The Time of the Angels (original 1966; edition 1988)

This is the 1978 edition by Triad/Panther Books. The cover shows a detail from a painting of Chloe Boughton_Leigh c. 1907. by Gwen John (Tate Gallery, London). ( )

The Time of the Angels is definitely not Christmas. Carel Fisher has lost his faith but not his place in the church hierarchy. He, his daughter, niece, and housekeeper have moved to a parish in London without a church building or congregation. There they find a Russian refugee who takes care of the manse and his beautiful amoral son. Finally there are Marcus, Carel's brother and his friend Norah, two teachers who have taught Leo, the Russian's son and Muriel, Carel's daughter. Anthea Barlow, presumably a church woman who keeps trying to get in to see Carel, rounds out the cast of characters. The book explores the relationships among these nine people as they discuss the nature of Good without God and wander around in a cold London fog.
Although Carel is at the center of the book, we don't get to see him often and know him mainly through his influence on the other characters. As a hint, I'd say that Carel doesn't so much hate God (that's what the blurb on the cover of my copy says) as that he has appropriated God's place. The angels that have been loosed by the death of God are the principalities and powers - and nobody should expect any good of them. Marcus, on the other hand, never believed in God but sees man seeking to be Good for nothing because goodness does exist.
This is not one of Murdoch's best. There's little humor to lighten the miasmas of dysfunction. She wrote it in 1966, and I was as shocked today as I would have been then at the first major plot twist. Plot twist number two should have been equally shocking but wasn't. Plot twist number three provided the only laugh in the book for me. I would not recommend it as the first for someone curious about Murdoch. ( )

In this novel there are seven characters, the most interesting are Carel a rector of a non - existent city which is enveloped daily by fog during the period of second world war and Marcus a writer.

The philosophical argument of this novel is the death of God, this imply that after this event, the angels and demons are free.

According to this fact we will be able to understand the rule of God as a guide of the humanity? how will be a world without God? a better of worst place?, surprisingly this is the main thought of Carel a priest without faith.

How it can be possible? what she will teach? through this personage we will witness of a godless world.

It must be clear that Carel is not a selfish being but he is aware about the angels now they have power and they can do what they want, this means that the world will be a worst place because everything is permitted, in other words there is a lack of morality.

Now the central question is the following: "How we can be good in a godless universe" (The Times of the Angels, Vintage Classics, Iris Murdoch, Loc 3923-24)

In my opinion a world without God and Morality is like the rectory, enveloped by the fog or better we are losing our souls,. this imply that we have not a strong point of reference.

"I want to be famous and powerful and rich. That's what everybody really wants, only they haven't the nerve to say so. Moral people are just retarded. They haven't got wise to themselves". (The Times of the Angels, Vintage Classics, Iris Murdoch, Loc 1106-8)

In conclusion the reason of God is linked to the fact that the humanity is fragile we needs of illusions. ( )

I rather like this book, though it's darker than most of Murdoch's writings. ( )

The London fog seems to suffuse this novel, shroud its characters. And the charactes do seem, for the most part, in the dark. A novel about loss of faith. And, I think, about for what life is worth living. Not one of her better novels, but still interesting. ( )