If you purloin a dog in London, booze might be involved
Written: Aug 29 '07 (Updated Aug 29 '07)
Product Rating:
Pros: Colorful London adventures, dog stealing and philosophical illumination. Some drinking too.
Cons: May be misconstrued as immature. Or construed. Is strued a word?
The Bottom Line: a 20th century perspective of London life through a dreamer's scope - taken as moral parable on the philosophical dilemma of life or story of a dude who steals dogs.
SpookyMonkey's Full Review: Iris Murdoch - Under the Net
A little while later, Lefty was saying to me, "What you need is to become involved. As soon as you do something and knock into people you'll begin to hate a few of them. Nothing destroys abstraction so as well as hatred."
"It's true," I said lazily. "At present, I hate nobody."
We spoke in low voices. Near by, Finn and Dave lay murmuring to each other.
"Then you ought be ashamed," said Lefty.
The nerd part of me is a huge fan of the so-called 'impressionist' style of literature which, depending on who you ask, ranges from Ford Maddox Ford to Joyce to Virginia Woolf. Under the Net is Iris Murdoch's first full novel, written in 1954 but with the uncanny ability to feel like it happened yesterday.
But you hate Virginia Woolf. You've got a 'Mrs Dalloway is a Dirty Pirate Hooker' tattoo on your chest.
So I do. How did that get there?
I'm sure the story behind that is going to be far better than this review.
Oh really? Well then, let me show you a thing or two! Scratch the above paragraphs - I've got a thing for Iris Murdoch. She is one of the most underrated writers outside of the European continent. She often gets dismissed as a cruder Joyce, but Joyce doesn't have the talent of relevance that she carries. Her intuitive albeit casual prose peers deep into the hearts and minds of the most complex character of all - the slacker.
Is this some way of trying to make you feel better about the fact that you don't do anything all day?
Not at all - Protagonist Jake is a part-time translator and a full-time dreamer. He is airy, lovable and completely unable to make commitment work in any sense. His ability to hold down a job has the same success rate as his talent to maintain a relationship with a woman - leading him to be unemployed and broke.
But Jake has friends who allow him to wheedle money from and there's adventures to be had in the world. Jake's mind refuses to stay on the ground out of fear that he'll miss what is going on in the world elsewhere.
And what is happening in the world?
He steals a dog. So that happens.
Interesting. Why would one steal a dog?
Why wouldn't one steal a dog?
You're a tricky one, Monkey.
Indeedy. But don't be tempted to sell the novel as brisk craziness in London - there's a deeper complexity at work in the novel. Murdoch explores such paradigms as the inadequacies of language to explain the lives we live, the destructive force of psychoanalysis on the creative spark and the plight of the fearless artist to be understood.
You're just making this up. I bet the book is about stealing dogs and urinating behind dumpsters.
All this is done while simultaneously painting brilliant literary landscapes of London and the inhabitants therein. Jake stumbles (sometimes with direction, mostly without) through his world on the cusp of mental illumination and teeters on the brink - only to fall into a pub or dog track.
Nope, not convinced.
Oh yeah? Then read this:
It is of interest to note that Jake, Finn and Madge all resided within the same house. Now, separated indefinitely, Jake’s only option is to internalize the notions they represent and reconcile them, or face the wrath of a pathological manifestation. Whatever a priori trauma has led to this pathology is resolved, not necessarily in a positive fashion, through a psychoanalyzing process.
Jake’s own parapraxis betrays his true emotions which aren’t even realized until he saves Hugo from the hospital (225-6).
Now what in the hell is all that about?
It got me an A in my college level Studies in the Literature of Art, buster. So you'd better accept the fact that my sexy excerpt above relates to the book somewhere because some crusty guy with a Masters agreed.
Then color me persuaded. So why should I read this?
Because you're a book nerd who wants Joyce with breasts and Flann O'Brien isn't available.
What about her other novels?
I find this to be Murdoch's best work. It is by no means a masterpiece but you can't help but to feel like you've accomplished something by reading it. Like putting on a pair of old pants and finding twenty bucks in the pocket.
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