Understanding Iris Murdoch

A dominant figure of postwar British literature, Iris Murdoch has written more than twenty-five novels, a collection of poems, and a half-dozen philosophical studies. While critical opinion of her work varies, Murdoch presides as one of the most respected contemporary British novelists. In Understanding Iris Murdoch, Cheryl Bove divides Murdoch’s work into two broad categories-the ironic tragedy and the bittersweet comedy-to examine the reasons why her work continues to attract such a large following.Bove describes Murdoch as preoccupied with love, art, and the possibility and difficulty of doing good and avoiding evil. A writer of consistently readable novels who fashions gripping narratives and vivid characters, Murdoch presents readers with moral problems upon which she allows her audience to pass judgement. Bove summarizes Murdoch’s work not as an effort to advance a cause, expand a philosophy, or portray a society but to present human relationships and solve fictional problems of plot and theme.