enjoying together a weather forecaster. the same experiences we all have, and they’ll reference music and song.” He was assigned to Antarctica as part it and behaviors will change a little bit,” he said. “But on Unlike Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, of “Operation Deep Freeze,” which sup- the whole, I don’t want to write a book set in the world who is an accomplished pianist and liked Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan perform the national anthem before the NFL ported civilian scientists, and shipped out that we’ve just lived through this past year.” to attend classical music concerts in the Super Bowl 55 football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay to the frozen continent in October 1967. Vatican, Francis has never showed a Buccaneers, Feb 7, in Tampa, Fla. (AP) (AP)