Moopy Book Club (April '20): Iris Murdoch - "The Sea, The Sea"

poor, servile Gilbert

James is the perfect anti-character to Charles's jealousy-fuelled, petty antics. what an ugly and sad man
 
Horrible character, the kind that you read and you cringe because you sometimes relate (at least I do) to the things he thinks/says/do.
I love how up until reading the first letter he recieved, when we got to see him from someone else’s perspective, he seemed a totally fine man.
 
Gosh I am struggling with this. I think it’s a quirky, wonderful book and I genuinely enjoy it when I’m reading it and can become immersed in it for long bits of time, but at the same time I just never have the drive to pick it up!

So it’s taking ages.
 
I had the same struggle at first, but once you’re past the first 200 pages it goes down fairly quickly.
 
Gosh I am struggling with this. I think it’s a quirky, wonderful book and I genuinely enjoy it when I’m reading it and can become immersed in it for long bits of time, but at the same time I just never have the drive to pick it up!

So it’s taking ages.

it wasn't a smooth experience for me neither in that sense. it's dense and Charles's self-aggrandizing that goes on for pages and pages is a lot to stomach but Murdoch manages to just about run you dry and then kick you in the head with a twist. it's actually the same experience I've had with some of Mishima's novels, lots of yada yada and BAM, someone is killed with a shovel :disco:
 
Finished this yesterday, and I’m ready to declare it the best novel we’ve had in our book club. It really struck a chord with me; from the almost hypnotic first part where we really only got to take in the scenery, which was the perfect escapist setting (especially considering the current situation we’re in)...anyway to the second part (which came as a total surprise to me as I had no idea what the book would be about) with all its twists and relationship drama; most of it a bit too theatrical and hilarious but still filled with situations where I could identify with almost all characters. The final part was a bit of a let down. I guess the main point with it is to show a more reasonable side of Charles, with more self distance and less delusion, but I would have preferred if the story ended after everybody went back to London.
 

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