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A review by inoirita
The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch
5.0
When I started reading The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch, I was kind of intimidated because the pressure of reading a booker prize winner is daunting. But as I embarked on the journey of reading my first Murdoch, what came before me was a complex anatomy of the human psyche delineated with magnificent story telling.
Our protagonist is Charles Arrowby, a retired famous face from the London theatre scene, who decides to come to the countryside to celebrate the quietness after an affluent career. He founds abode in a peculiar house in the coast which is devoid of the modern conveniences of living and strives to spend the remaining of his days by eating simple meals, swimming in the sea and an attempt to write his autobiography.
He lets his experiences in life flow over with his writing, he writes about his childhood and adolescence where his humble parents tried to give him the best opportunities and their fiddly but amicable relationship with his aunt, uncle and their son, James. In his relationships with women Charles is rather unlikeable in the eyes of the reader. His relationship with an older actress in the theatre makes him look like a benefactor who credits his former beloved thanking for the life experiences. He was callous in seducing the wife of a friend just for the sake of his escapades. Even currently he is dodging the attempts to get in touch of a young actress just for the sake of tormenting her.
Charles Arrowby is not a likeable character. But, there was this instant of his life where his childhood love leaves him and marries someone else. Even if this isn’t a valid excuse for agonising women for the rest of his life, he thinks this was the incident that changed him for life. He became averse to the concept of marriage or finding a true partner.
Once the reader gets an idea of where Charles is as a person, the story unfolds and the events started happening. They are extremely implicating as the visions of his past keep on haunting him. From betrayed friends to revenge hungry lovers and estranged family, it all comes back to him. To spice it up, even his first flame stuck in an unhappy marriage comes into the picture as well.
Murdoch’s writing is strange, which will question the reader if demons, magic or even true love are real. It does have its odd humour and gothic intrigue splashed across it along with the sudden elements of a thriller into the bargain. The Sea, as per the title plays a crucial role in the story, it changes its moods and portrays a different picture to Charles every time he turns to the divine for a sign. The Sea is a character herself, maybe the most volatile of them all. At times the story gets very enervating, like the last string that is not letting you throw away the book but at the end it makes its peace or rather makes the reader accept the absence of peace. The Sea, The Sea is Murdoch’s fourth book to make into the Booker shortlist, if ornate prose and a question mark to your sanity is what plugs the deal of a book for you, this is a masterpiece that demands definite exploration.
Our protagonist is Charles Arrowby, a retired famous face from the London theatre scene, who decides to come to the countryside to celebrate the quietness after an affluent career. He founds abode in a peculiar house in the coast which is devoid of the modern conveniences of living and strives to spend the remaining of his days by eating simple meals, swimming in the sea and an attempt to write his autobiography.
He lets his experiences in life flow over with his writing, he writes about his childhood and adolescence where his humble parents tried to give him the best opportunities and their fiddly but amicable relationship with his aunt, uncle and their son, James. In his relationships with women Charles is rather unlikeable in the eyes of the reader. His relationship with an older actress in the theatre makes him look like a benefactor who credits his former beloved thanking for the life experiences. He was callous in seducing the wife of a friend just for the sake of his escapades. Even currently he is dodging the attempts to get in touch of a young actress just for the sake of tormenting her.
Charles Arrowby is not a likeable character. But, there was this instant of his life where his childhood love leaves him and marries someone else. Even if this isn’t a valid excuse for agonising women for the rest of his life, he thinks this was the incident that changed him for life. He became averse to the concept of marriage or finding a true partner.
Once the reader gets an idea of where Charles is as a person, the story unfolds and the events started happening. They are extremely implicating as the visions of his past keep on haunting him. From betrayed friends to revenge hungry lovers and estranged family, it all comes back to him. To spice it up, even his first flame stuck in an unhappy marriage comes into the picture as well.
Murdoch’s writing is strange, which will question the reader if demons, magic or even true love are real. It does have its odd humour and gothic intrigue splashed across it along with the sudden elements of a thriller into the bargain. The Sea, as per the title plays a crucial role in the story, it changes its moods and portrays a different picture to Charles every time he turns to the divine for a sign. The Sea is a character herself, maybe the most volatile of them all. At times the story gets very enervating, like the last string that is not letting you throw away the book but at the end it makes its peace or rather makes the reader accept the absence of peace. The Sea, The Sea is Murdoch’s fourth book to make into the Booker shortlist, if ornate prose and a question mark to your sanity is what plugs the deal of a book for you, this is a masterpiece that demands definite exploration.