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Available
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Publication
Penguin Classics (2001), Paperback, 528 pages
Description
Charles Arrowby, leading light of England's theatrical set, retires from glittering London to an isolated home by the sea. He plans to write a memoir about his great love affair with Clement Makin, his mentor both professionally and personally, and to amuse himself with Lizzie, an actress he has strung along for many years. None of his plans work out, and his memoir evolves into a riveting chronicle of the strange events and unexpected visitors - some real, some spectral - that disrupt his world and shake his oversized ego to its very core.
Media reviews
The book that finally won Iris Murdoch a Booker is at least as ludicrous as it is brilliant...The surprise isn't so much that she failed to scoop the prize three times in a row, but that a jury managed to unite behind one of her books – especially one as variously sublime, ridiculous, difficult,
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facile, profound and specious as The Sea, the Sea....So there it is, a book that has left me thoroughly divided. It's as flawed as it is wonderful and it took a brave jury to give it the prize. Or, at least, a very forgiving one. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member lauralkeet
Charles Arrowby is a London theatre director who has recently retired to a seaside cottage in the south of England. He plans to write his memoirs, with particular focus on his lover-mentor, a woman named Clement. The book is written in the first person; Charles chronicles both day-to-day living in
The plot thickens when Charles meets up with Hartley, who surprisingly lives in the village near his cottage. She is married, with an adult son. But this does not stop Charles from pursuing her, and trying to re-create the happiness he felt as a teenager. Meanwhile James, Rosina, Lizzie, and others make frequent visits and try to talk sense into Charles. As Mary Kinzie writes in her introduction to the Penguin classic edition, Charles "violently and bullheadedly persists in all the wrong directions." None of his plans work out as he hopes. And as these plans unravel, he keeps trying to find another way to achieve his dreams. A climax of sorts occurs about 100 pages before the end, in which Peregrine, a theatre friend, calls him on his negative and manipulative behaviors: "You're an exploded myth. And you still think you're Genghis Khan! Laissez-moi rire. I can't think why I let you haunt me all these years. ... You never did anything for mankind, you never did anything for anybody except yourself." (p. 395)
Despite these character traits, Charles is not completely despicable. Iris Murdoch had a tremendous talent for portraying the middle-aged to older man and all his foibles, in a way that made the man mostly likeable. The Sea, the Sea also includes some interesting plot threads: Charles' pursuit of Hartley; Hartley's marriage; Hartley's son Titus; Charles' relationship with James, and so on. All in all, a satisfying read.
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his cottage, and describes his life and loves. Vanity and jealousy are central themes. Charles spent his life immersed in theatre, entangled in complex relationships. His cousin James grew up in a more privileged environment and was a perennial cause of envy. Hartley was Charles' childhood sweetheart and, having been rejected by her as a young adult, Charles has been unable to deeply love anyone else. He toys with the affections of two actresses, Lizzie and Rosina, and fancies himself as having power over them when in fact, it is exactly the reverse. The plot thickens when Charles meets up with Hartley, who surprisingly lives in the village near his cottage. She is married, with an adult son. But this does not stop Charles from pursuing her, and trying to re-create the happiness he felt as a teenager. Meanwhile James, Rosina, Lizzie, and others make frequent visits and try to talk sense into Charles. As Mary Kinzie writes in her introduction to the Penguin classic edition, Charles "violently and bullheadedly persists in all the wrong directions." None of his plans work out as he hopes. And as these plans unravel, he keeps trying to find another way to achieve his dreams. A climax of sorts occurs about 100 pages before the end, in which Peregrine, a theatre friend, calls him on his negative and manipulative behaviors: "You're an exploded myth. And you still think you're Genghis Khan! Laissez-moi rire. I can't think why I let you haunt me all these years. ... You never did anything for mankind, you never did anything for anybody except yourself." (p. 395)
Despite these character traits, Charles is not completely despicable. Iris Murdoch had a tremendous talent for portraying the middle-aged to older man and all his foibles, in a way that made the man mostly likeable. The Sea, the Sea also includes some interesting plot threads: Charles' pursuit of Hartley; Hartley's marriage; Hartley's son Titus; Charles' relationship with James, and so on. All in all, a satisfying read.
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LibraryThing member thorold
Lama lama lama!
Rudyard Kipling and Iris Murdoch are probably the only English writers who could get away with putting a Buddhist sage at the centre of an ironic modern novel without it becoming sickeningly twee. The sea, the sea keeps you guessing for a long time about where it's going: Murdoch
You can see from the reviews here that most people either love this book or fail to see what all the fuss is about. I think I could have come down either way, but the book caught me in the right frame of mind (and at a moment when I could get through it in a couple of days: I don't think it's a good book to leave lying around for weeks and weeks).
Rudyard Kipling and Iris Murdoch are probably the only English writers who could get away with putting a Buddhist sage at the centre of an ironic modern novel without it becoming sickeningly twee. The sea, the sea keeps you guessing for a long time about where it's going: Murdoch
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obviously decided it was worth the risk that readers might give up on the unlovable Charles halfway through the book. It's a risky strategy making your narrator a man who habitually mistreats women, and an innocent first love the main motor for the bad things that happen in the plot, but Murdoch has to take the reader down into the depths of humiliation with Charles for the ending to make sense. You can see from the reviews here that most people either love this book or fail to see what all the fuss is about. I think I could have come down either way, but the book caught me in the right frame of mind (and at a moment when I could get through it in a couple of days: I don't think it's a good book to leave lying around for weeks and weeks).
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LibraryThing member EBT1002
Charles Arrowby retires from the theater where he was a moderately successful actor and a wildly successful director, buys a creepy old house by the wild and indifferent sea, with plans to write a memoir of his great love affair with the actress Clement Makin. A series of odd events, including an
The novel requires some dedication but the rewards of Murdoch's writing are worth the concentration. Her use of imagery, metaphor, and allusion is so sophisticated: at times subtle, at times so blatant as to be self-mocking. I googled terms and references to history or mythology or literature more than once and was happy to do so. Truly, reading this novel was an intellectual delight.
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unlikely encounter with a childhood friend and sweetheart, and visitations from London friends who just can't let him retire in peace all divert him from his plans. At times passionately suspenseful, at other times meandering and slow, the novel explores "the inward ravages of jealousy, remorse, fear and the consciousness of irretrievable moral failure." Charles acknowledges that he is an egoist and his unremittingly flawed nature renders him a paradoxically reliable narrator. He is, after all, writing a memoir and we are to believe that the narrative we're reading is a faithful diary of his experiences in the months after moving to the vaguely haunted house by the sea. Paranoid distortions abound, no doubt, but he believes them so wholeheartedly and only occasionally suggests that his interpretations of situations might be colored by his obsessive tendencies, not to mention the fact that he drinks like a fish. Again, these sly glimpses of self-awareness render him credible as a witness and tangible as a character. Reading the novel, I was frequently reminded of the experience of attending the theater: I never forgot where I was but I was perfectly happy to suspend my disbelief and see where Charles' madness would lead. The novel requires some dedication but the rewards of Murdoch's writing are worth the concentration. Her use of imagery, metaphor, and allusion is so sophisticated: at times subtle, at times so blatant as to be self-mocking. I googled terms and references to history or mythology or literature more than once and was happy to do so. Truly, reading this novel was an intellectual delight.
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LibraryThing member TheAmpersand
There are some people who get frustrated when they see characters make bad decisions. People who scream "don't do that!" in the theater when they realize that the brunette in a horror movie has decided to investigate the spooky house all by herself, for instance. (Not the blonde; she's always the
If you can get past that and the fact that, as per usual, all of Murdoch's characters seem ridiculously improbable and somehow true-to-life at the exact same time, and the fact that this book's about six hundred pages long, well, "The Sea, The Sea" is a pretty good novel. In an age where we tend to think of mental disorders as a mere accident of the brain's chemistry, this novel's a remarkable study of obsession. At the heart of it is the aforementioned Charles Arrowby's obsession with a teenage love he meets again by accident in old age. Charles is wrong to pursue her again, and he's even got the presence of mind to tell himself so. But that doesn't stop him. One begins to ask what's actually driving him: is it vanity, or an inability to live in the present, or a desire to recover a purer state of being while in old age? These are real questions, and Murdoch investigates them bravely, if perhaps for too long: whatever virtues she had as a writer, economy was not one of them. Frankly, I suspect that the book's length, coupled with its main character's stubbornness, may get in the way of some of the book's deeper symbolism. There's the sea, a witch, a tower, and a cauldron in this book, but it's hard to consider what all of these might mean when Charles is acting like a thoughtless, monomaniacal jerk for four hundred straight pages.
This novel also offers a few other pleasures: there are, fittingly, startling descriptions of the sea and stars, descriptions, both touching and awful, of family life, some wonderful meditations on Buddhist philosophy, and a handsome young man. But this one pretty much wore me out regardless. Recommended to those who like Iris Murdoch, or a challenge.
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one who survives until the very end.) Iris Murdoch's "The Sea, The Sea" is not recommended to those sorts of people. If you've ever wanted to slap a fictional character for acting stupid, you could probably wear your palms out on Charles Arrowby. If you can get past that and the fact that, as per usual, all of Murdoch's characters seem ridiculously improbable and somehow true-to-life at the exact same time, and the fact that this book's about six hundred pages long, well, "The Sea, The Sea" is a pretty good novel. In an age where we tend to think of mental disorders as a mere accident of the brain's chemistry, this novel's a remarkable study of obsession. At the heart of it is the aforementioned Charles Arrowby's obsession with a teenage love he meets again by accident in old age. Charles is wrong to pursue her again, and he's even got the presence of mind to tell himself so. But that doesn't stop him. One begins to ask what's actually driving him: is it vanity, or an inability to live in the present, or a desire to recover a purer state of being while in old age? These are real questions, and Murdoch investigates them bravely, if perhaps for too long: whatever virtues she had as a writer, economy was not one of them. Frankly, I suspect that the book's length, coupled with its main character's stubbornness, may get in the way of some of the book's deeper symbolism. There's the sea, a witch, a tower, and a cauldron in this book, but it's hard to consider what all of these might mean when Charles is acting like a thoughtless, monomaniacal jerk for four hundred straight pages.
This novel also offers a few other pleasures: there are, fittingly, startling descriptions of the sea and stars, descriptions, both touching and awful, of family life, some wonderful meditations on Buddhist philosophy, and a handsome young man. But this one pretty much wore me out regardless. Recommended to those who like Iris Murdoch, or a challenge.
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LibraryThing member SaturdayReadingGroup
How can a book manage to be hysterical, banal and tedious all at the same time? That life, or indeed Charles Arrowby, can be all of these things may have been the point but it didn't make for pleasant reading. The apparent philosophical profundity was lost on me as I was hoping the sea monster
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would put in a re-appearance and maul the insipid, irritating and unappealing characters to death. Sadly it didn't and the infuriatingly repetitious plot, complete with Charles Arrowby's Cooking for Theatrical Hermits, meandered on and on all the way to page 511. Where a postscript cruelly adds another 27 pages, just when I thought I'd made it to the end, the end. However, the lentil and chipolata stew did sound delightful. Show Less
LibraryThing member AlisonY
Bravo, Iris Murdoch - this was extremely clever and uncomfortable reading. But my goodness - it took me 170 pages to get hooked.
Charles Arrowby is perhaps one of the most dislikable protagonists I've read in a long time. A narcissist through and through, he is egotistical, extremely self-deluded
There's not much I can say about this novel that wouldn't be a total plot spoiler, therefore I'll limit it to saying that Charles, a somewhat famous theatre director, has retired to a remote house by the sea for a supposedly quiet life, only to unexpectedly bump into his first love. Given Charles' narcissistic disposition, his need to rewrite the past to become the victor in love blindsides him into a dangerous obsession which is played out in front of a cast of eccentric friends who turn up uninvited to stay with him.
This turned into a real page-turning book a third of the way in, but I definitely found the first part tedious as Murdoch set the scene of Arrowby's daily life in the quiet, unfriendly coastal village. I do usually need to fall in love a little bit with at least one of the characters in a novel (however flawed they might be), but Murdoch deliberately makes her characters in this book hugely unlikeable for different reasons. That said, it works - Arrowby's total egotism and obsession is such that we are left unsure of what he is capable of doing next, which makes for a great reading ride.
The ending wasn't what I expected it to be, and I can't decide if I feel a little cheated by it or not - the jury is out on that one.
This was my first Murdoch, and clearly she was a supremely gifted writer. This wasn't a take-to-your-heart type of novel, but more of a can't-put-down-literary-car-crash that I almost read peeping through my fingers. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it (after a week of labouring through the first part), but I'm glad it's finished.
Would I read it again? Yes, definitely. Perhaps that's the skill of Murdoch as a writer - she puts you into a total discomfort zone as a reader which confuses the equilibrium somewhat.
4 stars - some marks deducted for a long drawn out start, but such startling characterisation and outright weirdness make this a great read (eventually).
Charles Arrowby is perhaps one of the most dislikable protagonists I've read in a long time. A narcissist through and through, he is egotistical, extremely self-deluded
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and supremely arrogant, and as is always the way with such people he has a loyal band of friends and ex-lovers who remain moths to his flame, available to be summoned at will when his ego requires further stroking.There's not much I can say about this novel that wouldn't be a total plot spoiler, therefore I'll limit it to saying that Charles, a somewhat famous theatre director, has retired to a remote house by the sea for a supposedly quiet life, only to unexpectedly bump into his first love. Given Charles' narcissistic disposition, his need to rewrite the past to become the victor in love blindsides him into a dangerous obsession which is played out in front of a cast of eccentric friends who turn up uninvited to stay with him.
This turned into a real page-turning book a third of the way in, but I definitely found the first part tedious as Murdoch set the scene of Arrowby's daily life in the quiet, unfriendly coastal village. I do usually need to fall in love a little bit with at least one of the characters in a novel (however flawed they might be), but Murdoch deliberately makes her characters in this book hugely unlikeable for different reasons. That said, it works - Arrowby's total egotism and obsession is such that we are left unsure of what he is capable of doing next, which makes for a great reading ride.
The ending wasn't what I expected it to be, and I can't decide if I feel a little cheated by it or not - the jury is out on that one.
This was my first Murdoch, and clearly she was a supremely gifted writer. This wasn't a take-to-your-heart type of novel, but more of a can't-put-down-literary-car-crash that I almost read peeping through my fingers. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it (after a week of labouring through the first part), but I'm glad it's finished.
Would I read it again? Yes, definitely. Perhaps that's the skill of Murdoch as a writer - she puts you into a total discomfort zone as a reader which confuses the equilibrium somewhat.
4 stars - some marks deducted for a long drawn out start, but such startling characterisation and outright weirdness make this a great read (eventually).
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LibraryThing member clong
I am not sure exactly what I was expecting, but what I got wasn’t it. The characterization is effective and memorable (despite the fact that I couldn't particularly find much to like about any of said characters), and Murdoch’s descriptive writing is often magical. The story felt to me like a
This is a book about obsession, about “fantasists” who live in a reality all their own, and about the people who enable them. We can tell almost immediately that our narrator is profoundly unreliable, and you have to read just about every paragraph of the book with this in mind. It doesn’t take long to see that he is also really quite a jerk, although in the end perhaps a pathetic one.
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farce devoid of wit and humor… like seeing the characters from A Long Day’s Journey into Night magically transported into a performance of The Importance of Being Earnest.This is a book about obsession, about “fantasists” who live in a reality all their own, and about the people who enable them. We can tell almost immediately that our narrator is profoundly unreliable, and you have to read just about every paragraph of the book with this in mind. It doesn’t take long to see that he is also really quite a jerk, although in the end perhaps a pathetic one.
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LibraryThing member japaul22
The Sea, The Sea is a first person narrative in a sort of diary/autobiography form written by Charles Arrowby, a retired theater actor and director. Charles leaves London to move to a seaside town in a decrepit old house. There he meets his long lost high school sweetheart who he seems to have
Charles quickly becomes obsessed with the idea of rescuing Mary, who he insists on calling by her childhood nickname of Hartley (her surname) even though she obviously has never gone by it as an adult, from her abusive husband. Well, abusive from Charles's reading of the situation. It ends up highly questionable who is the more abusive to Mary between Charles and her husband, Ben.
Added in to this volatile situation are a string of house guests who descend upon Charles. There are several of his former lovers, a few theater friends, his cousin James, and Mary's adopted son, Titus, who Charles tries to get close to probably as a way to get closer to Mary.
This was one of those book where I really detested the first person narrator. Charles is a pretty despicable person and treats Mary and his friends abominably. However, Murdoch's writing really saves the book because as much as I disliked Charles I still was pretty fascinated by what he was doing and how he was reacting. I could see through his explanations of his behavior and his pseudo-psychology about his own actions, and I think this was intended by Murdoch. Also, her descriptions of the sea and the other characters through Charles's voice were examples of some truly beautiful writing.
Overall, I come away from this with a similar feeling to reading The Bell, the only other book by Murdoch I've read. I'm intrigued by her writing, but felt that both books had some flaws. Her writing is so surprising, though, and different than what I expect as I'm reading along that I still want to read more of her work. There is something about her books that I really like despite being annoyed at points by both books.
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idolized all his life but lost touch with when she ran away from the prospect of marrying him in their teenage years. Now he happens upon her, probably 40 plus years later, also retired to this seaside town but with her husband. Charles quickly becomes obsessed with the idea of rescuing Mary, who he insists on calling by her childhood nickname of Hartley (her surname) even though she obviously has never gone by it as an adult, from her abusive husband. Well, abusive from Charles's reading of the situation. It ends up highly questionable who is the more abusive to Mary between Charles and her husband, Ben.
Added in to this volatile situation are a string of house guests who descend upon Charles. There are several of his former lovers, a few theater friends, his cousin James, and Mary's adopted son, Titus, who Charles tries to get close to probably as a way to get closer to Mary.
This was one of those book where I really detested the first person narrator. Charles is a pretty despicable person and treats Mary and his friends abominably. However, Murdoch's writing really saves the book because as much as I disliked Charles I still was pretty fascinated by what he was doing and how he was reacting. I could see through his explanations of his behavior and his pseudo-psychology about his own actions, and I think this was intended by Murdoch. Also, her descriptions of the sea and the other characters through Charles's voice were examples of some truly beautiful writing.
Overall, I come away from this with a similar feeling to reading The Bell, the only other book by Murdoch I've read. I'm intrigued by her writing, but felt that both books had some flaws. Her writing is so surprising, though, and different than what I expect as I'm reading along that I still want to read more of her work. There is something about her books that I really like despite being annoyed at points by both books.
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LibraryThing member amerynth
Iris Murdoch's "The Sea, The Sea" is the tale of Charles Arrowby, a narcissistic actor/director who retires to Shruff End, a gloomy seaside home to write his memoirs. His peace and quiet is quickly interrupted by a bevy of girlfriends past, including a chance encounter with Mary Hartley Smith, his
Arrowby is at once smitten and obsessed with Hartley and the book becomes a complicated tangle of jealousy, obsession and possibly even madness. The line between reality and fiction (in Arrowby's world) is so blurred that the book really plunges along moving from the ridiculous to the absurd in an entertaining way.
I liked the book a lot, though I won't say that I loved it. (Reading the first 100 or so pages, I thought this might be a five star book for me... but as the story evolved I saw that it wouldn't be.) I adore Murdoch's writing style. However, as the absurdity and egotism of the narrator builds to a crescendo, the overall story lost a little steam as it stretched the bounds of credibility farther and farther. I still give the book a good, solid thumbs up... just not as enthusiastically as I initially thought it would be.
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first love.Arrowby is at once smitten and obsessed with Hartley and the book becomes a complicated tangle of jealousy, obsession and possibly even madness. The line between reality and fiction (in Arrowby's world) is so blurred that the book really plunges along moving from the ridiculous to the absurd in an entertaining way.
I liked the book a lot, though I won't say that I loved it. (Reading the first 100 or so pages, I thought this might be a five star book for me... but as the story evolved I saw that it wouldn't be.) I adore Murdoch's writing style. However, as the absurdity and egotism of the narrator builds to a crescendo, the overall story lost a little steam as it stretched the bounds of credibility farther and farther. I still give the book a good, solid thumbs up... just not as enthusiastically as I initially thought it would be.
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LibraryThing member k6gst
The morning I finished this book I opened the newspaper to see an appreciation of Murdoch generally and this book specifically by Dwight Garner on the occasion of the centennial of her birth. “[H]er posthumous reputation is in semi-shambles. Many of her novels are out of print. Young people tend
Successful theater director Charles Arrowby retires to a remote house on the north coast of England to write a memoir in solitude. The house is probably haunted, and a giant serpent-like monster rises out of the sea before him. But then something truly disturbing happens: unwanted house guests from his past. It’s never completely clear which of the many people that show up are real or imagined.
Sometimes Iris Murdoch is tough sledding for me, mostly because I don’t have a brain for philosophy. I can only swallow it in a bolus of plot. Oddly, the Murdoch novel I read that was least taxing on me this way was The Philosopher’s Pupil (1983).
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not to have read her. She is seldom taught. Well-thumbed Penguin paperback editions of Murdoch’s novels, foxed and sun-damaged, were once staples of Goodwill stores and other secondhand bookshops. These have largely disappeared, in my experience, from circulation.” Yes, that’s because I have acquired them all.Successful theater director Charles Arrowby retires to a remote house on the north coast of England to write a memoir in solitude. The house is probably haunted, and a giant serpent-like monster rises out of the sea before him. But then something truly disturbing happens: unwanted house guests from his past. It’s never completely clear which of the many people that show up are real or imagined.
Sometimes Iris Murdoch is tough sledding for me, mostly because I don’t have a brain for philosophy. I can only swallow it in a bolus of plot. Oddly, the Murdoch novel I read that was least taxing on me this way was The Philosopher’s Pupil (1983).
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LibraryThing member THEPRINCESS
One of my favorite books of all time. Interesting, twisted, well deserving of the Booker Prize. A frustrated old actor moves to an old house on the sea and thinks he's going to encase himself in a cocoon. But old memories and particularly an old love stir up demented memories and ideas. A page
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turner, for sure. Show Less
LibraryThing member michaelbartley
a very interesting novel. ms. murdoch explores the dark side of love(?) and relationships. the main character in the name of saving his first love, from what he believes is a terrrible marriage is very emotionally abusive. this book remains be of loltia, in that we see the main character in both
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novels as human even though their behavior is abusive Show Less
LibraryThing member monarchi
I read most of The Sea, the Sea on windswept beaches and secluded campsites. The book just exudes a sort of solitary other-worldliness, so the setting was just right. And what a book. First off, let me say that it is magnificently written, an impeccably crafted piece of literature (It won the Man
The Sea, the Sea is the story of a quiet retirement gone horribly wrong. It’s the story of an aging actor/director who, Prospero-like, gives up his magic and artifice in search of tranquility and the simple life. But, while Shakespeare’s play ends with Prospero giving up his magery, Arrowby’s narrative starts there, and he soon finds out just how difficult this is. Even in retirement, Arrowby acts like a puppeteer, pulling strings to manipulate the people in his life. He lives in world of his own imagining that brooks no reality other than his own, a world that’s threatened with collapse when his machinations spiral out of control. In the end, it’s a story about love and attachment, and power of illusion. A fascinating book on its own, and even better, I think, if you know something about Buddhism or Eastern philosophy.
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Booker Prize.) And I loved it like one loves good art. But oh, the pain of reading it! Charles Arrowby, the protagonist, is a misogynistic, deluded, miserable and pompous old man, and since the novel is written in the first person, there’s really no getting away from him. But Murdoch writes guilelessly, making his personality utterly believable. As I was reading, I was caught up in pity, revulsion, compassion, and even glimmers of understanding as the real world fell away and I started to see the world through Charles Arrowby’s eyes.The Sea, the Sea is the story of a quiet retirement gone horribly wrong. It’s the story of an aging actor/director who, Prospero-like, gives up his magic and artifice in search of tranquility and the simple life. But, while Shakespeare’s play ends with Prospero giving up his magery, Arrowby’s narrative starts there, and he soon finds out just how difficult this is. Even in retirement, Arrowby acts like a puppeteer, pulling strings to manipulate the people in his life. He lives in world of his own imagining that brooks no reality other than his own, a world that’s threatened with collapse when his machinations spiral out of control. In the end, it’s a story about love and attachment, and power of illusion. A fascinating book on its own, and even better, I think, if you know something about Buddhism or Eastern philosophy.
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LibraryThing member ecumenicalcouncil
Like all Iris Murdoch's books I just don't know how to describe The Sea The Sea. The story goes nowhere and everywhere. She leaves us feeling as if we have just read something profound without being able to put our finger on what. Unlike the other Murdoch novels I've read this one is told first
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person and takes us into the mind of Charles Arrowby so well we feel as if we've sat down and talked to him. Perhaps that's where the genius of the novel lies. Show Less
LibraryThing member LyzzyBee
Bought late 1980s (?)
A re-read of a favourite Murdoch and it didn't let me down, though it was interesting to read it in the context of our project to read all IM's novels in order as I did pick out a lot of the themes in more detail. I remembered this one well although I did conflate two parts
If you want to read about the effect first, lost love has on a lifetime, or just a cracking good read (not to mention Booker winner) then I recommend this one wholeheartedly.
A re-read of a favourite Murdoch and it didn't let me down, though it was interesting to read it in the context of our project to read all IM's novels in order as I did pick out a lot of the themes in more detail. I remembered this one well although I did conflate two parts
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together. An atmospheric read with beautiful descriptions of the sea and coastline and a plot in which much of the action interestingly took place offstage. James, the mystical cousin, is one of my favourite characters in all of Murdoch, although interestingly when I imagine him and Charles, I swap their physical appearances in my head.If you want to read about the effect first, lost love has on a lifetime, or just a cracking good read (not to mention Booker winner) then I recommend this one wholeheartedly.
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LibraryThing member evilmoose
That Iris Murdoch is certainly great at creating a sense of unease and foreboding. A Booker winner that I really enjoyed.
LibraryThing member kjacobson1
This book sucked me in. I couldn't stop reading, even though Charles Arrowby's obsession with Hartely became annoying. His thoughts show how we can twist any evidence to fit our personal hypotheses. So why did I keep reading? I loved the description of the sea and the house and Charles' food
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preferences and the cars, etc. The plot twists, though extreme, were entertaining. I liked the blend of unusual plot and philosophy. I would have liked to know James better... Show Less
LibraryThing member brentcnall
One of the most memorable and enjoyable books I have EVER read.
LibraryThing member Brasidas
Too much vague writing about emotions and relationships stopped me cold on page 134. Will give it one last try in the hope that it's a momentary lapse. I also don't buy the idea that the narrator, this successful playwright in his 60s, has all these women chasing him in his retirement. Why does it
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ring so false? I've read a lot of British fiction, but maybe this is simply one novel that doesn't travel. Show Less
LibraryThing member LynnB
I really don't know what to make of this book.
Retired actor Charles Arrowby buys a small house on the sea in Southern England, where he plans to write his memoirs. However, his plans are shattered by the discovery that his first love...his one, true love...Hartley is living in the same town. He is
Oh, and there's a sea monster. Maybe.
Somehow the story and characters didn't ring true for me. I wonder if this novel was supposed to be satirical? At the same time, Charles cannot be relied on as a narrator of his own story, so maybe I've missed something that so many others seem to have found in this novel.
It took me a long time to get into it, but the story picked up with time. I especially liked Charles' reflections on what he'd written at the end of the book.
Retired actor Charles Arrowby buys a small house on the sea in Southern England, where he plans to write his memoirs. However, his plans are shattered by the discovery that his first love...his one, true love...Hartley is living in the same town. He is
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certain that she still loves him (despite a total lack of evidence) and plans to rescue her from her bad marriage (as he perceives it). Meanwhile, a number of other friends, relatives and ex-lovers arrive to visit Charles, all trying to talk him out of his delusions.Oh, and there's a sea monster. Maybe.
Somehow the story and characters didn't ring true for me. I wonder if this novel was supposed to be satirical? At the same time, Charles cannot be relied on as a narrator of his own story, so maybe I've missed something that so many others seem to have found in this novel.
It took me a long time to get into it, but the story picked up with time. I especially liked Charles' reflections on what he'd written at the end of the book.
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LibraryThing member nocto
Bizarre! One of those books where you're never quite sure where it's going, or why. On the whole that's a good thing though!
LibraryThing member whitewavedarling
This is an odd and wonderful book. Five pages in, I was enmeshed in the mind of the fascinating narrator and nearly unable to put down this mystery of a book. In a way, it reminds me of Turn of the Screw, and I think fans of either Henry James or Kazuo Ishiguro would do well to explore this book of
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Murdoch's. The prose is delightful, the characters challengingly real, and the book as a whole a journey well worth exploring. I admit that I wanted things to wrap up more neatly by the end, but then, in the end, I believe I am satisfied. I'll be looking up more of Murdoch's work, there's no doubt. Highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member wirkman
Another of this author's magnificent comedies of egoism. The monster ego in this book is the narrator, a retired actor and stage director. He goes to the country, and there discovers his first love. Being the kind of man he is, he kidnaps her.
Enter a dragon, add some mysticism, and heavy doses of
Enter a dragon, add some mysticism, and heavy doses of
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mystery and weirdness, and you have one of Murdoch's best confections, a fiction that packs a wallop. Show Less
LibraryThing member jwhenderson
Some evocative prose from Iris Murdoch. As she explores the potent mixture of power, illusion, and self-delusion in retired actor, playwright, and theater director Charles Arrowby, Murdoch narrates a series of startling events: old love affairs revive and die again, friendships sour into attempted
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murder, hallucinations (or are they?) portend ominous happenings, and the drowning embrace of the sea waits restlessly in the background. An intricate portrait is drawn of a man bewitched and bewildered by his own powers of self-promotion and manipulation. Murdoch is at her best with these characters and the cottage by the sea. Show Less
LibraryThing member Perednia
A rich, full story that appears trivial only on the surface. A novel to read more than once.
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original publication date
1978
Physical description
528 p.; 7.8 inches
ISBN
014118616X / 9780141186160