The Sea, The Sea (1978)
Who wrote it?
Dame Iris Murdoch (1919-1999; active 1954-1995), prolific novelist, philosopher, poet and playwright (in her time). Perhaps one of the best-known authors to have won the Booker so far. This was her first win despite an impressive three previous shortlisted novels in the first ten years of the Prize.
She married literary critic and novelist John Bayley, whose memoirs of her, notably her final years suffering from Alzheimers, were dramatised in the 2001 film Iris, with Kate Winslet and Judi Dench portraying Murdoch.
What's it about
The novel begins with its central protagonist, Charles Arrowby, a successful and somewhat famous theatre director and playwright, abandoning his career and London life and social circle for a solitary life by the sea, in a strange and somewhat dilapidated house.
Early on we get a sense of Charles’ self-aggrandizing tendencies, viewing himself as a modern-day Prospero, and otherwise imbuing his every move and action with huge and (obviously) theatrical significance, even his rather unappetizing sounding meals. We also learn that he has a tendency to see more than is really there, including a memorable early sighting of a “sea monster” - which he is tempted to attribute to previous consumption of hallucinogens, but never seems quite willing to accept as definitively unreal.
The main theme of the novel is established with the realisation that his long lost childhood love, Hartley, is living in town with a partner who Arrowby determines to be a violent and threatening presence, and resolves to “save” her from him. The rest of the novel is focused on Charles’ delusionary obsession with Hartley, or the ideal of his own past that she represents. All of this is accompanied by a seemingly never-ending parade of guests from his theatrical past, former lovers and a potential surrogate son, and a bunch of twists and turns that make it hard to put down. It’s alternately insightful and farcical, occasionally hilarious and often ridiculous, but absolutely and almost maddeningly addictive. My favourite winner so far by a good margin.
What I liked
I’ve (shamefully) not read any Murdoch before, but I found her style incredibly appealing. Beautifully precise prose, extremely detailed while never feeling like a word is wasted. This felt like a daunting one in terms of length, but it ended up being the first one I actively started to “ration” myself on, as I didn’t want it to end!
Charles Arrowby is a fantastic creation. A comically awful character to drive a lengthy first-person narrative, lacking in self-awareness and with a vision of life seemingly drawn entirely from theatrical productions, he is nonetheless absolutely compelling, to the point where you occasionally get swept away with his delusions and find yourself (entirely wrongly) on his side.
While the other characters in the novel are not as well developed, and all seen through the skewed perspective of Charles, there are still some incredibly memorable (and comic) creations in there. Nobody in the novel is particularly likeable, but everyone is intriguing.
The plot may have a tendency towards the melodramatic and the downright ridiculous, as others have commented, but I can’t help but see this as (a) an essential function of its narrator’s theatrical worldview and (b) the reason it’s so much fun!
Showing and not telling, again. There’s not a lot of conclusion-ifying here, and so much the better for it. Hartley’s story in particular seems to exemplify this. Charles is left at a loss to make sense of it all, having gone so far down the road of inventing her feelings and life story that he can’t remotely comprehend what her reality may have been. Her last words to him - “you haven’t understood…” feel entirely fitting, both as a message to him and perhaps to us the reader (also seduced by Charles’ compellingly OTT inventions)- we’re left to muse on the stories not told, here and elsewhere.
Some excellent food and drink descriptions in this. Absolutely packed with them. See below.
What I didn't like
Perhaps the conclusion could be said to be a disappointment relative to the rest of the novel. But in some senses I wonder again if it’s not just a factor of the piling up of layers of madness and melodrama, to the point where it can’t help but collapse in on itself, and fizzle out, exhausted. I’m not entirely sure that’s a totally bad thing. It seemed somehow fitting, to me? Loose ends are not wrapped up, and you’re left with a lot of pondering on what has gone before. All good in my opinion.
I will admit that there are some contrivances which stretch ones credulity to rather an extreme extent. But suspension of disbelief, and all that…
Food & drink pairings
Oh god, lots of food, memorably described in great detail. Charles is obsessed with certain humble ingredients (apricots, Cox’s Orange Pippins, and various tinned produce) which he combines in “simple” fashion, insists are the only “correct” foods despite his combinations occasionally sounding a little absurd.
Emphatically no elaborate stews or other “smelly foods” which one would spend “hours” creating. Why bother when you have some dried crackers, tinned olives and a large block of cheese?
Lots of booze, but never spirits. Five litres of cheap Spanish red between two cousins won’t hurt, though.
Fun facts
Apparently the jury were quite divided on the winner this year, with each judge preferring a different winner “everyone’s [undisclosed] second choice” was almost chosen as the winner. Derwent May was (by his own account) the one who decided this was no way to do things and rallied the panel around Murdoch.
Also present on the 1978 jury was a certain P.H. Newby, winner of the inaugural 1969 Booker.
One book conspicuous by its absence from the ‘78 shortlist is The Singapore Grip by J.G. Farrell - unlike the two previous parts of the Empire trilogy, which won in 1973 and (retrospectively via the Lost Booker) in 1970, this one didn’t get so much as a look-in.
The Sea, The Sea has been adapted twice for radio, in 1993 and in 2015, with the latter casting Jeremy Irons as Charles. I’ve also spotted an audiobook read by Richard E. Grant, which really strikes me as the most perfect casting for Charles Arrowby. Petition for a movie version starring Grant? He’s surely of the right age now…
Vanquished Foes
Kingsley Amis (Jake’s Thing)
Andre Brink (Rumours of Rain)
Penelope Fitzgerald (The Bookshop)
Jane Gardam (God on the Rocks)
Bernice Rubens (A Five-Year Sentence)
A bit of a roll-call of previous and future winners here. I’ve read none of them, quelle surprise.
Context
In 1978 :
Camp David Accords between Egypt & Israel
Restoration of democracy in post-Franco Spain
Pope John Paul II succeeds John Paul I (after the latter dies just 33 days into his papacy)
Jonestown Incident - cult murder-suicide claims 918 lives
Unabomber attacks in the US
Solomon Islands and Dominica become independent from the UK
LGBT Rainbow Flag flies for the first time in San Francisco
Keith Moon of The Who dies of an overdose aged 32
Space Invaders arcade game released
Kate Bush, “Wuthering Heights”
Dallas debuts on US TV
Grease
Superman
Debut of Garfield comic strip
Life Lessons
If you want to rekindle things with your childhood sweetheart, locking them up in your creepy house might not be ideal
Not everything in life can be explained by reference to The Tempest
Ridiculous, melodramatic Booker Winners are great. More please!
Score
9
I loved this one. Is it qualitatively the best of the Bookers so far? Probably not. But I couldn’t put it down so I’m bringing out the big numbers.
Ranking to date:
The Sea, The Sea - Iris Murdoch (1978) - 9
Troubles - J.G. Farrell (1970, "Lost Booker") - 8.5
Saville - David Storey (1976) - 8
The Siege of Krishnapur - J.G. Farrell (1973) - 8
The Elected Member - Bernice Rubens (1970) - 7
The Conservationist - Nadine Gordimer (1974) - 7
Holiday - Stanley Middleton (1974) - 7 .
Heat & Dust - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (1975) - 6.5
In a Free State* - V.S. Naipaul (1971) - 6.5
G. - John Berger (1972) - 6
Something to Answer For - P. H. Newby (1969) - 5.5
Staying On - Paul Scott (1977) - 5
*Read in later condensed edition.
Next up
Penelope Fitzgerald’s somewhat shorter 1979 winner, Offshore.
