The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 8 October 1999
by Iris Murdoch
Lucas and Clement are half-brothers. Their youth was plagued with jealousy and violence. Now, as adults, they're mature enough to have an adult relationship. Or are they? Shadowy incidents cloud their relationship, and drag innocent strangers into their world of moral ambiguity. This wouldn't, however, be an Iris Murdoch novel without a large circle of friends and relatives. She was a master of creating crowds of interrelated characters. There is a family of women, casting a spell over several different men. And there is Bellamy, a confused man desperate for spiritual awakening. Into this circle, quite accidentally, falls Peter Mir, a mysterious man with curious motivating power over the others. This was one of Murdoch's last books. As such, it illustrates a curious atmosphere of disconnection. These people seem to float above the normal world of London in the nineties. They are an intellectual crowd, given to long moral conversations. What they say would sound curious in a "normal" person's conversation. Yet, the book carries a certain power. There's nothing trivial about this story and its parallels to the ancient tale of the Green Knight. Murdoch's theme is nothing short of morality and happiness in an arbitrary world. In the end, while much of what happens bears an ominous weight, the book ends with an odd glow of hope.
Also by Murdoch: [The Sandcastle] [The Flight from the Enchanter] [An Accidental Man]