Synopses & Reviews
Set in London and in the South of France, this brilliantly structured novel centers on two women: Gertrude Openshaw, bereft from the recent death of her husband, yet awakening to passion; and Anne Cavidge, who has returned in doubt from many years in a nunnery, only to encounter her personal Christ. A fascinating array of men and women hover in urgent orbit around them: the "Count," a lonely Pole obsessively reliving his émigré father's patriotic anguish; Tim Reede, a seedy yet appealing artist, and Daisy, his mistress; the manipulative Mrs. Mount; and many other magically drawn characters moving between desire and obligation, guilt and joy. This edition of Nuns and Soldiers includes a new introduction by renowned religious historian Karen Armstrong.
Review
"Iris Murdoch is one of the more important novelists now writing in English. In her newest work she turns again to the human heart and the subject of love, with its complications and convolutions. The story is that of Gertrude Openshaw, alone after the early death of her bigger-than-life husband Guy. She is surrounded by those who loved Guy as well as those who would now love her and those whom she would now love. The book is not easy going. Murdoch is not only wordy but is incapable of easing the reader into sympathy with her characters. Despite these stylistic flaws, she is one of our most morally perceptive writers, as this work confirms." Reviewed by Andrew Witmer, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Synopsis
A dazzling meditation on love and honor, greed and generosity, passion and death, from the Booker Prize-winning author of The Sea, The Sea Set in London and in the South of France, this brilliantly structured novel centers on two women: Gertrude Openshaw, bereft from the recent death of her husband, yet awakening to passion; and Anne Cavidge, who has returned in doubt from many years in a nunnery, only to encounter her personal Christ. A fascinating array of men and women hover in urgent orbit around them: the "Count," a lonely Pole obsessively reliving his migr father's patriotic anguish; Tim Reede, a seedy yet appealing artist, and Daisy, his mistress; the manipulative Mrs. Mount; and many other magically drawn characters moving between desire and obligation, guilt and joy. This edition of Nuns and Soldiers includes a new introduction by renowned religious historian Karen Armstrong.
About the Author
Iris Murdoch (1919-1999) was born in Dublin, grew up in London, and received her university education at Oxford and Cambridge. She was the author of twenty-six novels and also wrote several works of philosophy, criticism, and drama. Her novel
The Sea, the Sea won the Booker Prize in 1978.
Karen Armstrong is one of the most renowned historians of religion at work today. A former Catholic nun and a bestselling author, her books include The Battle for God; A History of God; Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths; and her Penguin Lives biography, Buddha.
Table of Contents
Nuns and Soldiers Introduction by Karen Armstrong
Nuns and Soldiers