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rebeccajolive 's review for:
The Sea, the Sea
by Iris Murdoch
Like The Wreck, I jumped into this book knowing nothing about it. Murdoch eases us into the story, building tension over time, and establishing a relationship with the protagonist and narrator, Charles Arrowby. It’s quickly revealed that he is an arrogant, self important man, who believes so fully that he has the right of how to live in the world. You can feel the charisma and charm that mesmerises so many, while at the same time fully understanding why the locals in his new coastal village shun and laugh at him - his glamour has no effect on them.
As a character, Arrowby is a proper villain in the way of Heathcliffe. He actively attempts to destroy lives at his pleasure. Like Heathcliffe, Arrowby’s attitude comes from spurned love, from a woman who’s memory and sense of fateful attachment to, he can’t let go of. Unlike Heathcliffe, he does not build a life around hers but instead chances across her later in his life.
The horror of his treatment of Hartley kept me up at night, reading through his manipulations and entrapment. His actions are cruel and abusive (as is the complicity of his friends!). I wonder if now this book could be written? If this story would be possible to tell in this way? I doubt it. I mean, it shocks me it could be written in the mid-late 70s!
This is a book I will think about for many years to come and Arrowby is a level of villain it will be hard to find competitors for.
As a character, Arrowby is a proper villain in the way of Heathcliffe. He actively attempts to destroy lives at his pleasure. Like Heathcliffe, Arrowby’s attitude comes from spurned love, from a woman who’s memory and sense of fateful attachment to, he can’t let go of. Unlike Heathcliffe, he does not build a life around hers but instead chances across her later in his life.
The horror of his treatment of Hartley kept me up at night, reading through his manipulations and entrapment. His actions are cruel and abusive (as is the complicity of his friends!). I wonder if now this book could be written? If this story would be possible to tell in this way? I doubt it. I mean, it shocks me it could be written in the mid-late 70s!
This is a book I will think about for many years to come and Arrowby is a level of villain it will be hard to find competitors for.