The sea, the sea

When retired actor, playwright and director, Charles Arrowby relocates to a house by the sea he is not prepared for the dramatic changes about to occur in his life. The first section of The Sea,The Sea by Irish author, Iris Murdoch, provides initial thoughts outlining the background to Charles' life so far and his desire to write his story - now that he has the time to do this. This is followed by a more serious attempt to record his story in which we meet a cast of characters who, one way or another, have impacted on his life. We also begin to realise that Charles is not necessarily a reliable narrator and there could be many versions of the story.

Much of the book revolves around Charles' infatuation with his 'first love' Hartley who he meets again in the village near where he now living with her husband, Ben. Their son, Titus, has disappeared from their life. However we soon learn that Charles has had many relationships including with Clementine, Lizzy and Rosina plus other women who appear infatuated with him. His written account deals with his version of the story with these women which becomes chaotic when Lizzy and Rosina with Gilbert, Peregrine, Hartley's son, Titus, and Charles' cousin, James, arrive at his house at the same time.

This is a story of relationships ( real and imagined) - jealousy, remorse, hatred, tragedy and love are some of the themes occurring in the often humorous account of Charles' life. A major factor of the book is, of course, the sea which is ever present. There is also a feeling of the supernatural with Charles convinced that he has seen a sea-monster and his suspicion that his cousin may have mystical powers.

The version of the book that I read had 580 pages of small print which made it a challenge to read at times however persevering was worthwhile. The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch won the Booker Prize in 1978. This novel was one of three books selected as a possible title for the Monash Alumni Book Club in March 2025.

The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch - review