The Sea, The Sea is a novel by Iris Murdoch. Published in 1978, it was her nineteenth novel. It won the 1978 Booker Prize. I struggled with this for a while, mainly because I was so irritated by Charles Arrowby, the main character and unreliable narrator. Arrowby is a retired actor, director and playwright who has moved to a remote cottage by the sea and is tentatively writing his memoirs. Whole successions of characters, many of them former lovers, arrive and depart and Charles encounters his first love Hartley who has also retired to the area with her husband.

And this is only one of many ingenious ploys; ‘resting’ actor friends who visit out of curiosity, and stay out of malice, get fitted in, too, like sad Gilbert, who thinks he’s in the Tempest plot, and saws wood in great quantities to prove it. These events serve two purposes, because they also show another side to Charles. At one point, an ex-girlfriend remarks acidly, "you know you can't keep your hands off women", yet throughout so far Charles has claimed he has a scrupulously fair and respectful attitude to females, even using the word "unsexed" to describe his fastidious, ascetic attitude. Yet now we learn that he has broken up the marriage of Rosina, seemingly just because he can. He will jettison the ever-faithful Lizzie without a thought, at the drop of a hat, as he has done several times before. The reader now begins to wonder about the idolised Hartley. Could the relationship have possibly been as innocent, pure and altogether romantic as Charles has claimed? The awful crying of souls in guilt and pain, loathing each other, tied to each other! The inferno of marriage.” Charles Arrowby, leading light of England’s theatrical set, retires from glittering London to an isolated home by the sea. He plans to write a memoir about his great love affair with Clement Makin, his mentor, both professionally and personally, and amuse himself with Lizzie, an actress he has strung along for many years. None of his plans work out, and his memoir evolves into a riveting chronicle of the strange events and unexpected visitors-some real, some spectral-that disrupt his world and shake his oversized ego to its very core. So how does this novel, written 36 years ago now, hold up? Surprisingly well, actually. It is not as dated as one might expect, perhaps since the "luvvie" actor types of personality which the author renders so accurately are, unfortunately, timeless. Of course the flow of writing, that particular style, is of its time. During the 1960s and 70s there was much interest in self-development and a search for meaning. The prevailing attitude, especially amongst the young, was that there was a purpose in finding a new approach to leading a good life. There seemed to be all the time in the world for such introspection. The Western world was not as concerned with acquisitiveness, and appearances, as it is now. Increasingly more people were searching for a deeper meaning, a significance, which would lead to a knowledge of one's purpose in life.

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Charles Arrowby has retired from the theatre to a damp, drafty, but dramatic home by the sea. His plan is to live on his own, read, and eat well while he writes his memoirs. He is famous, certainly well known enough to be recognized on the street from his days acting and directing on the stage. He wants to be anonymous, but as I can tell anyone from personal experience the last place one can be anonymous is in a small town. Many a menu is described by the would-be gourmet, though Arrowby's tastes differ greatly from most who highly value their food.

But Murdoch's writing is too good to ignore and here she conjures up a philosophical tour de force with a heterogeneous cast contrived to cover all bases. And she even throws in a few unexpected surprises for good measure! This book is a psycho-spiritual masterpiece of the highest caliber. I decided to sit down and come up with a laundry list of what it is about:

Success!

Arrowby, who usually can get any woman he wants to do his bidding, finds he has a harder time here. This was the first novel I read by Iris Murdoch. I have since read about a half-dozen and I still think this is my favorite. The most significant person, however, is one who had disappeared from Arrowby's life long ago: his lost first love, the woman he wanted to marry but who fled. The elements of mysticism in the book all come together and are given expression by James. Through having a position of command in the Army, he has spent a great deal of his live travelling through Tibet. He is a Buddhist, deeply involved yet rather secretive about the various ancient religious traditions he has experienced there. Towards the end of the novel, perhaps when he knows that it will cease to matter any more, he becomes much more open.

This comedy is lit with the aplomb of true comedy’s calm understanding of moral obliquity . . .There is the genuine weight of obsession in Arrowby’s narrative, but also the mere weight of iteration and ingenuity.”—Martin Greenberg, The New York Times Book Review Arrowby attempts to kidnap Mary, but his efforts fail farcically and Mary ends up rejecting him completely. Mary's son, Titus, inexplicably moves in with Arrowby and his life begins to regain composure until one drunken night. On the night in question, Arrowby is pushed into the sea. He is rescued, but only to find out that Titus has drowned. You’ve built a cage of needs and installed her in an empty space in the middle… using her image… as an exorcism.” But I’ve long loved this quote, and recently found it very helpful. I forgive a lot, just for coming across it, in context: Irish-born British writer, university lecturer and prolific and highly professional novelist, Iris Murdoch dealt with everyday ethical or moral issues, sometimes in the light of myths. As a writer, she was a perfectionist who did not allow editors to change her text. Murdoch produced 26 novels in 40 years, the last written while she was suffering from Alzheimer disease.

There's no doubting Murdoch's mastery when it comes to portraying Arrowby's self-deceit. He is able to eloquently insist that he is acting for the good of all concerned while he manipulates and bullies Hartley. Even when he uses Hartley's estranged adoptive son (who arrives on his doorstep in another barely credible coincidence) as bait to lure the poor woman to his house, and then kidnaps her, he puts a case for his own moral righteousness that would be persuasive - if it weren't for the bare facts. A two-part adaptation of The Sea, The Sea by Robin Brooks appeared on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015. The actors included Jeremy Irons as Charles Arrowby, Maggie Steed as Hartley Fitch, and Simon Williams as James Arrowby. [6] Awards [ edit ] I could delve into the profundity of Iris Murdoch on damaged love's lassitudes, but such agony I cannot abide.