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A review by beq3
The Bell by Iris Murdoch
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A weirdly uncomfortable read. You are pulled back and forth, liking and disliking the characters, horrified by them, sorry for them, willing them to do better, understanding when they don't. People are really sometimes impenetrable, they don't understand themselves and growth is hard.
Even the landscape is difficult people walk down lanes, and through gates, find doorways in the wall and plunge into the water. The landscape is endlessly described but I could never visualise it clearly. I think now this is probably deliberate as it adds a lot to the unsettling atmosphere of the book and increases your sense of these being people who are in some way lost.
An excellent read, but quite challenging. One of those books that you find yourself puzzling over afterwards.
Even the landscape is difficult people walk down lanes, and through gates, find doorways in the wall and plunge into the water. The landscape is endlessly described but I could never visualise it clearly. I think now this is probably deliberate as it adds a lot to the unsettling atmosphere of the book and increases your sense of these being people who are in some way lost.
An excellent read, but quite challenging. One of those books that you find yourself puzzling over afterwards.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship