Next, I’m reading The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch.
I’ve heard that it’s about forgiveness, aging, moving on, and other such things. The basic idea is that a retired theater man, Charles Arrowby, leaves his exciting and gossip-filled social life in London to live in solitude in a house by the sea. There, people from his past show up, and he is forced to confront his past and find a way to move on.
I would imagine, given the title, that the sea is going to prove very symbolic in this novel. With the tides coming in and out, the sea is a perfect symbol for both constancy and change. I’m expecting to like this novel quite a bit.
I seem to love novels that take place by water. I don’t know why, but I love the different things authors do with bodies of water and metaphors and symbolism. For some reason, that sort of thing really gets me reflecting on the writing and themes of the novel.
So far (I’m a little ways into the book), I really like it. The writing is good and there’s something captivating about the way the story’s told. When I read some books, it takes me awhile to surface from them when I stop reading. The Sea, The Sea seems to be one of them.
I hope I enjoy the rest of the book as much as I’ve enjoyed the first 60ish pages.
The Quixotic Reader 