The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch REVIEW
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ธ.ค. 2021
- I wish ALL my novels featured a sea monster popping up on page 10. It doesn't even have to play a big part in the book - just put it there and roll on with the plot!
A note on Charles Arrowby - I describe him as "a director from London," but of course I mean that as the place of his latest residence before moving to Shruff End, and as the one he sees as his natural milieu. Originally, he is from Lincolnshire.
The books I mention as my favorite include The Keep by Jennifer Egan, Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon, Moonglow by Michael Chabon, number9dream by David Mitchell, and Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. (An obvious omission would be Jonathan Lethem's Chronic City!)
US readers, buy The Sea, the Sea on IndieBound (yep I'm an affiliate):
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UK & other European readers, buy it on Blackwell's (also an affiliate):
blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...
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![[RÚV] Iris Murdoch interviewed by Steinunn Sigurðardóttir (1985)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JetiBnax8zo/mqdefault.jpg)
I read this book last year and had been intrepid when approaching it as I feared it'd be beyond me . But I was delighted . It's farcical , funny and a brilliant portrait of how determinedly we cling to our fantasies despite all the evidence at hand . The sea is central to the story , it's chaos and ungovernable persistence hangs over the pathetic attempts of Charles to shape the world to his own selfish ends .
Thanks for the warning.i am a postmodern reader of postmodernism. I watch Netflix
I’m listening to Richard E Grant read it on borrow box. He brings it to life. I am really enjoying it.
I have dropped everything - maybe even a small child - for this
You made me spit my tea!
So many people have recommended this book to me over the years and not one of them has ever mentioned a sea monster -- I would have read it way before now! Happy new year!
Thank you so very much for this review!
I love Iris Murdoch's novels, but for some strange reason stopped reading them about 10 years ago when my wife passed away. She was a great Iris Murdoch fan, and was amazed and puzzled by "The Sea, The Sea", which I have never read. One of my favorite Iris Murdoch novels is "An Unofficial Rose" which I read more than 40 years ago, but which I would love to re-read. Another very interesting Murdoch novel is "The Unicorn". I would love to hear more from you about Iris Murdoch's novels, when you read them.
Thank you Jason! I think I might well film more reviews when I get to my next Murdoch novels; I have "The Bell" on my shelf, so I'll probably get to that one next - but I've noted down your suggestions, too!
Happy New Year! Your reviews are succinct and intriguing. Love from India.
Beautiful review, as always Matthew. And congratulations on getting married!
Thank you :D
Mattia, you need to read Murdoch's The Sacred and Profane Love Machine. I read it in graduate school, and its brilliance has remained with me since then. Also, I highly recommend you reading Percival Everett. His novels Erasure and So Much Blue, among others, are superb!
The Bell! And Under the Net (it has one of the most hilarious chapters I’ve ever read in a book)! I’m reading the Black Prince next.
I found the book compelling, part horror and psychological thriller, at times rambling, but always exquisite in describing the inner workings of Charles' mind, the colorful characters, creepy house and roiling sea. He's such an egotistical bore, but I somehow didn't hate him and almost felt sorry for him. His friends and lovers were as bad as he (except for James), but I loved their bawdy escapades and camaraderie. I've read several Iris Murdoch books and will read more.
With a passing comparison to one of my favorite writers, Julian Barnes, I was sucked right into this review. If the book is half as good as your review, The Sea, The Sea will be one of my favorite reads of 2022. If you haven’t read Iris Murdoch’s Under the Net, I would love to see your analysis of it.
Nice review! I have never read anything by Iris Murdoch, but I'm planning to change that soon. The Sea, The Sea will be my first Murdoch.
Same here!
Gracias desde Bs As!!!! Muy interesante el abordaje de la novela. Ahora solo me resta leerla!!! Saludos!
Read “Under the Net” loved it. Watched the movie where Kate Wislet and Judy Dench played her. Not bad. And someone wrote a book about her and three other women philosophers who changed the game.
Thank you for a great review of an unforgettable book.
I had never read Murdoch before but picked up The Sea, The Sea in reverence to her illustrious career. Enjoyed your review. I was trying to find out if any other reader also found it a disturbing part of the novel the casual acceptance, with no exploration, of the coercive control that Harley and her son Titus endured for so many years.
I enjoyed this book 😁 and your review.
I wonder if you noticed the parallels with Shakespeare's The Tempest? I.e. Charles is Prospero etc.
Had this on my TBR for years since mementomori recommended it!
I once considered organizing my books on their shelves by color, but until now haven't seen it done!
I've owned this for years but an actual seamonster!! Who knew
Have you finished Book of the New Sun by Gene wolfe? What did you think of it?
Shamefully, I never got past the first volume in the series! The rest of it is still on my list though - I'll get to it one day!
"Nuns and Soldiers" is a favourite of mine....
Buon 2022!
Happy 2022 Mr L :)
I'm a big Murdoch fan but was actually slightly disappointed with The Sea The Sea
I found the story very gripping
but by the end I felt it lost that tightness her other plots have and the rambling became worse and worse in the last third until I was only reading it to see how she ended it
The Sandcastle
The Time Of The Angels
The Nice And The Good
The Bell
these are really brilliant and gripping books by Iris Murdoch
I couldn't recommend The Sea The Sea especially if you are coming to it as your first Iris Murdoch novel
Having read The Sea The Sea and still dicided to get married... Man, some never learn
Hated, hated, hated it….
That's ok...there are no "wrong" responses to art.