Reviews

Elegy for Iris by John Bayley

cindyjac's review against another edition

2.0

This 'elegy' (a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead) certainly is a reflection of a life gone as it tells the story of Iris Murdoch by her husband John Bayley. It rambles around the years circling back to her Alzheimer's disease. For a relatively short book it felt like it would never end.

keight's review against another edition

3.0

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steller0707's review against another edition

5.0

In this poignant memoir, looking back to their meeting, "courtship" and marriage, Bayley eloquently describes his marriage to Iris Murdock as separateness, yet togetherness, each pursuing their illustrious academic careers.  Never overly romantic  but never estranged, it is a comfortable companionship, made up of common interests - a swim in the river ( they take their honeymoon on the continent searching for rivers to swim in, with delightful and comical experiences), radio broadcasts at lunchtime and walks in the spring.  As dimentia sets in, Bayley becomes Iris' sole caretaker. He writes about the delights, anxieties and anger he experiences as she descends into Alzheimer's disease and how it somehow makes them much closer.  His literary style is reflected in the elegantly constructed sentences, and myriad references to authors (many of whom the couple knew personally) and English literature.

novelesque_life's review against another edition

3.0

3 STARS

"A melodious, affecting tribute to one of the greatest writers of her time--now stricken with Alzheimer's disease--by her devoted husband of over forty years "I was living in a fairy story--the kind with sinister overtones and not always a happy ending--in which a young man loves a beautiful maiden who returns his love but is always disappearing into some unknown and mysterious world, about which she will reveal nothing." So writes John Bayley about his wife, Iris Murdoch, considered by many to be one of the greatest living writers in the English-speaking world." (From Amazon)

The reader can feel the love John had for his wife, Iris and respect he had for her not only as a spouse and writer but as a person. A great memoir. I enjoyed the movie as well (Kate Winslet and Judi Dench as Iris).

damsorrow's review

1.0

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nocto's review against another edition

3.0

This is a memoir of Iris Murdoch written by her husband after she's been overtaken by Alzheimer's disease. Judging by the fact that I have Judi Dench on the cover of my copy rather than Iris herself I'm guessing it's been made into a film.

Murdoch was a favourite writer of mine for a long time. That makes it sound like I don't like her any more, I'm sure I do. I just haven't read anything of hers for a long time. Probably because she wrote her last book in 1996ish just before the Alzheimer's diagnosis--I haven't read that one as it seemed to be a sad coda to an illustrious career--and also because I've read most of them already, mostly when I was in college and haven't had much desire to reread them (until now). Anyway, I like her books.

This is a lovely engaging look back over her life intertwined with a look at how the couple cope with her Alzheimer's. It seemed to have a few editing anomalies, e.g. the death of Diana being referred to in a diary entry dated before she died. I enjoyed reading this a lot though, and mostly now I want to seek out any o her books I haven't already read and maybe reread some I have.

eberico's review against another edition

5.0

It's amazing the memories that old reading lists dredge up. I read this for the first time at the laundromat on South Alpine, seated in a hard plastic chair, waiting for polyester work uniforms to dry and trying to tune out the noise of others doing laundry and watching TV.

I suppose these memories are fitting, as much of this memoir involves the day-to-day and the domestic, as [a:John Bayley|21660|John Bayley|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg] remembers his life with [a:Iris Murdoch|7287|Iris Murdoch|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1238673382p2/7287.jpg] once brilliant and vivacious, now reduced to a shadow of her former self by the ravages of Alzheimer's. It's a wonderful and emotional book, and the movie - for which Judi Dench and Kate Winslet earned Oscar nominations and Jim Broadbent won an Oscar - is almost as good.

meganlynae's review against another edition

5.0

I cried. He loved her and he watched her fall apart. My heart broke a little.

lnatal's review

4.0

From IMDb:
True story of the lifelong romance between novelist Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley, from their student days through her battle with Alzheimer's disease.>

Cast:
Kate Winslet ... Young Iris Murdoch
Hugh Bonneville ... Young John Bayley
Judi Dench ... Iris Murdoch
Jim Broadbent ... John Bayley
Penelope Wilton ... Janet Stone

It's curious to see 2 characters from Dowton Abbey, Hugh Bonneviile and Penelope Wilton playing together in this movie. And Kate Winslet and Judi Dench are splendid playing the orle of Iris.

blueeyedshook's review

1.0

Well, being that a movie was made out of this book I thought for sure that meant that it would be a decent book. Unfortunately I was wrong. I mean, come on. Judi Dench. Kate Winslet. Has to be good. Nope. This is a memoir written by the husband of Iris who is a victim of Alzheimer's. I have read memoirs, and I understand that a memoir is usual less captivating than a novel being that it is about someone's real life, but then minus the fact that this is not written by the person whom it is about, and then minus it being written by a terribly boring writer, and then subtract from all of that the fact that it doesn't follow any pattern of life, just tells story inside of another story then skips to a different story before ending that one and gets the reader thoroughly confused... Well, let's just say after all of that subtraction there simply isn't much left. I was sadly disappointed and, as difficult as it is for me to do, put the book `1down before I had completed it. Too many good books, too little time to spend on a disappointing one like this.