Wonderful article! The Sea, the Sea is absolutely a masterpiece for me.
I wish someone would reprint her penultimate novel The Green Knight which, although not a masterpiece, I would say is among her best and criminally overlooked.
Thank you! Lovely to find a fellow admirer of The Sea, The Sea. I've read the poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but I haven't read the her novel version. I looked it up and was interested to find it was her second to last, since she has a real catalogue, I'm increasingly interested in comparing them across time. Did you notice any differences in her writing in The Green Knight?
Not at all to be honest, she still seems to be at the height of her powers writing The Green Knight before the drastic change apparent in Jackson’s Dilemma. To me The Green Knight is her last proper novel.
Jackson and The Red and the Green are the only ones I haven’t read yet. I started Jackson about 20 years ago but didn’t get into it. I should probably give it another go one day…
I've never tackled Iris's novels, but I was most interested recently to read Metaphysical Animals, by Clare McCumhaill and Rachel Wiseman, which looks at Murdoch, Mary Midgley, Philippa Foot, and Elizabeth Anscombe - pioneers of mid-twentieth century philosophy, in the age when male 'analytic' dominated the Anglosphere. Well worth a read.
Thank you, Judith! I appreciate the recommendation! I've been working through her book, The Sovereignty of Good, and it would be great to check out an overview of her and other women philosophers of the time. I'll definitely check it out!
I came upon this randomly and just knew the headline would be about A Fairly Honourable Defeat, which coincidentally I’m in the middle of reading. As always, this one is also about terrible people making abundantly varied bad decisions, which I came to love so much in her novels. Great article!
Thank you! I would love to hear what you think when you are done reading. I have some parts that I would sincerely like to gab about. SUCH bad decisions, but also, just you wait.
I finished it and I WISH a I had a bookclub to talk about it. Definitely not a beginner’s Murdoch, her usual tropes are pushed close to the extreme, but I really loved the book overall. It was a little similar in sentiment to The Flight from the Enchanter, except there was no flight, it was a defeat alright. A dark roast Murdoch!
Nice thoughtful article on a particular writer and writing. I will order, The Sea, The Sea. And I'll be sending something along about “What Has Happened To Literary Men."
Right?! I even looked to see if she was on faculty somewhere, often that is a way in to a university email address, but no such luck. I was about to call the admin office of the last place she taught, then I was like....uh, maybe should drop the side quest and keep writing.
Really nice to see Murdoch raised up. I have enjoyed the ones I have read, but it must be said that there is a sameness to them that can be frustrating if you read too many too close together. You hinted at this with the reference to characters and situations, but it really is more like much of the plots and the characters themselves have a degree of interchangeability, because her authorial voice always the only means of access to anyone.
Notably though, she avoids the trap Philip Roth falls into of only being able to depict the world through his own personal viewpoint; she has enough contrariness, imagination, sympathy, split personality, whatever, that her characters, while across books they can blur together, do, within their own stories, cohere as individuals rather than mere authorial impersonations.
Absolutely! I see that sameness too. It reminds me of what Iris said about her process in her Paris Review where she says that all of her books come to her in the same way, "with two or three people in a relationship with a problem." Do you find a difference in some of her later work, the one I'm reading now is The Philosophers Pupil. It feels a little different to me. And I agree about Roth. Loved your insightful comment!
I don't know -- I have to go back and figure out which ones I have actually read. I think that most of what I read was her earlier work, and I've had The Sea on my TBR for a decade now and just somehow never get around to it. Lately have been more strongly tempted for reasons I can't explain.
I should note, too, that I don't have a problem with the sameness except in proximity. Modiano, or to a degree Auster do the same thing, but I find it no impediment to their greatness.
Reasons you can't explain? Love that! So mysterious. The Sea, The Sea was the first of hers that I read, and I think the reason I loved it so much was because of the time in my life, it really helped me gain perspective on a difficult situation.
I have Philosopher's Pupil literally right next to me (about halfway)! One of things I keep thinking about is that sense of obfuscation, how in the youtube vid I mentioned she talked about how literature obscures. It feels like she is developing that even further-I feel that obscurity, bordering on mysticism on every page. Now, The Good Apprentice, I haven't read, I'm a little scared to read them all too fast, I hate the thought of running out. I've learned so much from her. Really looking forward to it though, especially because I want to dig deeper on her thoughts about good and evil. I read The Nice and the Good, and I'm hoping that later book will be a revision, maybe a refinement of those ideas? What did you think of them?
“All of her novels that I have read are about well-off people with obsessive interest in problems they’ve created for themselves.” Thank you for stating this! Because I’ve read and loved so many of her novels without rrallu being able to say what they are about!
Thank you! I'm working on a series about Iris, and lately I'm thinking a bunch about that repetitive feeling that happens in her novels, that sense that they are playing with the same archetypes, the same movement of characters going from inner delusion to an others-centric embrace of reality. Maybe what you were feeling too? I felt it so strongly when I read her debut novel, Under the Net, the whole book, I found the characters so real and their delusions so relatable, but what it was about? What the main characters were doing? Search me *shrug*....but I liked it!
My Iris Murdoch phase came a couple of decades ago and I really should return to her. I loved The Sea, The Sea. My other favorites are Under the Net and A Severed Head. But there are many of her novels I didn't read then.
There are so many, which makes her a wonderful author to go back to. I haven't read A Severed Head, but Under the Net was so great, especially for a debut novel.
Wonderful article! The Sea, the Sea is absolutely a masterpiece for me.
I wish someone would reprint her penultimate novel The Green Knight which, although not a masterpiece, I would say is among her best and criminally overlooked.
Thank you! Lovely to find a fellow admirer of The Sea, The Sea. I've read the poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but I haven't read the her novel version. I looked it up and was interested to find it was her second to last, since she has a real catalogue, I'm increasingly interested in comparing them across time. Did you notice any differences in her writing in The Green Knight?
Not at all to be honest, she still seems to be at the height of her powers writing The Green Knight before the drastic change apparent in Jackson’s Dilemma. To me The Green Knight is her last proper novel.
Okay, see, that is exactly what I was wondering about. I've been thinking I'm going to read Jackson's Dilemma last, have you read that one too?
Jackson and The Red and the Green are the only ones I haven’t read yet. I started Jackson about 20 years ago but didn’t get into it. I should probably give it another go one day…
I've never tackled Iris's novels, but I was most interested recently to read Metaphysical Animals, by Clare McCumhaill and Rachel Wiseman, which looks at Murdoch, Mary Midgley, Philippa Foot, and Elizabeth Anscombe - pioneers of mid-twentieth century philosophy, in the age when male 'analytic' dominated the Anglosphere. Well worth a read.
Thank you, Judith! I appreciate the recommendation! I've been working through her book, The Sovereignty of Good, and it would be great to check out an overview of her and other women philosophers of the time. I'll definitely check it out!
Langer?
I haven't read Philosophy in a New Key, looks amazing. Adding it to my list.
I came upon this randomly and just knew the headline would be about A Fairly Honourable Defeat, which coincidentally I’m in the middle of reading. As always, this one is also about terrible people making abundantly varied bad decisions, which I came to love so much in her novels. Great article!
Thank you! I would love to hear what you think when you are done reading. I have some parts that I would sincerely like to gab about. SUCH bad decisions, but also, just you wait.
I finished it and I WISH a I had a bookclub to talk about it. Definitely not a beginner’s Murdoch, her usual tropes are pushed close to the extreme, but I really loved the book overall. It was a little similar in sentiment to The Flight from the Enchanter, except there was no flight, it was a defeat alright. A dark roast Murdoch!
Once I read under the net by accident.
Accidental reading, common ailment in libraries and bookstores everywhere.
Nice thoughtful article on a particular writer and writing. I will order, The Sea, The Sea. And I'll be sending something along about “What Has Happened To Literary Men."
K.A. is apparently alive but sadly lacking an email address or similar appurtenances.
Right?! I even looked to see if she was on faculty somewhere, often that is a way in to a university email address, but no such luck. I was about to call the admin office of the last place she taught, then I was like....uh, maybe should drop the side quest and keep writing.
I love this. I'm grateful I haven't missed this one, I'll be looking forward reading your novel.
Really nice to see Murdoch raised up. I have enjoyed the ones I have read, but it must be said that there is a sameness to them that can be frustrating if you read too many too close together. You hinted at this with the reference to characters and situations, but it really is more like much of the plots and the characters themselves have a degree of interchangeability, because her authorial voice always the only means of access to anyone.
Notably though, she avoids the trap Philip Roth falls into of only being able to depict the world through his own personal viewpoint; she has enough contrariness, imagination, sympathy, split personality, whatever, that her characters, while across books they can blur together, do, within their own stories, cohere as individuals rather than mere authorial impersonations.
Absolutely! I see that sameness too. It reminds me of what Iris said about her process in her Paris Review where she says that all of her books come to her in the same way, "with two or three people in a relationship with a problem." Do you find a difference in some of her later work, the one I'm reading now is The Philosophers Pupil. It feels a little different to me. And I agree about Roth. Loved your insightful comment!
I don't know -- I have to go back and figure out which ones I have actually read. I think that most of what I read was her earlier work, and I've had The Sea on my TBR for a decade now and just somehow never get around to it. Lately have been more strongly tempted for reasons I can't explain.
I should note, too, that I don't have a problem with the sameness except in proximity. Modiano, or to a degree Auster do the same thing, but I find it no impediment to their greatness.
Reasons you can't explain? Love that! So mysterious. The Sea, The Sea was the first of hers that I read, and I think the reason I loved it so much was because of the time in my life, it really helped me gain perspective on a difficult situation.
I love this. Especially glad to see "against dryness" mentioned.
Thank you! Have you read Robert Louis Stevenson's "On Some Technical Elements of Style in Literature"... another of my favorites!
I have not... will do so! Tell me, what do you think of the big late novels, good Apprentice, Philosophers Pupil?
I have Philosopher's Pupil literally right next to me (about halfway)! One of things I keep thinking about is that sense of obfuscation, how in the youtube vid I mentioned she talked about how literature obscures. It feels like she is developing that even further-I feel that obscurity, bordering on mysticism on every page. Now, The Good Apprentice, I haven't read, I'm a little scared to read them all too fast, I hate the thought of running out. I've learned so much from her. Really looking forward to it though, especially because I want to dig deeper on her thoughts about good and evil. I read The Nice and the Good, and I'm hoping that later book will be a revision, maybe a refinement of those ideas? What did you think of them?
I love them so much and have green knight waiting for me wrote about them a bit here iirc
https://www.commonreader.co.uk/p/iris-murdochs-philosophical-fiction?utm_source=publication-search
Or possibly here
https://www.commonreader.co.uk/p/iris-murdoch-a-novelist-for-now?utm_source=publication-search
OMG, yes! I'm considering doing a little Iris series, so would love to read your thoughts. Can't wait to dig into these. Thank you for the links!
Keep me in the loop very keen to read more
“All of her novels that I have read are about well-off people with obsessive interest in problems they’ve created for themselves.” Thank you for stating this! Because I’ve read and loved so many of her novels without rrallu being able to say what they are about!
Thank you! I'm working on a series about Iris, and lately I'm thinking a bunch about that repetitive feeling that happens in her novels, that sense that they are playing with the same archetypes, the same movement of characters going from inner delusion to an others-centric embrace of reality. Maybe what you were feeling too? I felt it so strongly when I read her debut novel, Under the Net, the whole book, I found the characters so real and their delusions so relatable, but what it was about? What the main characters were doing? Search me *shrug*....but I liked it!
My Iris Murdoch phase came a couple of decades ago and I really should return to her. I loved The Sea, The Sea. My other favorites are Under the Net and A Severed Head. But there are many of her novels I didn't read then.
There are so many, which makes her a wonderful author to go back to. I haven't read A Severed Head, but Under the Net was so great, especially for a debut novel.
Would serve her well if you alluded to her name more often: Iris Murdoch.