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Overview
Full of suspense, humor, and symbolism, this magnificently crafted and magical novel replays biblical and medieval themes in contemporary London. An attempt by the sharp, feral, and uncommonly intelligent Lucas Graffe to murder his sensual and charismatic half-brother Clement is interrupted by a stranger—whom Lucas strikes and leaves for dead. When the stranger mysteriously reappears, with specific demands for reparation, the Graffes’ circle of idiosyncratic family and friends is disrupted—for the demands are bizarre, intrusive, and ultimately fatal.
From the nationally acclaimed author of The Book of the Brotherhood comes a magnificently crafted and magical novel which explores biblical and medieval themes in a contemporary London setting. "Enthralling . . . its sensuousness, its visionary physical detail, is a pleasure."--San Francisco Chronicle.
Synopsis
In a small circle of friends in London, some disturbing occurrences are taking place: Lucas Graffe, a reclusive academic, kills a man in self-defense, and disappears immediately after the trial, leaving his brother, the charismatic actor Clement Graffe, tortured by his absence. Their friend Bellamy James rids himself of all ties and possessions, even giving away his beloved dog. Yearning for simplicity and purification, he prepares himself for a monastic life. And outside Clifton, the house where the widowed Louise Anderson lives with her three eccentric daughters, a very peculiar man is watching. Lucas finally returns, and during his reunion with his brother they happen to receive a surprising visitor. It soon becomes clear to the Graffes and their friends that there is a complex mission to fulfill, of revenge, but also of transformation. Rich, enthralling, full of humor and suspense, Iris Murdoch's magnificent new novel illuminates the complexities of guilt and innocence, malice and compassion. It is a triumphant work from one of our greatest writers.
Publishers Weekly
England's preeminent philosopher-novelist ( The Message to the Planet ) reworks dark themes of murder and revenge in her overly long, 25th novel, set in contemporary London. A bevy of eccentric, old-world figures orbit central antagonists Lucas Graffe and Peter Mir as they play out an archetypal drama. One night in a park, genius-recluse Graffe attempts to murder his younger brother with a single blow to the head. Mir, a mysterious stranger, intervenes, receives the blow and is left for dead; his subsequent return and demand for justice invokes ancient myths. Though an excessive number of supporting players are endlessly intrigued (``It's a battle between two mad magicians!'' gushes one), the central drama remains diffuse. Murdoch's style is also ill-defined: one minute Angela Carter, the next Arthur Conan Doyle. The characters' lengthy philosophical ruminations seem the author's rather than their own; more realistic is the intensely British social anxiety that seeps from everyone--even the dog, to whose point of view we are extensively subjected. The book is far from perfect, but passages of intense writing and keen depictions of people grappling with afflictions of the soul remind us that Murdoch's perspective is invaluable. (Jan.)