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The Book and the Brotherhood
by: Iris Murdoch

List Price: £9.99

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Used Price: £3.60
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Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780099433545
ISBN: 0099433540
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Number Of Pages: 608
Publication Date: April 03, 2003
Publisher: Vintage
Studio: Vintage
Sales Rank: 309179

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The Philosopher's Pupil (Vintage Classics)

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Emotionally turbulent, tense and hysterical, chaotic and tragic, and yet quite hilarious
I am never certain of the place of Iris Murdoch's writing in the pantheon of world literature but she must be considered by any standards a major novelist. If you are familiar with her works then it is unlikely that you will read this review but instead will just go out and buy the book and enjoy it. It is one of her best. If you are not familiar with them then I am able to give an overview of the recurrent themes which make them so absorbing, while not wishing to give the impression that they are in any way formulaic.
Most of her novels revolve around a small clique of upper-middle class academics who in the past have attended Oxbridge together. They are interconnected by a complicated but self-contained network of love affairs, both ... Read More:

Rating:

- Adoration is not enough!
Whenever I pick up an unread Iris I fear this next tale will disappoint. Fortunately that day has yet to arrive and I am almost two thirds through her oeuvre. The Book and the Brotherhood is a beautiful story, a wonder, an awesome feast of Murdochian delights. And how I indulged myself in such magisterial fare. I feel an extreme fanaticism in my praise for this novel but am consoled as I recollect the obsessive natures of the characters that inhabit this tale of political and philosophical musings, intellectual hedonism and compulsive passion. The mystical element in this story impregnates the narrative like a supernatural force that is ultimately unknowable but leaves behind the indiscernible substance of Fate. Indeed the destiny of the characters ... Read More:

Rating:

- A book about the reality of life and love
The author is very clever at creating believable characters and portrays complex emotions and thoughts extremely well. It's believable; it doesn't romanticise relationships; it does not shy away from the darker emotions; there is no 'happy ever after' (a refreshing change from many novels). Friendship and love are analysed in a raw style and stripped bare; in this way, to me, this book exposes many other less conscientious novels as putting a rosy glow on relationships. In this novel, Iris Murdoch does not romanticise relationships and the human experience for the benefit of her readers; she represents the stark reality of life with astounding clarity. It is an absorbing read; the characters become people you know; they come into existence in their own ... Read More:

Books : The Book and the Brotherhood