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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A long philosophical novel about human feeling and relationships. Some Shakespeare and Homeric elements.
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
hmmm.!!!! The ending is forcing me to really sit and think, which is a good thing
dark
funny
reflective
sad
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
The common trajectory through an Murdoch novel is one of complete darkness into light. The analogy that animates to mind for this novel is when you know there is an eyelash stuck in your eye. You feel it below your eye lid so at first you pretend it does not bother you; I simply did not care for Bradley at the beginning. As time passes the painfully acknowledgement of the lashes in your eyes makes the world seem unbearable (some might even consider death!); All his orbiting peripheral characters were painstaking drawn out to bring to life. Then by some miracle, finally you pull it the lash out and the world seems to bursting with colour and you never felt more alive; at quiet interval of this novel, it almost felt like Bradley himself had cast a spell over me, this novel with all its characters bewitched me and it became all I could think about.
That is all to say, Murdoch's talent shines as brightly in this novel as the sea the sea, no doubt she is a master of prose and storytelling. The philosophical dimension of her work develop organically within her culture test of Bradley. Ideas of love, betrayal, art and martyrdom (as Bradley calls it) are explored so delicately its depths sees no end. This novel is an amazing showcase of the best of Iris's work;
'Love is history, is dialectic, it must move'
'I was that sword of agony, I was that pain. I was in an arena, surrounded by thousands of grimacing nodding faces, where I had been condemned to death by pure sound. I was. to be killed by the whistling of birds and buried in a pit of velvet'
'Her love for me was an absolute word spoken. It belongs to the eternal. I cannot doubt that word, it is the logos of all being, and if she loves me not chaos is come again. Love is knowledge, you see, like the philosophers always told us. I know her by intuition as if she were here inside my head'
'I've never given myself away before, Francis, never gambled myself absolutely. I've been a timid frightened man all my life. Now I know what it's like to be beyond fear. I'm where greatness lives now. I've handed myself over. And yet it's like being under discipline too. I haven't any choice. I love, I worship and I shall be rewarded'
I believe these passages will stay with me a long time, and if you haven't read Murdoch yet... you must. ( the sea the sea is still her reigning champion)
That is all to say, Murdoch's talent shines as brightly in this novel as the sea the sea, no doubt she is a master of prose and storytelling. The philosophical dimension of her work develop organically within her culture test of Bradley. Ideas of love, betrayal, art and martyrdom (as Bradley calls it) are explored so delicately its depths sees no end. This novel is an amazing showcase of the best of Iris's work;
'Love is history, is dialectic, it must move'
'I was that sword of agony, I was that pain. I was in an arena, surrounded by thousands of grimacing nodding faces, where I had been condemned to death by pure sound. I was. to be killed by the whistling of birds and buried in a pit of velvet'
'Her love for me was an absolute word spoken. It belongs to the eternal. I cannot doubt that word, it is the logos of all being, and if she loves me not chaos is come again. Love is knowledge, you see, like the philosophers always told us. I know her by intuition as if she were here inside my head'
'I've never given myself away before, Francis, never gambled myself absolutely. I've been a timid frightened man all my life. Now I know what it's like to be beyond fear. I'm where greatness lives now. I've handed myself over. And yet it's like being under discipline too. I haven't any choice. I love, I worship and I shall be rewarded'
I believe these passages will stay with me a long time, and if you haven't read Murdoch yet... you must. ( the sea the sea is still her reigning champion)
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense