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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
The first 3/4 was SLOW and the last 1/4 was good. No one in the book was happy, least of all Dora and Paul.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a good one!
New vocabulary that stuck with me: rebarbative (unattractive or objectionable, rather like beards, no? easy to remember...), and animadverted (I noticed, as women tend to do...).
Dora was such a character... She was flighty and unfaithful, but also lovable, in a way. I loved her noticing the Red Admiral on the train and awkwardly saving him in her palm. Her moments were often like that, awkward, naive, but without malice most of the time.
I found Paul rather a hoot in his dialogue. At times I wondered how much of his violence Dora said she fears is really just his cool and cruel tongue: "No, don't paw me. I'm not sexually attracted to you at this moment. I sometimes wonder if I ever will be again." And... "How absolutely not enough that is!" I liked his hot tempered character.
The novel is much about religion, and sex, and how the two often don't get along, which brings me to Michael. His homosexuality and his religion are a large part of this novel, and what turns it into more of a tragedy. "It was complicated. For himself, God had made him and he did not think that God had made him a monster." (190).
I'll just leave with this last quote I liked:
"But even this did not diminish his enjoyment: to know clearly what you surrender, what you gain, and to have no regrets; to revisit without envy the scenes of a surrendered joy, and to taste it ephemerally once more, with a delight undimmed by the knowledge that it is momentary, that is happiness, that surely is freedom." (138).
New vocabulary that stuck with me: rebarbative (unattractive or objectionable, rather like beards, no? easy to remember...), and animadverted (I noticed, as women tend to do...).
Dora was such a character... She was flighty and unfaithful, but also lovable, in a way. I loved her noticing the Red Admiral on the train and awkwardly saving him in her palm. Her moments were often like that, awkward, naive, but without malice most of the time.
I found Paul rather a hoot in his dialogue. At times I wondered how much of his violence Dora said she fears is really just his cool and cruel tongue: "No, don't paw me. I'm not sexually attracted to you at this moment. I sometimes wonder if I ever will be again." And... "How absolutely not enough that is!" I liked his hot tempered character.
The novel is much about religion, and sex, and how the two often don't get along, which brings me to Michael. His homosexuality and his religion are a large part of this novel, and what turns it into more of a tragedy. "It was complicated. For himself, God had made him and he did not think that God had made him a monster." (190).
I'll just leave with this last quote I liked:
"But even this did not diminish his enjoyment: to know clearly what you surrender, what you gain, and to have no regrets; to revisit without envy the scenes of a surrendered joy, and to taste it ephemerally once more, with a delight undimmed by the knowledge that it is momentary, that is happiness, that surely is freedom." (138).
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm sure much of the religious commentary in this book went a little over my head, but I enjoyed this nevertheless and struggled to put it down. Very atmospheric, with a surprising plot and downright hateful, nay, rebarbative characters.
I don't even know what to say. This is a perfect novel to me. I absolutely love Murdoch.