This new book is much better than her previous one, “The Sea The Sea”.

However, I have noticed that these longer novels of Murdoch tend to be a bit circular. There are repeating patterns within the story that, to me, seem more redundant than revelatory.

I do like the main characters in this book. They are well-developed and engaging. On the other hand, the secondary characters seem more like props. They are not fully realized and lack the depth and complexity that the main characters possess.

Overall, while I appreciate the improvements in this book compared to her previous work, I still have some reservations about the circular nature of the story and the underdeveloped secondary characters.

The reviews on the bookjacket asserted that this novel centered around deceptions - both deliberate and unconscious, inward and outward. However, in my perception, it delved deeper into the vastly different impulses that drive people, in a paradoxical and overlapping manner. It was an exploration of how four essentially decent individuals strive to navigate and make sense of the mysterious, inexplicable forces that motivate them.

Moreover, Iris Murdoch has crafted some truly exceptional sentences. Her writing is a masterclass in prose, with each sentence carrying weight and depth. The way she weaves words together to create vivid images and complex emotions is truly remarkable.

Overall, this novel is not just a story about deceptions, but a profound exploration of the human psyche and the forces that shape our actions and decisions. It is a must-read for anyone interested in literature and the human condition.

Quizá, después de todo, la Bondad era algo demasiado difícil de buscar y demasiado difícil de entender.

In a world filled with chaos, conflict, and self-interest, the concept of goodness often seems elusive. We search high and low, hoping to find that glimmer of kindness, that act of selflessness that restores our faith in humanity.

Yet, it can be frustratingly hard to come by. Goodness doesn't always present itself in the most obvious ways. It might be hidden beneath layers of cynicism or overshadowed by the noise of the world.

Understanding goodness is equally challenging. What exactly constitutes goodness? Is it defined by our actions, our intentions, or a combination of both? Different people may have different perspectives on what it means to be good.

Despite the difficulties, we cannot give up on the search for goodness. It is what makes life worth living, what gives us hope in the face of adversity. Maybe, just maybe, if we keep looking and keep trying to understand, we will find that goodness is not as far away as we think.

**"The Changing Times in August 2017"**

August 2017 was a month of significant events and changes.

In various parts of the world, people were experiencing different aspects of life.

Some were enjoying the summer vacations, traveling to new places and creating memories.

Meanwhile, in the business world, there were new trends and developments.

Companies were introducing new products and services to meet the evolving needs of consumers.

In the political arena, there were also important discussions and decisions being made.

Leaders were working to address various issues and challenges facing their countries.

Overall, August 2017 was a month that saw a lot of activity and change, and it set the stage for the months to come.

fini Aug 2017

Like another reviewer said, it is quite easy for Murdoch's books to blend together.

I was pondering on this matter last night. In fact, a Murdoch novel can be regarded as a thinking person's melodrama. However, after reading a significant number of her books, the melodrama can gradually start to have an impact on one.

Nonetheless, I still firmly believe that everyone should give her books a try. I vividly remember that I adored all of them the very first time I read them 20 years ago.

Perhaps the reason for my current feeling is that I have simply had an overdose of her works? It's possible that my initial enthusiasm has waned due to the sheer volume of her books that I have consumed over the years.

Yet, despite this, her books still possess a certain charm and allure that cannot be ignored. They offer deep insights into human nature and complex relationships, which are worthy of exploration and reflection.

Maybe it's time for me to take a break from Murdoch's books and come back to them with a fresh perspective in the future.

There are some really great passages that have made me underline them again. The descriptions, sometimes overly long, have made me disconnect. It's interesting how certain passages can have such an impact. They might be filled with beautiful language and vivid imagery, but if they go on for too long, they can lose their effectiveness. It's a fine balance between providing enough detail and not overwhelming the reader. However, when a passage is just right, it can transport you to another world and make you feel a whole range of emotions. These are the moments that make reading truly special.

Soldiers of Love

I am no stranger to the works of Iris Murdoch. In fact, I consider her among my favorite, if not the most favorite, authors. To be honest, I've noticed that I'm reluctant to pick up her next book, but not for the reason you might think. I simply love Iris Murdoch's works so much that I initially read them voraciously, one after another, until that fateful moment when there were only a few "untouched" ones left. Now, I'm delaying the pleasure and am horrified at the thought of the moment when there will be no unread books left on this list. It should be noted that despite the impressive number of works she has written, all of her books are not alike. The only thing that undoubtedly unites them, highlighting the writer's style, is the subtle psychological game that Iris plays with us. No, this is not a thriller or a modern detective with a convoluted plot, but there is something of the coziness of home, where the heroes and their problems are carefully drawn. On the one hand, everything is extremely familiar and, it would seem, nothing special, because we encounter such plots almost every day in our daily lives. On the other hand, everything is written so skillfully and masterfully that even predictably foreseeable plots cannot be called boring - you continue to follow every turn of events with enthusiasm and... and... simply enjoy the good language. No, to be honest, you know, due to the mass capture of the book market by all these modern novels and bestsellers, I've been noticing more and more in myself that I catastrophically lack a normal literary language, with all its epithets, metaphors, complex turns of speech, and at least "volume". Well, Murdoch is just the ideal author for me in this regard, because her style is not as lofty as that of Nabokov (whom I also love very much, precisely for his high style) and Proust, but at the same time it is not primitive. But, let's finish my introductory remarks and finally move on to the plot of the book itself.

Before us is the story of several people, clearly connected to each other for some reason of nature, and such closeness is a burden to them, but at the same time they are unable to part - invisible threads hold them in a vice-like grip.

The novel begins with Iris telling us about Guy, the universal favorite and a person undoubtedly worthy of respect, but fate, as is often the case, is extremely unjust to such people, so it is not surprising that Guy is doomed to die soon, and everyone knows about it, but still cannot come to terms with such injustice. Guy's wife, Gertrude, suffers the most from her husband's illness, because she truly loves him and cannot imagine her life without him. As the heroine herself says when Guy asks her to try to stay happy after his death and remarry: "Guy, I can't. I'll die too... I'll walk, talk, but I'll be dead...".

However, as we know, nothing is eternal, and tearful oaths almost always fade and are forgotten over time. "How quickly the past is able to lose its power over a person and what kind of power is this? What does it mean to count weeks, months, what role does time play here?" Guy still dies, but will Gertrude be able to keep her word and how long will she, like the beautiful Helen from the Odyssey, be able to resist the suitors besieging her home?

There is also a no less interesting character in the novel, Gertrude's childhood friend, who once decided to leave this damned world, mired in sins, and become a nun, devoting her life to serving God. However, as often happens (as we had the opportunity to observe in the book of another English author, Boyne, in his book "The History of Solitude"), soon she becomes disillusioned with her decision and decides to leave the monastery. In contrast to the beliefs of many of her acquaintances, Anna has not lost her faith and continues to search for her God, moreover, he even appears to her in dreams to strengthen her spirit and love for him, but now she understands that the decision to renounce worldly desires was somewhat hasty, because she, like all ordinary mortals, wants love and a strong shoulder by her side. How painful it is to watch when the man of your dreams is in love with your best friend and every time comes to pour out his soul to you, seeing no one but a nun, albeit a former one, in you, and believes that he can trust you with his sorrows. Moreover, with some refined masochism, you even rush to help him and "tweak" his personal life.

No less interesting is the image of the young and, as it should be, poor artist, Tim, who is a distant relative of Guy. Tim is used to always living at someone else's expense, even going so far as to barter the food in their refrigerator with his wealthy relative. You might ask why he doesn't earn a living by his own creativity? He tries, but not very hard, his works are mediocre and no one wants to buy them, so he has to "tinker" with cats, which the British love so much. In his personal life, not everything is going smoothly either: his girlfriend Daisy is an artist who, having decided to break up with this, has switched to writing novels, but that's not going very well for her either. In fact, she only talks about writing, but in essence, the matter does not progress beyond talk. Both are very proud of the fact that they are "free and not burdened by property", but the pernicious lifestyle they lead has tied them hand and foot as artists and as individuals, and, as they themselves understand, does not allow them to move forward. They are mired in daily problems and quarrels about how to get money. Periodically, they get together, only to part again soon with a loud scandal and mutual accusations. But one day, they come up with a brilliant plan on how to get rich at the expense of a wealthy, but naive, widow...

How this kaleidoscope of human lives and complex relationships will end, I think it's better for you to find out for yourself.

Happy reading!!!

I don't usually have a penchant for Iris Murdoch.

She does have some interesting notions here and there, but her books tend to follow a similar pattern.

The plots are often muddled and lack clear direction.

However, this particular work is rather entertaining.

Even though the most captivating character, the ex-nun, doesn't have enough戏份 or actions to fully showcase her potential.

It's a bit of a disappointment in that regard, but overall, the book manages to hold one's attention.

Perhaps it's the unique setting or the other characters that make up for the lack of development of the ex-nun.

Nonetheless, it's a pleasant surprise considering my previous experiences with Murdoch's works.

Maybe I'll have to give her other books another chance after all.

The most brilliantly lit-up, utterly stunned - as if hit with a powerful hammer - account of falling in love that I have ever had the fortune to come across.

There is also at least one extremely sexy Harlequin hero, who is placed right in the middle of a cerebral English novel and is buffeted about by a group of bohemian English eccentrics.

It presents a passionate spiritual experience, a hopeless love, and intellectual middle-aged women who are on the rampage.

Not actually my absolute favourite Murdoch work - that would be A Word Child. But it is very, very close.

It has all the elements that make a Murdoch novel truly captivating and unique. The vivid descriptions of the characters and their emotions draw the reader in and keep them engaged from beginning to end.

The combination of the passionate love story and the intellectual exploration makes this novel a must-read for anyone who enjoys thought-provoking literature.

This is an odd one in the Murdoch canon for me.

Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed it, it took me a very long time to be gripped.

At first, I found myself a bit disengaged, but then, when it got going, I discovered that Murdoch had done that rare thing.

I absolutely loathed the central couple, Tim and Gertrude. They were just awful, and I wished them all the misfortune in the world.

However, despite my strong feelings towards them, I was still invested in the narrative around them.

The story managed to keep me hooked, and I wanted to see how things would unfold for them.

By contrast, Anne and the rest of the Ebury Street hangers-on were such fascinating characters.

They added depth and interest to the story, and I found myself more drawn to their subplots.

Overall, I would not call it her best work, but it definitely is a fascinating read.

It has its flaws, but it also has its strengths, and it kept me entertained from start to finish.

The first novel I completed in 2024 is almost a masterpiece. It was extremely close, yet for one specific character, the dream world was vividly opened up for us - only to remain dormant and not enter the plot.

We discover the Count's astonishing backstory, his poetically touching life of loneliness and radio companionship, and his preoccupation with the Holocaust and specifically the Warsaw Ghetto in his dream world. However, none of these truly have a meaningful impact on the other themes, characters, or plot twists later on. The character seems a bit out of place.

Overall, I could hardly put the book down, which is always an extremely good sign.

This is the second work of Iris Murdoch that I have read, and it solidified her position on my list of favorite authors.

Here is one brilliant passage: "Any artist who is not a beginner faces the problem of enlarging into a working space the line that runs between 'just begun' and 'too late'. The hard work lies in the middle, when preliminaries are done, and the end is not yet enclosing the form. This is the space which longs to collapse, which the artist's strength must faithfully keep open." This passage really makes you think about the creative process and the challenges that artists face.

Somewhat melodramatic and a touch formulaic,

this work still manages to be enjoyable. It belongs to that category of "philosophical novels" that, curiously enough, read like cheap romances.

There is a certain allure to it, despite its flaws. The story unfolds in a way that keeps the reader engaged, even if the plot follows a somewhat predictable pattern.

The characters are developed to a certain extent, although they may not be the most complex or nuanced.

Nonetheless, the themes explored within the novel offer some food for thought.

It makes one wonder about the nature of love, relationships, and the human condition.

For those who enjoy a light read with a hint of philosophy, this novel might be worth checking out.

It's not a masterpiece by any means, but it does have its charms.

And if you're a fan of Ayn Rand, you might find some similarities or connections in the ideas presented here.

Overall, it's an interesting addition to the world of literature.