Aliens want our art!

I listened to All the Time in the World by Arthur C. Clarke courtesy of BBC iPlayer.  It revolves around a time traveling organization who use thieves to steal art from various museums and replace them with forgeries.  Once Ashton ( the main character) finds out why, the revelation will leave him in a sort of Zen mode.  Interesting how Clarke peppers his female characters as “beautiful”, “statuesque” or “flamboyant doxies”.  As if he sees women as these mysterious beings full of secrets or shallow prostitutes.  On any art references, the story mentions the Portland Vase and stealing antiquities, the Tate, the British Museum, and the Louvre.  Clarke also references the Mona Lisa when Clarke mentions the female alien having a “Gioconda Smile”.  Somewhat hard to follow, but an interesting story, and I have always enjoyed the works of Clarke.  His work creates this delicious ambiguity that leaves a reader unsettled with his endings.

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