C is a Bildungsroman telling the history of Serge Carrefax, an increasingly unlikable amoral antihero. The novel is divided into four sections covering Serge’s childhood, his adventures during the First World War as a member of the Royal Flying Corps, his misadventures in 1920s London with drugs and chorus-girls (all the bits Bertie Wooster left out), and finally a journey into the tombs of Egypt for the Ministry of Communications. Most Bildungsromans follow their protagonists on a journey of development towards self-knowledge. Serge, however, is on a journey to nowhere.
Born in 1898 along with the first experimental radio transmissions, he spends his whole life obsessed with transmission and networks of communication. As an adolescent he is a fanatical amateur radio enthusiast. In the RFC he is an observer and radio-operator. In Egypt he is ostensibly surveying a site for a new radio mast.
New technologies of communication instantly link Serge, as he learns early on, with the whole world.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in