Notes to self

1. I read a book a couple of weeks ago. It turned out to be about Alzheimer’s.

2. I cannot remember the title or the story of note #1.

3. I read another book last week. It turned out to have a character who suffered from dementia.

4. I cannot remember that title or story either, as in note #3.

5. The current author developed Alzheimer’s.

Review

A short and captivating tale that occurs in Northern England.

Murdoch was a well-established, honored, and prolific author. She wrote exquisitely. And now she is deceased.

This story is narrated by a solitary man in his 30s or 40s, who is unaware of what he lacks but harbors a sense of emptiness.

He reestablishes a connection with his brother and his brother’s dysfunctional household. It is meant to be a temporary visit. Their mother, despised by both sons, has passed away, and the story commences at the mother’s funeral.

A beautiful and realistic account that hits all the right chords for this reader. It contains philosophy, irony, miscommunications among its characters, love, reflection, redemption, loss, interesting dialogue, empathy or the lack thereof, compromise, some angst and tension, trials between family members, the intrusion of outsiders, the casual assaults by youth, and more.

Recommended for those of us who recognize our fragmented lives.

Any further questions will not be answered by this reader, who will have forgotten the story momentarily.

Murdoch is truly at her best in this work. The story she weaves is sometimes deeply disturbing, delving into the darkest corners of the human psyche. It makes you question your own beliefs and values. However, despite the discomfort it may cause, you simply can't wait to see what's next. The anticipation builds with each passing page, drawing you further into the narrative. Murdoch's writing is so engaging and masterful that you become completely immersed in her world. You find yourself on the edge of your seat, eager to discover the next twist and turn. It's a testament to her talent as a writer that she can create such a powerful and captivating story that keeps you hooked from beginning to end.

This is definitely not my type of literature.

In just 20 - 30 pages, all kinds of events occur, and mental metamorphoses unfold over days, with repentance, desires, and emotions transitioning from one infinity to another.

It is so unjustified that it is extremely annoying.

In no way do the psychological images of the heroes match their actions and emotions.

It's a confusing work.

Soon, I won't read anything by Murdoch anymore.

The story seems to lack a clear direction and the characters' behaviors and emotions are not well-developed or consistent.

The pacing is also rather odd, with events happening too quickly or too slowly at times.

Overall, it fails to engage me on an emotional or intellectual level.

I hope to find better works of literature that can truly touch my heart and make me think deeply.

My third Iris Murdoch book has been an interesting read.

So far, I've noticed certain recurring elements in each of her books.

First, the main character is often a slightly defeated middle-aged and middle-class man. Murdoch has a remarkable ability to bring these characters to life, making them relatable and complex.

Second, the family in her stories is usually a complete mess. Each member has their own unique brand of insanity and dysfunction, which adds depth and drama to the narrative.

Third, there is a constant struggle with desire and deep emotional needs that the characters don't fully understand or handle well. This internal conflict creates tension and drives the story forward.

If these elements sound like a formula, I suppose they are. However, I haven't found her novels to be formulaic or dull. In fact, I haven't read one that isn't at least four stars.

This particular book is shorter and more punchy than the two I've read before. If you're new to Iris Murdoch's work, this would be a great place to start. It offers a concise introduction to her writing style and themes, while still maintaining the depth and quality that makes her novels so engaging.

Please provide the article that needs to be rewritten and expanded so that I can assist you further.

The story is not bad. The plot is just a series of touching encounters with each other. I thought I would read a profound story because of the author's popularity, but I didn't find any literary value in it at all. I will try to read another story of hers.

Quotes

“There are - presumably - many reasons that constantly drive unfortunate women to the possibility of the devil they know rather than looking for another devil.”

“Beauty is capable of self-forgetting.”

One of the philosophers says that our greatest sin is to ignore the beauty in the world.

“The arrow in the side makes the journey painful, but not getting shot causes a worse pain.”

“There is no arguing with what has been settled in the heart of a person. Not every person can achieve this thing; freedom. And not to abuse it. It is a one-way path to life.”

“It is better to do the wrong thing for the right reasons than to do the right thing for the wrong reasons.”

One of my least favorite Murdoch books is this one.

The characters in it remained at a cold remove. They all seemed like types rather than real humans.

What are we readers supposed to think of Edmund, our narrator? His long absence has made the characters in the novel view him more favorably, believing him to be good and moral. But like many of Murdoch's male protagonists, he has a high opinion of himself and is judgmental of others. When he comes face to face with his family and their flaws, he fails both as a human and morally. He can only be good in theory. As in many of Murdoch's novels, there don't seem to be obvious consequences for his actions. He has spent years suppressing his instinctual self. When he returns to his family, he is confronted with this inner self and is shocked to find that he has urges just like those he judges so quickly. His sexuality has been awakened.

Murdoch has written that "reciprocal love is therefore precarious, if not impossible, and readily moves toward the satisfactions of sadism and masochism" because there is a tension between two people in love as love is never perfectly balanced; there is always one person doing more or less. Being in love is being enchanted, and Murdoch's characters lose themselves in love. For Edmund, love represents freedom, release, and spontaneity. He bounces between people like a pinball.

**spoiler alert**
The women in the book are associated with desire, with the susceptible flesh, and with weakness. They are like Eve characters, weak, tempted, and fallen.

Isabel commits adultery. It's not clear if she ever loved her husband. She doesn't seem to care that her lover sleeps with her underage daughter. She even offers herself to Edmund. She knows about her daughter's pregnancy and feels jealous. She's awful. She knows her daughter is pregnant and still continues to sleep with David, as evidenced by her own later pregnancy.

Lydia was a tyrant.

Elsa knowingly sleeps with another woman's husband. She may be mad and she neglects herself.

Iris Murdoch VC deveria escrever as novelas da Globo.

She was a highly regarded and talented author, known for her profound insights into human nature and complex psychological portrayals. Her works often explored themes such as love, morality, and the search for meaning.

If she were to write for Globo, her unique style and perspective could bring a new level of depth and sophistication to their novels.

Her ability to create vivid and engaging characters would surely captivate readers and keep them hooked from start to finish.

Moreover, her literary expertise and craftsmanship would ensure that the novels were of the highest quality.

With Iris Murdoch VC at the helm, the novels of Globo could reach new heights and become a literary sensation.

This book is like a captivating play. The emotions and feelings of the characters are heated to an extreme level. You are irresistibly dragged into this boiling whirlpool of passions, plunging headfirst into it without hesitation.

Simultaneously, you find yourself smeared in such dirt that you know won't wash away easily. You feel as if you are the main character, walking in the rain on the lawn, getting stuck in the mud. Or perhaps like the Italian Maggie who loses her snow-white shoes in this very mud. You, just like those shoes, end up smeared in the vile and incomprehensible details of this family of madmen. They are stewing in their psychological problems and iniquities, drowning in the mud of human vices.

I won't spend too much time dwelling on the heroes, the inhabitants of the mansion. They are all pathetic and unhappy individuals. However, it is precisely this pity and unhappiness that binds them together. As long as they remain together, living in this house, true happiness will elude them. There are numerous skeletons in the family's closets - violence, infidelity, pregnancy, and abortion. It is getting increasingly nasty, but we must pay tribute to Murdoch. She skillfully and subtly introduces us to the secrets of this dysfunctional family, immersing us in their passionate turmoil. And the events are hurtling towards a tragic ending for some, overgrowing with details like a snowball. This is in order for the fire to burn this lump at the end and purify their poor, tired souls.

It seems that there is a great deal of action in such a small book. But this is only an illusion due to the limited territorial scope - all events unfold within one mansion, and the circle of heroes is confined to its inhabitants. The vices of the heroes seem to be exaggerated: can there really be such ugly personalities within one family? But the answer is yes! They have all long since gone mad, ceased to be truly human, and become mere empty shells, parodies of themselves. And it is only the death of one character that jolts the heroes out of this trance, pushing them to change both externally and internally.

Maybe in the end it just turned us into ourselves. We all died for a moment, but everything that happened after that became much more definite.

Weird as fuck family.

My family is truly one of a kind, and by that, I mean it's weird as fuck. There are so many strange dynamics and idiosyncrasies that it's almost comical.

For example, my parents have these completely opposite personalities. My mom is a superstitious believer in all kinds of crazy things, while my dad is a die-hard skeptic. They're constantly arguing about the most random stuff.

And then there's my little sister. She has this obsession with collecting weird objects like old rusty keys and broken toys. It's like she has her own little museum of oddities.

But despite all the weirdness, I love my family. They may be crazy, but they're my crazy. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Our weirdness makes us unique and gives us plenty of stories to tell. It's what makes us a family, and I cherish every moment with them, no matter how strange it may get.

The Italian Girl: A Fairy Tale. Set in an enchanted northern castle, Edmund from the South arrives with the hope of breaking the spell. There is a drunken King, a woeful Queen, and a Princess in trouble. An Enchantress has mermerized the King, and the Jester has done more than just amuse the Queen. Edmund must manage to dismount his High Horse and break the Spell cast by the Old Queen before her Death.

The thinnest of Iris Murdoch's books, and perhaps my new favorite! I enjoy a healthy dose of melodrama. Having just finished an Ivy Compton-Burnett book (More Women Than Men) before picking up this one, I was well-prepared. Iris is still in full Gothic mode, which is not surprising considering that The Italian Girl followed shortly after the equally strange The Unicorn. Just embrace it! I didn't read too much into it philosophically. I know some may think this is where it falls short. I do wonder, did IM ever read Carson McCullers's Reflections in a Golden Eye, which was published twenty years before this one?

I could have wrung my hands over the tangled mess of human destiny: those half-grasped intomations of right and wrong that drive us out along twilit roads where there is no return.

Well, to be honest, the book didn't really knock my socks off. Maybe that's what I kind of anticipated from an Iris Murdoch book.

The premise appeared to be rather bleak. It was about a dysfunctional family. But let's face it, who has ever written an interesting book about normal, ordinary things?

There were two brothers who had been irreparably affected by their overbearing mother. They met at her funeral. And then the various characters added some frolic to the scenes, but not in a very convincing way.

I had the feeling that the people were just being bizarre for the sake of being bizarre. It didn't seem to have a real, deep-rooted reason.

Overall, it wasn't a book that really blew me away or made me think deeply about profound themes. It was just an okay read, nothing特别 outstanding.

Maybe I was expecting too much from Iris Murdoch, but this particular book didn't quite live up to my expectations.