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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
The problem with this book is that Iris Murdoch writes an unsympathetic, dull, egotistical mysogynist rather too well, in too much detail. I am not one to need sympathetic characters, but I do need interesting ones, especially in a first person novel of over five hundred pages. I made it to page two hundred and, well, it's not terrible, but I couldn't find reasons to continue.
dark
emotional
reflective
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
A long, and weird book filled with people I didn’t actually like except one who really figured into the last quarter of the book. Lots of stars, sea, details about anchovy toast , and drama. But I kind of loved the weirdness .
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found this both terrifying and hilarious
I've had The Sea, The Sea on my radar for a looong time, years and years, mainly because the title stuck in my head and wouldn't budge. Somehow I ended up with a lot of preconceptions about this book but other than really beautiful descriptions of water, none of them were accurate. I think I was expecting something vaguely dreamy and ethereal, but The Sea, The Sea is grounded firmly in reality.
Murdoch does character studies wonderfully. She records almost every detail of the minutiae of life until it feels like we're following along in real time, but whilst in unskilled hands this would be a huge slog, Murdoch turns the mundane ins and outs of everyday living into something fascinating.
These are the notes I jotted down as I was reading:
egotist
misogynist
fantasist
bully
unreliable
weirdly focused on food
rose coloured glasses of first love
Hartley clearly has mental issues
justification of others' actions in his favour
obsessive
writing a memoir/autobiography
self declared Prospero
self absorbed
manipulative
ignorant of his own motivations
Despite all that, Murdoch managed to make me empathise with and feel sorry for this character by the end of the book. Her writing is addictive and I did not want to stop reading, though I found myself often questioning exactly why that was. I am head over heels, and really looking forward to reading more.
Murdoch does character studies wonderfully. She records almost every detail of the minutiae of life until it feels like we're following along in real time, but whilst in unskilled hands this would be a huge slog, Murdoch turns the mundane ins and outs of everyday living into something fascinating.
These are the notes I jotted down as I was reading:
egotist
misogynist
fantasist
bully
unreliable
weirdly focused on food
rose coloured glasses of first love
Hartley clearly has mental issues
justification of others' actions in his favour
obsessive
writing a memoir/autobiography
self declared Prospero
self absorbed
manipulative
ignorant of his own motivations
Despite all that, Murdoch managed to make me empathise with and feel sorry for this character by the end of the book. Her writing is addictive and I did not want to stop reading, though I found myself often questioning exactly why that was. I am head over heels, and really looking forward to reading more.
Meandered a bit too much for me in places, though I understand why the author did it. I am always amazed by Iris Murdoch's ability to nail a male perspective, and explore the creepy, dark, manipulative and nasty thoughts and how a person justifies them self as a good person while acting extremely selfishly.