When I think of the novels of Iris Murdoch I recall a song of Leonard Cohen titled ‘In My Secret Life’. All her characters have these secret lives, are pray to hidden motivations and impulses – often hidden even from themselves. In short, her character’s act in surprising ways!
If impulsivity is a theme, so is a moment of crisis. The writer, Charlotte Mendelson, another ardent reader of her work, puts it so well:
‘Her books are full of passion and disaster’.
‘The Sea, the Sea’ (1978); ‘The Sacred and Profane Love Machine’ (1974); and ‘The Bell’ (1958) are just some of her novels that rang through my adolescence and continue to resonate with me to this day.
