Iris Murdoch Books

This is certainly a wierd story. A dominating, rude, destructive Anglican Priest has become an atheist preaching wild sermons to his disturbed and dissappearing parrishoners. Yet his dominance and control keep a solor system of lesser weakling personalities tied to him. Carel's behavior throughout the book is destructive yet his apologist daughter, Muriel, keeps making excuses for him, even when she finds that her invalid cousin, Elizabeth, is actually her father's illegitimate daughter with his sister-in-law and he is having sex with this young sickly woman that he knows is his daughter.

The parrish and parsonage are full of hidden passages and peep holes so that everyone can spy on Carel's misdeeds.

His brother Marcus continues to make contact with Carel, continually is rebuffed, and then thinks he is enlightened by this process by the wise older brother, Carel, who actually could care less whether his younger brother lives or dies.

Interestingly, there is a beautiful young amoral Russian boy, Leo, living in the parsonage with his father,who is just as amoral and is also forgiven because of his youth and beauty. I found it interesting that Murdoch would have the read be repulsed by the older Carel yet forgive the younger Leo, when they are both birds of a feather.

What an odd book!

THE TIME OF THE ANGELS is not one of Murdoch's best-known novels, but it is one of her best and most disturbing. Concentrated largely in a London rectory for a church bombed to smithereens during the last war, the novel is concerend, appropriately enough, with the ways in which people can act in the absence of God. The action of the novel--and much of the character's concerns--revolve upon the strange new rector of the church, Carel, who refuses to see anyone other than his daughter, his ward, and his servants in his new station, and who never leaves the house: the novel creates a wonderfully claustrophic atmosphere within the rectory that seems to anticipate that in the toymaker's house in Angela Carter's subsequent little masterpiece THE MAGIC TOYSHOP. (The hazy wintertime in the London streets of Murdoch's novel also act beautifully to counteract the overheated atmosphere inside the rectory.) Although the novel does not end up with as high a body count as some of Murdoch's other works (such as the Jacobean Gothic THE UNICORN), its concluding events are incredibly bleak--though lightened by some final touches of Murdochian humor.

The happiest moments of a liberal arts education usually take place late in the evening in a dormitory lounge or in a local bistro over several cups of coffee. They're conversations, often between two similarly minded people, that explore a favorite subject. Browsing through Imagining Characters is like lingering in a seat at the next table.

The works selected are an English major's hit list of mainly nineteenth century women's novels. Byatt and Sodre bring their experience as a fiction writer and a clinical psychologist, respectively, to their understandings and develop complementary insights rather than rigorous debates.

This isn't everyone's cup of java. The reader who enjoys this volume probably relishes at least half of the novels discussed, smiles at being called a feminist, and prefers discussion to formal criticism.

This book ranks right up there with my Top Ten All Time Terrible books! I love good writing technique especially coupled with a good story and memorable characters. This book had none of the above. The language was wordy, wandering, and sometimes just plain inane. The story was totally idiotic. The religious, mythological and political references were so obscure and/or muddled they just didn't make any sense or impact. Combine that with the fact that once a symbolic point was started it just died out as in the swan attack. What was the point of bringing it up at all if not to make some juicy story out of it? The characters were equally inane and idiotic. There wasn't one person in this book I even gave a fig about! OK, I DID like the dog, the only one with any sense at all! The names of these people were even annoying! Talk about being lost in a London fog. I had a terrible time getting through this book and only did so because a good friend wanted someone to discuss this book with. That hasn't happened yet. Maybe our discussion will spark some "like". There surely isn't any "like" at this point in time. I consider it just plain weird.

I was excited to read this book for a number of reasons. Murdoch's reputation as a wonderful writer and the brief but interesting synopsis among them. This book was definitely among the worst I have read in a long time. I kept waiting for it to get better, no such luck. It seemed as if Murdoch tried to go to great lengths to develop her characters, to give them depth, but most felt (with maybe the exception of Peter) so self absorbed and shallow that you couldn't really "feel" for them. Save yourself the disappointment.

Iris Murdoch's "The Green Knight" is a rather talky, long book that unfolds sputteringly. That said, the territory she covers and the characters she creates do stay with us. Despite the matrimonial ending of the book, it left me not altogether satisfied, perhaps a modern novel where we see that life has some victories and some defeats and is ultimately imperfect. The book is difficult to begin as Murdoch throws over 11 new characters at you in the first 30 pages. Not only that, but some of them have real names and nick names and place names and dog names and some are dead; so it begins quite puzzling as to who is who, and what the relationships are.

The central image is that of the green knight from King Arthur. We are introduced to glimpses of the mysterious stranger who invades the house (another name) called Clifton and social group that lives and visits there. The 3 daughters are fairly interesting young women, fairly traditional people each with a unique quirk. Moy is the artistic one; Sefton the brain; and Aleph is the beauty. Of course with beautiful young women, there are going to be a swarm of young men. Harvey is one of the most perplexing, injured early in the story, he spends the rest of the novel overcoming the injury and his virginity. Clement is also a quite interesting character, the actor who becomes so wrapped up in events that he doesn't particularly care about acting. I was amazed by his continuing dedication to his brother Lucas who apparently wanted to kill him. It didn't quite make sense to me that he was so oblivious to this bad intent. Lucas was also a puzzle. I thought he would be the villain, but instead Murdoch neutralizes him and then makes him disappear. Peter Mir who comes to have such an impact on the group as the green knight or the golden Buddah, represents justice and enlightenment. He comes into the story late and leaves early; so it is his impact on the group for which Murdoch aims. Other characters are interesting. The gay Bellemy who wants to become a priest has a long correspondence with Father Damian who we come to know only by letter. Bellemy is a character that never seems to find a center of gravity, always looking to someone else for a sense of completion. Louise is the mother who continually predicts that her youngest daughter is going crazy. Anax is a dog who has a life and intelligence all his own. The other smaller characters such as Harvey's mother Joan, Tessa, and Emil swirl about making the story complex, perhaps lifelike.

In the end, these were great characters that I enjoyed sharing time with, but in a rather untidy story with loose threads and unexplained results, somewhat like life. Enjoy!

I have read both the editorial and customer reviews of this novel and admit to being perplexed.

I agree with the reviewer that said the novel was hard to get into....in fact, after falling asleep over the first section several times, I resorted to searching local libraries until I found the audio version of the novel on 16 cassetes! That got me into the story in a flash and then I was hooked....until I got to the numerous fantastical elements of what was already a marginally plausible plot.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Peter Mir and his quest for justice as well as friendship with Lucas' family and friends. I held out hope of Peter's success, but the story that resulted is very far from any I had in my head. I was left shaking my head in dismay.

One of the customer reviews refers to an interview with Iris Murdoch regarding her beginning-middle-ending philosophy of literature. I too would like to have a novel tied up better than many modern novels are, but the ending of this novel is so pat that I keep wondering how she ever got it by her editors. Unlike the customer review that said the ending made him/her feel satisfied, I found the ending so unsatisfying that it altered my overall review of what, until then, had been a delightful, if marginally believable, book to listen to.

It was very helpful to listen to the audio version with a wonderful British reader....just fabulous how the narrator did the voices and conveyed the story as though she knew the characters intimately.

I read the novel for a book club that is yet to meet. It will be interesting to see what this most critical group thinks of it. For my part, although I survived the experience, I would not recommend it except as an audio and, even then, only to a person who can accept a saccharin ending.

Iris Murdoch's compelling next-to-last novel does show some evidence of the Alzheimer's disease that would soon destroy her mental faculties (and would also, if what I've read is right, become considerably more evident in her final novel, "Jackson's Dilemma").

The opening pages are rather strange; she seems to have given up on introducing the characters one or two at a time. It's rather overwhelming to have so many character names and relationships thrown at you so quickly. But stick with it, even if you have to read those first few pages a couple of times. If you do, you will soon find yourself completely caught up in this fascinating and continually surprising story. Here and there are some clumsily phrased and bizarrely punctuated sentences, and there's even a rather odd inconsistency (Murdoch tells us that one character has brown eyes on one page and then he has blue eyes eyes a bit later). Perhaps Murdoch sensed that the end of her career was at hand--after all, she was in her 70s when she wrote this. I can't help but feel that Murdoch's urgent need to tell this story while she still could led her to dispense with polishing it. Despite the sloppiness that is a bit bothersome occasionally, Murdoch's ability to spin a fascinating tale is as strong as ever, perhaps even stronger, and this book very quickly becomes compulsively readable.

Overall, the story couldn't be more typical of Murdoch: A group of well-educated Londoners, most of whom are searching for love or redemption or both, suddenly have to deal with a powerful and charismatic stranger who turns their world upside down. I could go into more detail, but I don't want to spoil it for you. All I will say is that Murdoch's vision seems, in the end, a bit less dark than usual. Redemption really seems possible this time.

This might not be the place to start if you've never read Murdoch before. Better choices might include "A Fairly Honourable Defeat," "The Black Prince," "The Sacred and Profane Love Machine," or "The Book and the Brotherhood." But if you're a Murdoch fan who hasn't read this one yet, it's a must-read.

I am a fan of Iris Murdoch. This is again about relationships with psychological content. A good read

With all the attention given to the life of Iris Murdoch over the last few years, and having become familiar with some of her philosophy, I looked forward to reading my first Murdoch novel. The Good Apprentice kept my attention well enough for me to finish it, hence the three stars. The author's craftsmanship is quite evident but beyond that, I don't know that I could recommend it, particularly as the place for someone to begin reading Murdoch's fiction. My primary reason may seem trite, but I just can't help it. These characters are annoying. Typically, I can find atleast one sympathetic character in a work of fiction. These people basically just got on my nerves. From popmpous and obnoxious to neurotic and self-indulgent, a full spectrum of negative personality traits are portrayed. The multiple plot lines all resolve, but in far too tidy a fashion, and the various resolutions are both annoying and dissapointing, because it's it questionable to me as to to whether anyone experiences any growth. As a reader, you leave the book knowing that Thomas will remain aloof, Midge will remain neurotic, Harry will remain obnoxious, Edward will remain self-indulgent, and Stuart will continue to drift through life trying to figure out how to do some "good". As I said, I will probably give Murdoch another go, and hopefully, I'll find someone among her characters along the way that I might actually relate to or care about.

The Good Apprentice sucked me into reading Iris Murdoch about 20 years ago. I have since worked my way, with immense pleasure, through all her novels. I'm reading GA for the second time, and I find I have less patience now for the long philosophical soliloquies of the characters. But the novel reminds me how well Murdoch indulges her readers' love a good plot and richly imagined and deliciously flawed characters, all revolving around a Great Man, who may not be but probably is somewhat of a charlatan. Reading Murdoch is the best way I know to combine a love of philosophy--and excellent writing--with a hankering for soap opera. GA is a good place to start reading Murdoch (and come back to).

What happens when loving intentions result in disastrous outcomes? Iris Murdoch's, The Good Apprentice, features gothic ancestral dwellings, a trio of eccentric women, peculiar, seedy London séances, modern psychiatry, upper-class contemporary love affairs and infidelity, intense family relationships and questing for worthy missions in order to justify individual lives. I didn't easily breeze through this book neither could I put it down. Murdoch's heavy philosophical background is excruciatingly evident. However, I knew I was in the hands of a great artist when I laughed out loud with delight in passages. I look forward to reading more of her writing.

This is one of the three superb long novels Murdoch published in the second half of the 80s. The characters are brilliantly drawn, especially the psychiatrist Thomas, his friend the ambitious, talented but frustrated Harry Cuno, and Harry's son Stuart, the good apprentice of the title. Underneath the typical Murdochian plot twists, the novel tackles profound themes, including depression and mental illness, guilt and forgiveness, and the impact of technology on human relations. The parts of the novel set in London are stronger than those set in the country. Her genius is fully on display here.

Iris Murdoch's novels are deep and intricate, peopled by complex characters engaged in philosophical struggles, narrated in strong and forthright terms by a writer lovingly in search of human goodness. This recently rediscovered simple short story is pleasantly diverting, but there is nothing in it of the complexity or interest of her later writing, nothing of the dense philosophical discourse which motivates so many of her characters; this is a dated, urban tale of inexperienced love which I, for one, would not have guessed to be by Ms. Murdoch, even at her youngest. It is the lightest of reads, mainly of historical interest to the author's fans, perfect in length and depth for a doctor's waiting-room.

The illustrations add much charm to this exceptionally thin volume.

"Something Special" is a short tale by Iris Murdoch. According to the copyright page, it was first published in 1957. The Norton edition contains illustrations by Michael McCurdy.

This short (55 pages) book tells the story of Yvonne, a young Irish woman who is being pressured by her mother and uncle to settle down and marry. But there is a disconnect between Yvonne's desires and the reality of her life. Towards the beginning of the story her uncle blames this on "the little novels she's for ever reading." As the story unfolds, Yvonne embarks upon a pivotal night on the town with her boyfriend, Sam.

"Something" is an effective character study of a young woman at a transitional phase in her life. Murdoch's prose is as intriguing for what is not said as it is for what is said; she really challenged me to go past the characters' dialogue and to try to understand the unspoken thoughts that lay behind their words and actions. The perception of beauty is also a significant theme in this book.

I have read this novelette as an introduction to the work of Iris Murdoch. Intrigued first by reading her husband's (playwright John Bayley) "Elegy to Iris" and then watching the movie (5 stars for that, as well as for the book), I wanted to read some of her work. I'm not sure that this short piece is the best introduction but it suffices to whet my appetite for more.

Murdoch's writing is spare, clean, skillful. She is short on description, and her dialogue is crisp. Something in that reminds me of Hemingway. He, too, was a master of dialogue that seems to say almost nothing... but just enough to have said a great deal. Murdoch understands well how to allow the reader to fill in the blanks, to read between the lines, to show more than to tell.

The anti-love story of this novelette is one of resignation to the harsh realities of life... one style of it, anyway. Her female character, Yvonne, shows no interest in love, even while her parents give her little peace in reminding her it is time, it is time, a woman must marry. Must she? Yvonne is one of those women who would do better without the institution; for her it is merely one of repression. Her suitor, Sam, however, pursues her in his poetic manner, almost more of a nag than her parents, and throughout the story, Yvonne resists. He whines and wheedles her into following him to a private place where he hopes to win her heart... the results are... hmmm. Are they disastrous? Or are they satisfying? Perhaps it is the reader's perspective on love that will determine that answer.

Michael McCurdy's cover and illustrations (etchings) are as clean and appealing as Murdoch's writing style - a perfect complement.

This is the second historical novel in recent history that covered a period of European history with which I have an inadequate acquaintance. As a device for getting me interested in the period leading up to Irish independence, it succeeded. As a novel, not so much.

An extended Anglo-Irish family living in the vicinity of Dublin on the eve of the Easter Rebellion of 1916 reflects the attitudes and pressures that lead eventually to the cataclysmic events at the Dublin Post Office. Andrew Chase-White, a young officer in the British Cavalry, has been assigned to Dublin, where he has often spent holidays with his extended family and where he has an almost-fiancee. His idolized cousin Patrick Dumay, "the iron man," is secretly a member of the Irish Volunteers and an admirer of Padraig Pearse. His teenaged cousin, hot-headed Cathal, supports the Citizen's Army under James Connolly.

As the action unfolds throughout the week leading to the uprising, the family interacts on several levels, revealing their mores, their dreams for the future of Ireland, their occasional tendency to look for religious significance in political destiny, and their personal hopes and failings. The story of Andrew's chaste courtship of Frances Bellman is thrown into sharp relief through the character of Millicent Kinnard, Andrew's aunt, a flamboyant and overtly sexual woman.

Millie has tempted one relative into abandoning his priestly calling, persuaded another to propose marriage to her as a way of solving her financial problems, and worked her wiles on her chaste young nephews, a generation or more younger than she is. Since she has a peripheral role in the rebellion, Millie, in the absence of a single main character, connects the older and younger generations both socially and politically, acting as a linchpin of the action.

Murdoch's stunning ability to choose precisely the right word or phrase leads to memorable descriptions which enliven the story and bring the large cast of characters to life. Andrew, for example, possesses "plodding conscientiousness," in place of courage. An elderly man's legs are like "solidified paste, rigidly tubular yet without significant shape or color." Physical love is regarded by one person as "the triumph of his will over his fastidious mind."

Murdoch's eccentric characters combine with her sense of irony to create absurdities that are filled with dark humor, and in one memorable scene, the procession in and out of Millie's boudoir (which also serves as a shooting gallery) resembles a slapstick film. Less philosophical, perhaps, than some of Murdoch's later novels, this is the only one which uses Murdoch's native Ireland as the setting. Mary Whipple

The truth is that this book is, while not bad, surely not as good as Murdoch can be. Of course, she was a victim of Alzheimer's, and this was was her last book. But it is important to warn readers to do a deep reading of the literary criticism given to the book. Critics, obviously aware of Murdoch's illness, wanted to be kind - she is a powerhouse of a genius after all. But the book, while engaging, takes a long time to become truly absorbing, and even then, the story's inconsistencies remain and are impossible to ignore. Nonetheless, Jackson's Dilemma is a good read, and I do genuinely appreciate it.

I am sure it wonderful book, but it just was to much for my liking at this point in time in my life.

My dilemma was whether to finish this annoying book or not. My choice was to finish it, hoping it would be redeemed by the clarification of Jackson's Dilemma at last. It was not.

I found the dialogue repetitive, overly sentimental, hard to follow (like very bad stream of consciousness)and the characters, other than Owen and Jackson, uninteresting people with too little to do and too much time to think about it.

There was some plot resemblence to A Midsummer Night's Dream, or A Winter's Tale, but in this book at least, Iris Murdoch is no Shakespeare.

Unfortunately for me, this was my first Iris Murdoch. It will be awhile before I pick up another.

To be fair to Iris Murdoch, I suggest that a first-time Murdoch reader avoid choosing Jackson's Dilemma for a first exposure to Murdoch. Not knowing that this was her last novel I began my Murdoch adventure at a disadvantage. Although I found the novel interesting it was definitely unsatisfying because her concept of Jackson was not well enough developed. In light of recent research regarding the effect of Alzheimers Disease on her writing, I'll certainly read some of her earlier novels.

A perfectly Shakespearian comedy. Three, practically four, weddings like in As You Like It (four) or A Midsummer Night's Dream (three). The threads are so entangled that everyone is about to marry the wrong matches. Luckily some Puck-like Jackson appears in the picture and sets things right, with the help of a twelve-year-old boy.

Iris Mirdoch is quite apt at organizing sentimental suspense, bends and U-turns in the plotline, and at evoking the perverse atmosphere of a place where everything is wrong, the chaotic drama and then the cleansing of the mess and the thoroughly happy atmosphere of the crowning weddings.

Jackson comes from nowhere, has to go no one knows, not even him, where, and is there to sort out odd ends and unmatched couples. He brings the right ones to the right others, and he brings happiness.

But his alter ego is Benet, the wall-named, since his name means « dumb » or even « retarded » meaning late in historical time. He is the one who creates havoc by insisting on some totally wrong unions. This creates a new level of reading. The rich, the upper class, high society, are nothing but the psychiatric ward of the social hospital. They are all spaced out and corrugated, and their treatment comes from a guardian angel who makes them comb out straight their disorderly interlaced hairs.

The end is just mysterious but serene and it shifts from Jackson to the little boy who is understood as the naive Ariel of so many Shakespearian comedies. And we are at the beginning of a new stage, just like the sunshine breaks through after The Tempest.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Iris Murdoch's death is a great loss but she leaves such a wonderful, rich legacy. Jackson's Dilemma is much lighter on philosophy than previous books and is by no means among her stongest (for me, The Unicorn, A Severed Head, The Flight from th Enchanter, but it is hard to select when the picking's are all so ripe). Despite that it is still a good read, particulary for those readers not familiar with Dame Murdoch, and this could, hopefully, lead these readers further into the treasure trove left behind by the very sad passing of the author. All the basic themes and situations that Dame Murdoch likes to play with are in Jackson's Dilemma, from the the antic comings and goings of friends and lovers to the observer who knows something no one else does know. A good read.

Never read Murdoch before, and unfortunately this awful book doesn't seem like the place to have started either. After finishing it, I discovered she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's right after completing the manuscript-which goes a long way toward explaining how such an acclaimed author could produce such a monumentally uninteresting book. Another somewhat telling thing I discovered is that the reviewers of this book seem fairly evenly split between describing it as a comedy and describing it as a mystery, of which it is neither.

The rough gist of the book is that there is a circle of upper-class Brits who have become friends over the years, plus an enigmatic butler/manservant Jackson. One of the circle is to wed another, when complications arise, sending the whole group into a tizzy. Secret longings are revealed, secret pain and guilt expounded on, endless pontificating and empty philosophizing ensure. I suppose it's vaguely reminiscent of Austen, with various upper-class, and poor hanger-on's all repressing themselves until, in an orgy of Shakespearean homage, everyone gets duly paired off with the behind the scenes assistance of Jackson (can you say "Puck"?).

It sounds vaguely enjoyable, but it isn't. First of all, it's not funny in the slightest. Ever. Secondly, as a satire of the upper class it's halfhearted. Yes, they're all self-absorbed idiots in one way or another, requiring the practical blue-collar help of Jackson to put anything right. But it's a very gentle and loving satire, with no teeth whatsoever, and therefore fails to leave an impression. Thirdly, it's not suspenseful in the slightest. For there to be suspense, there must first exist characters that one cares about, and there are none here. There are some things to be curious about (what's Jackson's story), but nothing that is engaging on anything but the most superficial level. Finally, as writing, it's pretty bad. Given the tremendously stilted dialogue, and bizarre repetitions in some passages, one has to assume that Murdoch was beginning to lose the plot already and that no editor dared point out some of the obvious weaknesses.

Best to skip this and concentrate on her earlier work.

My first Iris Murdoch, due to her reputation I expected quality literature,but dear me, it was like reading a mills & boon, such empty boring characters sooo predictable I hope her other books are better & that her reputation is deserved, but I shan't be finding out, there's plenty other fish in the sea. The only reason I gave it 2 stars is for the portrayal of Upper Middle Class English Culture of the 50's YAWN...

I've always liked this novel, though it isn't what I would call Murdoch's best. I found it to be much gentler than her other novels: there isn't any of the astounding weirdness of The Good Apprentice or The Severed Head: no incest, no murder, no wife-swapping.

As a result, it is an interesting novel to read for the change of pace it offers in the body of her work. It offers perhaps a subtler take on repeated Murdochian themes of betrayl and alienation--artistic, intellectual, marital, sexual, and so forth.

I have always wondered why A.S. Byatt chose to highlight The Sandcastle in her book about women's writing _Imagining Characters_; perhaps Byatt sees some of the same qualities in the story that I do.