The Sea, The Sea - Iris Murdoch
First published 1978.
Way back in 2020, the second Booker book I ever read was entitled The Sea. Now, I have finally read The Sea, The Sea, which - despite the similar titles - is in no way connected to The Sea, other than that they both won Booker prizes and both are set near - surprise - the sea. In fact, The Sea is from 2005, whereas The Sea, The Sea is from 1978, meaning that The Sea was written 27 years after The Sea, The Sea.
See?
Anyway, The Sea, The Sea follows retired stage actor/playwright/director Charles Arrowby who has moved to an old run-down house near the sea in England. He has decided to withdraw from society, and doesn't want to do anything except reminisce on his life, swim in the sea, and perhaps reconnect romantically with an old flame. The first part of the book, in which Charles looks back on his life and swims a lot, is the bit I found the most interesting. Actually, for a lot of this section I enjoyed the book, which is definitely not a given with Booker books!
Charles is a slightly pathetic figure, who nevertheless seems to have been quite successful with 'the ladies' in the past. In particular, we learn about (and subsequently meet) three women: Lizzie, whom Charles doesn't really love anymore but who loves him; Rosina, whom Charles stole away from her husband and who now hates Charles; and Hartley, the childhood sweetheart of Charles who now, years later, returns unexpectedly into his life. And when she does... the book takes a turn or two!
Charles becomes obsessed with the idea of Hartley, and begins plotting how to steal her away from her husband (notice a theme there?), convincing himself in the process that Hartley dislikes her husband and would be better off with him. As narrator, Charles writes his point-of-view, and yet author Murdoch allows the readers to see beneath the facade - we are never convinced that Charles is doing the right thing, even while he pleads his case in print.
Just as the women in Charles' life exist as objects of desire and passion, the men in his life exist to support him, and even serve him. One by one, a group of men arrive at Charles' home, and each supports him to begin with, before even they begin to question his motives. Charles, of course, either sees each as his faithful friend (including Peregrine, the ex-husband of Rosina!), or as an object of annoyance, but as the novel progresses each assumption is challenged.
After a huge amount of drama, mostly self-inflicted - including kidnappings, murder attempts, betrayals and lies - the novel begins to 'fade' a bit, like a tide receding. This seems intentional, and is still interesting, as we various storylines wrapping up, as well as some left hanging - we still worry about the future decisions Charles will make.
And then, it just stops.
It's an interesting book, if a bit long in patches (its 538 pages). As is the case with most of the Booker books, I doubt I'll ever read it again. But unlike many, I don't have a bad taste in my mouth at the end. Charles does some terrible things in this book, but Murdoch isn't interested in getting 'grimy' in her descriptions; instead, she takes the time to let us understand the motivations of Charles, even while we strongly disagree with his actions.
A few other elements also pop in and out in a dream-like way: is there a sea monster nearby? Is Charles' house haunted? Does a particular character climb spider-man-like down an impossible wall? What is the reference to the bardo about? None of these questions get definitive answers, but they both add to the interest and allow us more reasons to question the mental state of our protagonist.
Interesting, weird, and I'm glad its finished.
Completed 3 December 2024.
(Bookerworm)
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