This is a tough one. I didn’t like this book at all, but think it has some merit.

I loved Iris Murdoch’s The Sea, The Sea, and The Unicorn is the second of her books I’ve read. Its strength is the setting, the gothic impression of the coastal town. Its most blatant weakness is the characterisation. There are far too many main characters for such a short book, and I think the shift in POV from Marian to Effingham was a very weak choice. The Sea, The Sea worked so well because while Charles is a terrible guy, he’s a wonderful character, and all of his unhinged decisions make perfect sense because you’re so deeply rooted in his head & sense of the world. This was far weaker, none of the characters actions and decisions made any sense to me, and they all blended into one.

 It’s a shame because I really wanted to like this. A lot of the philosophy went over my head but that’s fine, I don’t mind (and often quite enjoy) not understanding things or having to think hard abt what I’m reading. I just thought the characters were weak which made the plot weak.