The Sea, The Sea
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: Previous owner
A landmark of twentieth-century British literary fiction, The Sea, The Sea chronicles the retirement of Charles Arrowby, a celebrated London theatre director who withdraws to a remote house on the English coast, ostensibly to write his memoirs and renounce the vanities of his former life. What unfolds instead is a darkly comic and psychologically penetrating study of obsession, self-deception, and the destructive power of romantic delusion, as Charles becomes consumed by the reappearance of his first love, Hartley, whom he has not seen in decades. Murdoch constructs her narrative with brilliant irony, allowing Charles to reveal his own narcissism and moral blindness through the very act of writing his confessional memoir, never quite grasping the damage he inflicts on those around him. The novel masterfully weaves together themes of art, ego, jealousy, and the supernatural, all set against the brooding, elemental backdrop of the sea itself. Winner of the Booker Prize in 1978, it stands as one of Murdoch's most ambitious and rewarding works, illustrating her unparalleled gift for dissecting the human capacity for self-serving illusion.
Author: Iris Murdoch
Format: Hardback
Genre: Modern fiction
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: Previous owner
A landmark of twentieth-century British literary fiction, The Sea, The Sea chronicles the retirement of Charles Arrowby, a celebrated London theatre director who withdraws to a remote house on the English coast, ostensibly to write his memoirs and renounce the vanities of his former life. What unfolds instead is a darkly comic and psychologically penetrating study of obsession, self-deception, and the destructive power of romantic delusion, as Charles becomes consumed by the reappearance of his first love, Hartley, whom he has not seen in decades. Murdoch constructs her narrative with brilliant irony, allowing Charles to reveal his own narcissism and moral blindness through the very act of writing his confessional memoir, never quite grasping the damage he inflicts on those around him. The novel masterfully weaves together themes of art, ego, jealousy, and the supernatural, all set against the brooding, elemental backdrop of the sea itself. Winner of the Booker Prize in 1978, it stands as one of Murdoch's most ambitious and rewarding works, illustrating her unparalleled gift for dissecting the human capacity for self-serving illusion.