Scan barcode
A review by marmoo
The Bell by Iris Murdoch
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Rich in both sensory descriptions and psychological exploration, this manages to be the rare novel to delve deeply into the characters’ interiority without feeling remote from their material world.
“Those who hope, by retiring from the world, to earn a holiday from human frailty, in themselves and others, are usually disappointed,” the narration observes. That certainly proves true for the collection of loose ends and spiritual malcontents who populate the religious community at the novel’s heart. The frailties they bring with them on their spiritual questing offer fertile ground for both humor and pathos.
“Those who hope, by retiring from the world, to earn a holiday from human frailty, in themselves and others, are usually disappointed,” the narration observes. That certainly proves true for the collection of loose ends and spiritual malcontents who populate the religious community at the novel’s heart. The frailties they bring with them on their spiritual questing offer fertile ground for both humor and pathos.