Iris Murdoch is engaging in a rather interesting game of intertextuality here, as Robert Irwin proclaims in his introduction. Whether this news makes your heart soar or sink truly depends on your tolerance for literary navel-gazing.

Apparently, the novel is a semi-farcical reworking of The Death of Ivan Ilyich. I could clearly see the farce part. You could simply read Tolstoy and your life would not be any poorer for having missed this one. And I haven't even begun to mention the occasional snippets from the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, nor the endless byplay that Murdoch attempts to attach to a stamp collection that perhaps symbolizes everything. Or maybe it symbolizes nothing at all.

However, it must be said that the book was well-written and Murdoch shows great inventiveness with the incidents. So, I give it two stars. But it will be a very long time before I decide to pick up another book by this author.

This belief that something has lost its value can, to some extent, revert and cleanse the small worldly love experiences and resolve those dilemmas. However, it cannot

He has lived the reality of death and felt that it has made her nothing, stripping her of fame, and yet love still exists, the only thing present

Aires Merdoux always (with two books in truth) manages to amaze me.

Love is a complex and mysterious emotion. Sometimes, we may think that certain experiences or events have diminished its value. But as we see in the words above, even in the face of death and the loss of worldly status, love persists. It is the one constant that remains. Aires Merdoux's works seem to have the power to capture this essence of love and present it in a way that astonishes the reader. Her writing perhaps makes us reflect on the true nature of love and how it can withstand the harshest of circumstances. We are left wondering about the depth and durability of this emotion that continues to exist despite all odds.

Continuing my journey through the remarkable works of Iris Murdoch, my fifth stop was the captivating Bruno's Dream, which was shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize. This novel is truly outstanding. It presents an extremely poignant and visceral portrayal of old age through the character of Bruno Greensleave. Bed-ridden and distorted by age to the point where the other characters can scarcely recognize him as human, yet his mind remains keenly aware and inclined towards philosophical ponderings about the "dream" that his past life now seems to have become in hindsight.

The other characters, consisting of various members of Bruno's family and household, revolve around him. They come and go, caught up in the clutches of their own "dreams", behaving like maniacs and fools, as is the human tendency. They fall in love with wild and inappropriate abandon, wound each other both inadvertently and perhaps even advertently. They scheme against one another, lie, steal, cheat, and astonishingly, even attempt to kill one another.

Despite its numerous moments of pathos, it is actually a rather comic novel, bordering on farcical in the Shakespearean manner that all of my favorite Murdoch novels thus far seem to share. And yet, it all concludes on a transcendent note of seriousness, compassion, and great beauty. This work is right up there with The Black Prince and The Sea, the Sea. I highly recommend it!

This particular Murdoch book is not my all-time favorite.

However, it still manages to offer a rich and fulfilling reading experience.

The story is filled with interesting characters and complex relationships that keep the reader engaged from start to finish.

What really stands out, though, is the ending.

It is both unexpected and satisfying, tying up loose ends in a way that leaves the reader with a sense of closure.

While it may not have reached the heights of some of Murdoch's other works, this book is still well worth reading for fans of her writing.

It showcases her talent for creating vivid worlds and exploring the human condition in a thought-provoking way.

Overall, it is a solid addition to her body of work.

Fascinating

At 09.00, a truly fascinating scene unfolds. The world seems to wake up with a newfound energy. The sun peeks through the clouds, casting a warm glow over everything it touches. Birds chirp merrily, as if celebrating the start of a new day. People are going about their morning routines, some with a sense of purpose, others with a more relaxed demeanor.

The city streets are bustling with activity. Cars honk, buses rumble, and cyclists weave in and out of traffic. Shops are opening their doors, and the smell of fresh coffee and pastries fills the air. It's a time of new beginnings, a time to embrace the opportunities that the day has to offer.

Whether you're an early riser or someone who struggles to get out of bed, there's something undeniably captivating about 09.00. It's a moment when the world is full of potential, and anything seems possible. So take a moment to soak it all in, and let the fascinating beauty of the morning inspire you.

This was indeed a rather challenging piece. There were some truly beautiful passages within it, passages that could make one's heart skip a beat. However, there were also some utter absurdities that left the reader scratching their head. It felt as if it was a shorter, denser work that had been padded out with a few too many of Murdoch's regular tropes. One couldn't help but wonder what on Earth she was up to with this particular writing.

But then, there were those last pages. They seemed to hold a certain magic, a power that pulled the reader in and made them reevaluate everything that had come before. It was as if Murdoch had saved the best for last, using those final pages to turn the entire work on its head and leave the reader with a sense of wonder and awe.

Despite its flaws, there was something undeniably captivating about this piece, something that made it worth reading and rereading, trying to解开 the mysteries that Murdoch had hidden within its pages.

The inferences made about illness and death were nice.

However, generally speaking, it was a romance based on love triangles and quadrangles, and this irritated me a bit.

The character of Nigel was my favorite character. I think all the quotes I liked from the book were his sentences, and for this reason, I gave the book 3 stars.

I hope my next Murdoch book will be more satisfying.

Overall, while there were some aspects that I enjoyed, such as the inferences about illness and death and the character of Nigel, the focus on love triangles and quadrangles detracted from the overall reading experience for me.

I look forward to seeing if Murdoch can deliver a more engaging and fulfilling story in the next book.

One of my absolute favorite novels by Iris Murdoch is set in the vibrant city of London. In this captivating story, the characters find themselves completely overwhelmed by and seemingly incapable of understanding the powerful force of Eros, and perhaps other forms of consuming love as well. The novel is beautifully written, with a masterful use of language that draws the reader in and keeps them engaged from beginning to end. It is full of drama, but not the kind of over-the-top melodrama that can sometimes feel artificial. Instead, the drama unfolds naturally, as the characters struggle to come to terms with their own desires and the complex web of relationships that surrounds them. Overall, it is a truly remarkable work of literature that I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good story about love, loss, and the human condition.

I had the distinct impression that I had perused this particular piece before. However, as I delved deeper into it, not a single word or phrase seemed remotely familiar, right up until the very conclusion.

There was a certain charm in being in London while engaging with this story. It was as if the city itself added an extra layer of allure to the narrative. But alas, that was pretty much the extent of the enjoyment I derived from it.

Of course, one has to temper their expectations when dealing with a book that is essentially a deathbed creation. The writing in the first half of the book was truly impressive, captivating my attention and drawing me in. But then, as I moved into the second half, everything took a rather strange and silly turn. It was as if the author had lost their way or perhaps been overcome by some other force that caused the quality of the writing to deteriorate significantly.

A constellation of characters gather around a dying man. As time passes, they end up eccentrically orbiting one another in the most unexpected ways. Even after he takes his last breath, the "center" somehow, in a comical twist, still holds. Near the midpoint of the novel, there is a truly comic "drawing room" scene. It takes place at night, in a back garden, during an unrelenting downpour. The rapid succession of encounters that follow are hilariously misguided and misunderstood. One character mistakes another's gesture for something entirely different, leading to a series of absurd exchanges. Another tries to have a serious conversation but is constantly interrupted by the chaos around them. The rain adds to the comical atmosphere, making everyone and everything look bedraggled and ridiculous. It's a scene that will have readers laughing out loud as they witness the misadventures of these hapless characters.

guardarlo fiorire, come un figlio
Reading this book gives the impression that the author had a great deal of fun writing it. It is a moral comedy in which the author makes fun of both the characters, who are dragged into doing rather absurd things, and the readers who, incredulous, watch, attracted by the brilliant narrative. An old man close to death is the strange core of aggregation for a group of people who assist and entertain him. It seems that his vitality flows into them, and they weave relationships like garlands. The characters are often antithetical figures, like Bruno's son and son-in-law. The former is a serious and malicious poet who hasn't visited his father for twenty years because of a throwaway phrase. The son-in-law, a generous man and lover of pleasure, lives with his father-in-law and takes care of him affectionately. There are two brothers, one wise and reflective, the other impulsive and violent, and two sisters, one spiritual, the other more worldly. All at a certain point believe they are deeply in love for the first time in their lives and think of nothing else. Then, in a short time, they move on to another member of the group. The character who reveals the author's thought is Nigel, Bruno's nurse, an agile person ("caprioleggiante") dedicated to meditation and with good sense. He consoles the desperate and explains to them that it makes no sense to suffer for love if it is not reciprocated. One must detach oneself from the idea of possession and want the good of the other, "watching it bloom, like a son". In the background of the novel, the fluent presence of the Thames can be felt, which finally silently invades the scene, overflowing and covering everything with mud.

For my tastes, the author does a remarkable job of character development.

However, the issue that I encountered was that the characters seemed rather unbelievable to me. Their actions and behaviors didn't always align with what I would expect from real people.

Moreover, the shifting relationships didn't flow smoothly. They seemed to change abruptly, lacking the necessary build-up and progression.

Furthermore, the theme, at least that proposed in the summary, really didn't seem to ever get reasonably resolved. It felt as if the story was left hanging, without a proper conclusion or resolution to the central theme.

This lack of resolution left me feeling somewhat dissatisfied and longing for a more complete and satisfying ending.

Overall, while the character development was strong, the other aspects of the story detracted from my enjoyment and left me with a sense of disappointment.