Books
by Iris Murdoch
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Nuns and Soldiers |
This convoluted tale of love, loss, and the unpredictable human heart would
have delighted Shakespeare. It all begins when Guy Openshaw dies. Gertrude, the widow, is plunged into mourning, then suddenly falls in love with a seemingly unsuitable younger man. Gertrude’s social circle quickly moves to intervene. What follows is a rather madcap sequence of good intentions and miscalculations, with no participant left untouched. Kudos to Murdoch for this wry and very entertaining narrative.
(Sharron Calkins - bwl 117 Summer 2025) |
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The Sacred and Profane Love Machine |
Blaise Gavender, a middle-aged, married psychotherapist, confesses to
his wife that he has a mistress and an illegitimate six-year-old son. So begins
this black comedy on the pitfalls of trying to have it all, and keep it all, in the
game called love. Lovers, victims, and other interested parties bumble about
in an effort to be helpful….until all goes very, very wrong. Murdoch’s modern-
day morality play is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
(Sharron Calkins - bwl 118 Autumn 2025) |
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