Rating: 
Summary: The old maid and the sea
Review: For first-time Murdoch readers, like myself, this novel is a bit of a chore. She seems to be square in the Post-Modernist camp on this one, challenging one's every sensibility through her odd assortment of characters that emerge from the pen of Charles Arrowby. This cynical English playwright is trying to piece his life together and has chosen a remote seaside town to pen his autobiography. Little does he know that an old flame had similarly migrated to this town, reawakening the sweet bird of youth in this old reprobate. The only problem is that she is no longer a beauty, nor seems to have much interest in him, which forces Charles into a series of regrettable actions that left this reader scratching his head as to "why?"In reading Peter Conradi's essay on "The Sea, The Sea" in "The Saint and the Artist," I got a better sense of what Murdoch was after in this novel, which is widely regarded as her best. It seems that she purposely set herself to challenging one's sense and sensibilities. The themes rather loosely wrap around the stage and mythology, but one is warned not to put too much stock in them. The scenes are largely symbolic and I think should be read as such. There is rather limited plausibility to the actions. It is a philosophical book, seemingly written in the same didactic spirit as the great Russian authors. Turgenev comes to mind. It is certainly not an easy read, but I found myself rewarded in the end for my effort, although I can't say it was one of my favorite novels. Murdoch never allows the reader to relax. This is such an unnerving story, not so much because of its implied Gothic air, but because one is left to question the actions of the characters, and even the characters themselves in this odd mix of mayhem and mischief. Charles is such a self-righteous old windbag that one has a very hard time identifying with him. The dowdy Hartley leaves much for the imagination. In fact the most compelling character is the one that seems to most elude Charles' pen, Clement, whom the reader is initially led to believe the novel is going to be about. Instead, we get Hartley, the old maid, who has lost her charm on just about everyone except Charles.
Rating:
Summary: The old maid and the sea
Review: For first-time Murdoch readers, like myself, this novel is a bit of a chore. She seems to be square in the Post-Modernist camp on this one, challenging one's every sensibility through her odd assortment of characters that emerge from the pen of Charles Arrowby. This cynical English playwright is trying to piece his life together and has chosen a remote seaside town to pen his autobiography. Little does he know that an old flame had similarly migrated to this town, reawakening the sweet bird of youth in this old reprobate. The only problem is that she is no longer a beauty, nor seems to have much interest in him, which forces Charles into a series of regrettable actions that left this reader scratching his head as to "why?" In reading Peter Conradi's essay on "The Sea, The Sea" in "The Saint and the Artist," I got a better sense of what Murdoch was after in this novel, which is widely regarded as her best. It seems that she purposely set herself to challenging one's sense and sensibilities. The themes rather loosely wrap around the stage and mythology, but one is warned not to put too much stock in them. The scenes are largely symbolic and I think should be read as such. There is rather limited plausibility to the actions. It is a philosophical book, seemingly written in the same didactic spirit as the great Russian authors. Turgenev comes to mind. It is certainly not an easy read, but I found myself rewarded in the end for my effort, although I can't say it was one of my favorite novels. Murdoch never allows the reader to relax. This is such an unnerving story, not so much because of its implied Gothic air, but because one is left to question the actions of the characters, and even the characters themselves in this odd mix of mayhem and mischief. Charles is such a self-righteous old windbag that one has a very hard time identifying with him. The dowdy Hartley leaves much for the imagination. In fact the most compelling character is the one that seems to most elude Charles' pen, Clement, whom the reader is initially led to believe the novel is going to be about. Instead, we get Hartley, the old maid, who has lost her charm on just about everyone except Charles.
Rating: 
Summary: Murdoch's Best
Review: For my money, this is Iris Murdoch's best novel. Many of her recurring motifs are here: an interest in Buddhism and other things mystical, swimming, homosexuality, lots of food and drink, a love affair, deep and unfathomable matters of philosophy. But this is perhaps where she gets the mix right, or more right than anywhere else. The central love affair is compelling and moving, though perhaps a little far-fetched. The main male character is very amusing. The setting, though, is perhaps the joy of the book: a rugged seaside spot in the North of England where the sea is a churning blue-green cauldron, freezing cold and dangerous. Only the Brits would delight in bathing in such a place, as the characters do here. But of course they are right. Dame Iris loved such swimming holes. And they are exhilarating places. Not little chlorinated Californian puddles of warmth. The real sea. The Sea, The Sea. Great fun.
Rating:
Summary: A Story of Growth
Review: I admit, the main character of The Sea, The Sea (Charles) is obnoxious and arrogant throughout the book. He behaves as a badly reared thirteen-year-old boy. However, the end of this book is so touching. He matures from acting like an immature boy to an elderly man -- reflecting on life, its lossess and illusions. I highly recommend. Angela Carter's Wise Children would make an excellent companion read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as The Good Apprentice
Review: I have read four or five Iris Murdoch books, and have seen that many regard "The Sea, The Sea" as her best. I disagree. I liked "The Good Apprentice" and "Message to the Planet" better. "The Sea, The Sea" is earlier, and has more concrete elements--long scene-descriptions, heavy use of symbols--than these two later ones. But in many respects it is the same. It is what Hawthorne would call a romance: not a realistic novel but a kind of controlled experiment in which a set of characters is put in artificial circumstances and observed. But in "The Sea, The Sea," the cast of characters is smaller and not as interesting as in "The Good Apprentice" or "Message to the Planet." Also, in "The Sea, The Sea," all characters are seen through the shifting lens of the narrator's (Charles Arrowby's) mind--which distorts and misperceives. In some ways, "The Sea, the Sea" is like a giant footnote to Dickens. In "Little Dorrit," Arthur Clennam comes home after 20 years in China and finds that his boyhood love, Flora Finching, is now a widow and available. He rejoices, but then finds that 20 years have made her into a COMPLETELY different person. Arthur quickly gives up his youthful memories. Not so Charles Arrowby of "The Sea, The Sea," who holds them with the obsessive fanaticism of Ahab chasing the whale. This obsession is sometimes interesting, but often exasperating. "The Sea, the Sea" is a book about PARTIAL self-discovery. Maybe there is no other kind; but Charles Arrowby's revelations are meager and annoyingly narcissistic. The book is beautifully written--with Murdoch's characteristic explosion of adjectives--and her analysis sharp; but Hartley seems a feeble character to pin undying obsessions on: far less interesting and less admirable than Clennam's Flora Finching.
Rating:
Summary: The Sea, The Sea
Review: I started reading The Sea, The Sea, and halfway through, my boyfriend left it on a plane. I couldn't find another copy for almost a year, but meanwhile I read some of Murdoch's other novels, which I enjoyed. I've now read about 10 of her books, and The Sea, The Sea was by far the best-written and most moving. Murdoch closely scrutinized the minutiae of everyday life and managed to make it beautiful and worthy of consideration and appreciation. After finishing this book, I was unable to read her other novels for a while, because I thought so highly of it, but luckily I'm over that now. This novel may not appeal to some because Charles can be an infuriating and unsympathetic narrator, but ultimately his pure intentions redeem his extreme actions.
Rating:
Summary: Enduringly and Captivatingly Brilliant.
Review: I will not dispute Iris Murdoch's talent as a writer. She is brilliant because she is able to sketch an intricate psychological portrait of a deeply flawed and frankly, despicable character. Some readers (most) will be thoroughly engaged with the narrator Charles Arrowby, a retired theatre director, who is writing an autobiography. What is remarkable about this novel is that the reader is always privy to the character's self-deception - his excuses, his motives, and his questionable actions although Charles is often oblivious to them. My contention with this novel is with its entertainment value. My admiration of Murdoch's style increased as my dislike for Charles built. Only a truly talented writer could created and persist with a character as loathsome as Charles Arrowby. His encounters with characters from his past illuminated just what a monster he is and reminded me of people I knew in my own life. So it was an ironic situation where in the end, I had to abandon the book at pg 148 because I no longer wanted to keep company with Charles. I found him too intolerable. My criticism is a double-edged sword - on one hand, it demonstrates the power of Murdoch's writing. She is able to infuse the character with so much life that I couldn't stand him anymore. On the other hand, it made me stop reading. It's a strange situation. I would not recommend this novel to those who have never read any of Murdoch's novels at all.
Rating:
Summary: The first paragraph of this book will stun you then move on
Review: In 'The sea, the sea' the human spirit in all its frailty is softly laid out before the reader, encapsulated in a language of times past that is sometimes more poetry than prose. If you love pure literature, read this spectacular book. It will show you a view down into humanity as though through the eyes of a god.
Rating:
Summary: Dense, but rewarding
Review: It took me quite a long time to finish "The Sea The Sea". This is one of those books that you just could not rush through. I admit that I felt like stop reading at times, but once you get over the denser parts of the novel and finish it, it should leave you craving for more Murdoch novels. Charles Arrowby is not likable, not at all. He is self-centered, overly obsessive, and hopeless by his own effort. He exasperates the reader with his thoughts and actions, though there are scenes towards the end that I, for a moment, felt pity for the old man. The ending seems like an anti-climax, but a weariness develops and lingers long after as my mind revisits the last pages. As you come to the end of the novel, pay attention to the quiet horror. As previous reviewers have pointed out, the plot and sequences of the novel are symbolic. The book is about the anxiety of life, of old age; it is about regret and its eroding effect; it tells the illogicality of obsession and the defiance of things reasonable; it laments the very inability of humans to recognize their own weaknesses. It leaves you in deep thoughts.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Gorgeous Prose...and a Wonderful Story, Too
Review: The Sea, The Sea has become one of my top five favorite books and Iris Murdoch one of my favorite authors. In The Sea, The Sea, we meet arrogant, snobbish Charles Arrowby, a retired London theatre director. Charles has recently bought a house by the sea where he hopes to finish his pretentious autobiography. Many things happen, however, to disrupt this enterprise. First, Charles discovers that one of the small town's inhabitants is his very first love, a love who disappeared from his life in his teens. Believing her to symbolize his lost youth and innocence, Charles becomes obsessed with her almost to the point of madness. Iris Murdoch's books are all excellent studies of relationships and The Sea, The Sea is certainly one of her best. In it, the character of Charles lies at the center of a vast network of complex relationships and interpersonal interactions. Much of the novel is an exploration of how we, ourselves, influence what others eventually come to see about people and how they relate to them. Although relationships take center stage in this novel, there is much symbolism and even a little of the supernatural. The sea is so ever-present in this book that it almost seems to be a character in and of itself. Charles reacts to the sea in many ways, some benign, some not so benign. The sea, itself, is portrayed as something that is untimately not able to be understood or controlled, much as is life. Although this book is passionately moral, it is definitely not a treatise on how to behave in a moral fashion. In fact, many of Murdoch's characters could be said to be anything but "moral." The values and consequences portrayed in this book are done with such a skillful hand, that The Sea, The Sea sits head and shoulders above Murdoch's other books, good as they are. Just like the theatrical world it explores, The Sea, The Sea, is a showy, dramatic and powerfully effective book. It is Iris Murdoch's masterpiece and a huge reward for any reader.
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