My
copy of Iris Murdoch’s The Sea, The Sea
features this blurb on the cover: “A rich, crowded, magical love story.” At
first glance, the aptest word here is “crowded.”
Theatre
professional Charles Arrowby has retired to a tiny village on an obscure
northern coast of the U.K. He starts keeping a diary in his newly-purchased
home, recounting his explorations of his little corner of rock and sea. But in
no time at all, his secluded house is as crowded as the London he left behind: with old
lovers, their jealous husbands, one runaway son, and mysterious cousin James.
I
shouldn’t even begin to attempt to untangle the romantic mess Arrowby is in,
but here’s the quick and dirty: it just so happens that his one childhood love
is in the same village – with her bully of a husband. Arrowby’s plan to spirit
her away turns into a three-ring circus fueled by obsession and wine. The only
fully sane and serene person seems to be cousin James, who remains, unfortunately,
on the periphery until the end.
All
the different flavors of love found here, straight and gay, December and May,
seem to dissolve like the sunset over the sea when faced with the unfaded brilliance
of Arrowby’s childhood ties – to his first sweetheart, but also to his cousin.
It’s
a compelling romp, and Murdoch writes Arrowby with tongue firmly in cheek. He’s
the sort of fussy fellow who makes fun of his friends for their overblown ideas
about love, then spouts his own a few pages later. But as the story careens
like a drunken driver between comedy and tragedy, it actually does become rich,
and yes, even magical.
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