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Loading... Bruno's Dream (1969)by Iris Murdoch
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Iris Murdoch is on a brilliant streak at this point. This book is a fairly unforgiving portrait of death and dying from a few different angles, and Bruno himself is a gruesome character. There is also comedy and farce as the remaining characters dance around each other in various changing formations. There are also stamps and spiders. ( ) Someone once said Murdoch's books are full of passion and disaster. Exactly! At the center of Bruno's Dream is the complication of family and all the confusing dynamics that can happen between its members. The lust and the hate and everything in between spill out of Murdoch's stories. The relationships surrounding protagonist Bruno are sticky, web-like, and ensnaring (pun totally intended as Bruno is a philatelist and arachnologist of sorts). Much like a spider in a web, he lays bedridden and dying, waiting for people to come to him. Most loyal to Bruno is Nigel. Of all the characters Nigel is the simplest. Throughout the story he remains uncoupled despite his best attempts. Knowing Bruno doesn't have long to live, he urges Bruno's estranged son, Miles, to visit his dying father. Son and father have been apart since Miles married an Indian woman much to Bruno's disapproval. After the death of his first wife Miles remarries but his father has never met the second wife, Diana, due to the prejudicial falling out. Diana's sister, Lisa, complicates Miles's household when she arrives and Miles can't help but seduce her. When it comes to women, Miles is a very busy man. More loyal to Bruno than his own son is son-in-law Danby, once married to Bruno's daughter, Gwen. Gwen died before the reader picks up the story. As an aside, if you would like to keep track, three wives have died: Bruno's wife, Miles's first wife, and Danby's wife. Danby at some point carried on a secret affair with Adelaide, Bruno's nurse, but doesn't stay faithful to her. Adelaide and Nigel's twin brother also have an affair. Lots and lots of partner switching. As an aside, I felt that nearly everyone in Bruno's Dream was crazy. I didn't really care for any of them. I finished my first trip to Murdochia and quite enjoyed it. I admit her characters don't quite make likable but they are interesting. One or the other is usually good enough for me. Since I'm a bit Asperger'sish myself, my standards for personal interaction skills is a bit low. I liked her line "He loved her wholeheartedly but with too ordinary a heart. If I don't like a character and I feel the author is trying to force them on me as a role model, that is when I get annoyed.IM wasn't doing that. She had lots of things happening usually unexpected things. She had philosophical musings but they were interesting, didn't go on for pages and most importantly were from a character's POV. I don't like authors who come in like an omniscient voice stating how people are or ought to be. Her prose is beautiful. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesGallimard, Folio (2093)
Bruno, dying, obsessed with spiders and preoccupied with death and reconciliation, lies at the center of an intricate spider's web of relationships and passions- Bruno's estranged and grieving son Miles; Danby, Bruno's widowed son-in-law, consoling himself with the Adelaide the maid, one of Murdoch's finest comic creations; creepy Nigel the nurse and his besotted twin Will, fighter of duels. The flooding Thames brings about the climax, and all are left changed by love and forgiveness before the old man's death. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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