(no subject)

I finished The Sea, the Sea this morning, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. In general, I enjoyed the book, although I found it to be something of a strange read. As I said earlier, I loved the beginning for its wonderful characterization and thoughtful, introspective quality. I was very interested in the questions about identity and memory and recording your own life that were raised by the first part of the book. I couldn't help but be disappointed when those questions were entirely abandoned for a plot that pushed the farthest limits of credibility. The end of the book returned somewhat to the style and tone of the beginning, but everything in between had been so absurd that none of those initial questions were ever successfully addressed. I still think, as I said before, that it would have been a better book if Murdoch had chosen to forgo the ridiculous plot and focus on Charles as a character and his fundamentally flawed understanding of his own life.

Despite my disappointment, I genuinely enjoyed reading the book. Murdoch's writing is excellent, and Charles is such an intense, believeable character that I was able to put aside my disappointment and enjoy the book for what it was. I'm surprised that I was able to do this, it's not very typical of me and it makes me think that Murdoch must really be a good writer. I'd be interested in checking out a few more of her books, if only so that I might be able to put The Sea, the Sea in perspective and perhaps make some more sense of it.

I don't really know what I'll read next. I have Vladimir Nabokov's Speak, Memory at home, and I tend to be a big fan of his, so maybe I'll read that. It would also be fun to go to the library and pick something totally new and different, or to find something on my lengthy list of books to read, but I don't know how soon I'll be able to get over to the library so I may just have to start Speak, Memory in the meantime.