The Message to the Planet

Well, first, let me say that Iris Murdoch is a good writer, that she captures what seemms to me the tenour of the social interactions in comtemporary England among the Middle classes extremely well, rather crabbed and incestuous (not literally), and that The Tempest influence works for the most past. BUT...this book, taken as a whole, seems to me a work of theodicy (explaining God's ways to man) which simply doesn't sit well with a work of art-In short, it's tendentious-The "Message," in the end, seems to be:"God works in inscrutable and mysterious ways and it's best not to ponder overmuch these mysterious ways (such as the Holocaust) or it will KILL you." This is a bit of an oversimplification, but will have to do for this review. On the other hand, Murdoch does have a deft rather than heavy hand in portraying human relations. So, I suppose one must take the well-written with the tendentious. For those looking for a more brilliant modern novel heavily influenced by The Tempest, may I humbly recommmend The Magus by John Fowles whose wriring is brilliant, and the "message" of which will leave you pondering long after you put the book down.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I like this book at least as well as The Bell and the Sandcastle, and very possibly more. One of the characters in this book asks where ordinary morality is, when what is called for in the world is the courage of a saint. Once again, Murdoch visits the question of the Good and how it applies to human life. This time the question centers around Marcus, who anchors the novel as a character from myth-- sometimes a saint, sometimes Prospero, sometimes a lunatic. Each of the other characters in the book have to find their way (through eccentric marriages, chaste romances, resurrections, and mysticism) in a world where all the familiar rules no longer apply. All the solutions (where there are solutions) are complicated and costly.As usual, the writing is crisp and incisive, the characters well-formed and very complete. One of the great Murdoch novels.

Although this is ostensibly a novel about a bizarre character's interaction with the world around him, what I took from it is a probing, insightful look by Murdoch at the question of what would it be like if Jesus appeared in present times....Her prose is dense and the book can be difficult at times, but the payoff is well worth the effort.