Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Penguin Books (1989), Paperback, 624 pages
Description
A story about love and friendship and Marxism Many years ago Gerard Hernshaw and his friends "commissioned" one of their number to write a political book. Time passes and opinions change. "Why should we go on supporting a book which we detest?" Rose Curtland asks. "The brotherhood of Western intellectuals versus the book of history," Jenkin Riderhood suggests. The theft of a wife further embroils the situation. Moral indignation must be separated from political disagreement. Tamar Hernshaw has a different trouble and a terrible secret. Can one die of shame? In another quarter a suicide pact seems the solution. Duncan Cambus thinks that since it is a tragedy, someone must die. Someone dies. Rose, who has gone on loving without hope, at least deserves a reward.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member LyzzyBee
30 Dec 1990
I knew this was one of my favourite Murdochs, but couldn't remember why, past Gerard's magnificently described parrot, Grey. Well, there are pretty well the only two scenes in Murdoch to bring a tear to my eye... one of my favourite characters in all of her works, Jenkin Riderhood, a
This is Murdoch at the height of her powers still; an engaing, absorbing read with a wonderful cast of characters, some great set-pieces, a good cat, a marvellous parrot and a book you can't put down, even though it's 600 pages long.
I knew this was one of my favourite Murdochs, but couldn't remember why, past Gerard's magnificently described parrot, Grey. Well, there are pretty well the only two scenes in Murdoch to bring a tear to my eye... one of my favourite characters in all of her works, Jenkin Riderhood, a
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discussion of what happens when a group of friends who set up a fund to support the writing of a Marxist tome turn away from the extreme left and, indeed, the author, and beautifully-realised portraits of the subtleties of friendship as well as of marriage.This is Murdoch at the height of her powers still; an engaing, absorbing read with a wonderful cast of characters, some great set-pieces, a good cat, a marvellous parrot and a book you can't put down, even though it's 600 pages long.
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LibraryThing member Arctic-Stranger
What happens when you change your beliefs, but don't let your practices catch up? This is a typical Murdoch novel, in that the major characters have significant relationship issues. At times (like the winter visit) the novel feels warm and cosy, but also at times frightening. Basically a group of
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college mates are supporting someone who will write The Book critiqueing society. Of course as the years progress they discover that they are all now heavily integrated into that society, and the person who is chosen to write it will never finish it, and is dangerous as well. Show Less
LibraryThing member libraryhermit
Yes, my alumni association calls every year and I even gave some money one time. I know I should give more. But here is a story about a group of students who still associate with each other 20 or 30 years after they finished school. It's dreadful. They should probably just break up the association
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and rely only on new alliances or on their families for meaning and socializing. My alumni journal always shows all the people who became famous in their fields. But what about all the people who went on to become crashing mediocrities in their field, or who, after becoming crashing mediocrities in their field, decided to ditch it entirely and get some mundane clerical job. This book touches on that subject, thank God. Because that is more about what my life is actually like. Thank you, Iris. Show Less
LibraryThing member LyzzyBee
30 Dec 1990
I knew this was one of my favourite Murdochs, but couldn't remember why, past Gerard's magnificently described parrot, Grey. Well, there are pretty well the only two scenes in Murdoch to bring a tear to my eye... one of my favourite characters in all of her works, Jenkin Riderhood, a
This is Murdoch at the height of her powers still; an engaing, absorbing read with a wonderful cast of characters, some great set-pieces, a good cat, a marvellous parrot and a book you can't put down, even though it's 600 pages long.
I knew this was one of my favourite Murdochs, but couldn't remember why, past Gerard's magnificently described parrot, Grey. Well, there are pretty well the only two scenes in Murdoch to bring a tear to my eye... one of my favourite characters in all of her works, Jenkin Riderhood, a
Show More
discussion of what happens when a group of friends who set up a fund to support the writing of a Marxist tome turn away from the extreme left and, indeed, the author, and beautifully-realised portraits of the subtleties of friendship as well as of marriage.This is Murdoch at the height of her powers still; an engaing, absorbing read with a wonderful cast of characters, some great set-pieces, a good cat, a marvellous parrot and a book you can't put down, even though it's 600 pages long.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bodachliath
This is one of Iris Murdoch's most complex and philosophical novels, and is full of her trademark humour and quirky plot twists, a many layered narrative which covers a multitude of ideas. Very enjoyable, but probably not the easiest of her books to start with.
LibraryThing member louis69
I read this Murdoch immediately after having finished reading The Seed Collectors by Scarlett Thomas. It was such a relief to feel that I could relate to the characters. In some senses the book is dated, but then so is Dickens. However it seemed in the end that Crimond and Duncan got off scot free
I guess the key to this book is that explores the nature of friendship and love.
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both being implicated in the death of Jenkin.I guess the key to this book is that explores the nature of friendship and love.
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LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
I first read this novel some thirty odd years ago, shortly after it was published. At that point I hadn’t read anything else by Iris Murdoch, and had picked it up on the basis of a newspaper review and a recommendation from Lucy, the manager of the old branch of Dillons in Covent Garden who had
Lucy spoke with straight tongue, and I remember being enthralled as I slowly worked my way through it. (It is a large book and Iris Murdoch’s writing, while rewarding to the reader, is never quickly consumed.) I recently had a conversation about Iris Murdoch with one of my colleagues, who suggested that this book was probably her finest. Having always been an advocate of [The Sea, The Sea] as one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century, I felt that I had better revisit it to see what I thought.
I have recently been very disappointed when returning to reread favourite novels from the past. No such worries on this occasion. It remains, of course, a substantial read, and it has taken me a long time, but the complexities of the plot and the depth of detail in the characterisation amply compensate the reader for their effort.
As with so many of Iris Murdoch’s novels, the characters live in a strange world, slightly removed from the ordinary cut and thrust of life, and operate with a dense maelstrom of moral conflict. This book opens at a Commem Ball at an unspecified Oxford College, attended by a group of alumni and their friends, all of whom are stunned by the revelation that David Crimond, formerly of their ‘set’ is also there. We then learn that some thirty odd years ago, following their graduation, the group of friends had been deeply committed to left wing politics. Within their group, these views were most clearly and passionately articulated by Crimond, who went on to enjoy a certain notoriety as a Marxist campaigner and agitator. The group of friends had undertaken to support him in the writing of a book that would synthesis his views into a new Marxist manifesto. This undertaking became known as the Crimondgesellschaft, modelled on the Musilgesellschaft which supported Robert Musil throughout the writing of his [The Man Without Qualities] series of novels.
As time wore on, the group became estranged from Crimond and his views. Their political inclinations mellowed while his remained firm. Despite this estrangement, they had continued to fund the research and writing of his book, although they became increasingly alarmed about what form it might take.
Their estrangement was bot, however, solely a consequence of the divergence of their respective political ethos. Some years before the novel opens, Crimond had had an affair with the wife of one of the group. While she had subsequently returned to her husband, the bitterness that this had caused seemed almost insuperable. His entirely unforeseen emergence at the College Ball sends reverberations through the group, with devastating effects.
While most of the novel attends to the interactions between the various members of the group, whose relationships are certainly intricate and unconventional, there are some key crisis points, where it seems as if Iris Murdoch has suddenly slipped a gear or switched on the overdrive, with the novel suddenly lurching to a completely new level. There are some quite shocking incidents, too, yet while they come as a surprise at the time, they fit entirely into the greater scheme of the novel.
I believe that iris Murdoch wrote all her novels by hand, in a series of exercise books, and that they seldom required any significant editorial reorganisation. For a novel as complex as this, that must have been an awesome feat of mental discipline. She was, of course, first and foremost an academic, engaged throughout her career at Oxford in the study of philosophy. always denied that her novels were works of philosophy, but I am not convinced of that. This one fairly crackles with philosophical dialogue and exploration, although divining which views were most closely aligned with her own would be more of a challenge than I would care to take on.
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the most amazing green eyes, and could easily have persuaded me to buy virtually anything, or even everything, in the shop.Lucy spoke with straight tongue, and I remember being enthralled as I slowly worked my way through it. (It is a large book and Iris Murdoch’s writing, while rewarding to the reader, is never quickly consumed.) I recently had a conversation about Iris Murdoch with one of my colleagues, who suggested that this book was probably her finest. Having always been an advocate of [The Sea, The Sea] as one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century, I felt that I had better revisit it to see what I thought.
I have recently been very disappointed when returning to reread favourite novels from the past. No such worries on this occasion. It remains, of course, a substantial read, and it has taken me a long time, but the complexities of the plot and the depth of detail in the characterisation amply compensate the reader for their effort.
As with so many of Iris Murdoch’s novels, the characters live in a strange world, slightly removed from the ordinary cut and thrust of life, and operate with a dense maelstrom of moral conflict. This book opens at a Commem Ball at an unspecified Oxford College, attended by a group of alumni and their friends, all of whom are stunned by the revelation that David Crimond, formerly of their ‘set’ is also there. We then learn that some thirty odd years ago, following their graduation, the group of friends had been deeply committed to left wing politics. Within their group, these views were most clearly and passionately articulated by Crimond, who went on to enjoy a certain notoriety as a Marxist campaigner and agitator. The group of friends had undertaken to support him in the writing of a book that would synthesis his views into a new Marxist manifesto. This undertaking became known as the Crimondgesellschaft, modelled on the Musilgesellschaft which supported Robert Musil throughout the writing of his [The Man Without Qualities] series of novels.
As time wore on, the group became estranged from Crimond and his views. Their political inclinations mellowed while his remained firm. Despite this estrangement, they had continued to fund the research and writing of his book, although they became increasingly alarmed about what form it might take.
Their estrangement was bot, however, solely a consequence of the divergence of their respective political ethos. Some years before the novel opens, Crimond had had an affair with the wife of one of the group. While she had subsequently returned to her husband, the bitterness that this had caused seemed almost insuperable. His entirely unforeseen emergence at the College Ball sends reverberations through the group, with devastating effects.
While most of the novel attends to the interactions between the various members of the group, whose relationships are certainly intricate and unconventional, there are some key crisis points, where it seems as if Iris Murdoch has suddenly slipped a gear or switched on the overdrive, with the novel suddenly lurching to a completely new level. There are some quite shocking incidents, too, yet while they come as a surprise at the time, they fit entirely into the greater scheme of the novel.
I believe that iris Murdoch wrote all her novels by hand, in a series of exercise books, and that they seldom required any significant editorial reorganisation. For a novel as complex as this, that must have been an awesome feat of mental discipline. She was, of course, first and foremost an academic, engaged throughout her career at Oxford in the study of philosophy. always denied that her novels were works of philosophy, but I am not convinced of that. This one fairly crackles with philosophical dialogue and exploration, although divining which views were most closely aligned with her own would be more of a challenge than I would care to take on.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ivanfranko
Excellent read. Oxford friends enact their imagined worlds with devastating consequences. Murdoch grabs your interest with an exacting dissection of the motivations behind what we do and the way we see ourselves.
All the wonderful Murdoch touches are here; descriptions of clothes, meals and
She's a genius.
All the wonderful Murdoch touches are here; descriptions of clothes, meals and
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furniture, and even notes that one of the characters has gone to Harrods to buy some Egyptian cotton sheets. She's a genius.
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Awards
Booker Prize (Longlist — 1987)
Language
Original publication date
1987
Physical description
624 p.; 5.04 inches
ISBN
0099433540 / 9780099433545