Gabriel Syme is a Scotland Yard poet-policeman who infiltrates a secret council of seven anarchists in Edwardian London. Each member of this cell is named after a day of the week, with Syme elected to the position of Thursday. As he attempts to thwart a global conspiracy to destroy civilization, he discovers that the other delegates are also undercover detectives disguised as revolutionaries. The plot shifts from a political thriller into a metaphysical pursuit of the elusive President Sunday, who represents the chaotic and paradoxical nature of creation.
Readers who enjoy literary puzzles and philosophical paradoxes choose this novel to examine the distinction between outward appearances and inner reality. It appeals to those interested in the tension between order and anarchy or the persistence of hope amidst existential dread. The reader concludes the story with a framework for viewing suffering and nonsense as necessary components of a divine comedy, ultimately finding a defense of traditional morality through the medium of a surrealist nightmare.
- Published
- 1908
- Language
- EN
