This book was a very pleasant surprise for me. Lately I have been picking up more books at the thrift store, simply based on the blurb and often I will look up the rating on here. The Green Knight was one such book.

Murdoch knows how to write a character. The perspective often shifts around between a few members of a small circle of friends in London, and all of these people seem to leap off the page. They are all certainly characters, yet they feel so much like people you could actually run into and meet. Murdoch does not over-describe their appearances, but does so enough that I had a clear picture in my mind for each of them.

Although there is a certain mystery in the plot, the book mainly revolves around the psychology of the people you meet. This may not be for everyone, but personally I do enjoy quite slow-burn stories and diving into characters’ thoughts and motivations. This is combined with numerous references to literature, art and spirituality, elements which I very much enjoyed but does not make it the most accessible read. It also expects that the reader has some basic knowledge of French, as French terms and sentences are not translated.

This is not to put potential readers off, as the story does in fact have many twists and turns that keep you on your toes, and made me at least, desperately curious to see where all this would be going.

In the beginning, I was a bit confused as to when the story was taking place. The way people live and dress initially made me think it was set maybe in the 1960s, only later it became clear to me that it was set in the early 1990s.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for something to cozy up with on a rainy afternoon. ( )

My first attempt at a Murdoch novel. It is compelling, complex and absorbs one so much that I couldn't put it down. ( )

When Lucas Graffe attempts (with what serious intent is never made clear) to murder Clement Graffe, the natural son of Lucas's adoptive parents, a stranger intervenes, only to be struck down by Lucas and presumed dead. However, the stranger surfaces very much alive some months alive and comes to play an important role in the lives of the Graffes and their social circle, particularly Louise Anderson and her three daughters and Bellamy James, a would-be monk.

I found it difficult to follow who was who at the beginning of the book. As the story progressed, although the characters, their actions, thoughts, and emotions were meticulously described, and the symbolism and echoes of the Bible, myths and legends became more and more apparent, nevertheless I found the book had no emotional resonance for me. I kept going on a sort of "I've started so I'll finish" principle, but couldn't really see any point to the strange behaviour of these people. When the miraculous events seem more probable and realistic than the everyday scenes, then the author is in trouble.

"And he thought, I shall go on blindly and secretly jumbling all these things together and making no sense of them as long as I live. Maybe every human creature carries some such inescapable burden. That is being human. A very weird affair."

I saw Iris Murdoch's debut novel on the Modern Library 100 list but ultimately read this later work because it seemed more relevant to my interests. And so it was: a subtle study of the intersection of madness and mysticism, woven into a sometimes-funny magically real yarn about a traditionally non-traditional extended family in London. ( )

"And he thought, I shall go on blindly and secretly jumbling all these things together and making no sense of them as long as I live. Maybe every human creature carries some such inescapable burden. That is being human. A very weird affair."

I saw Iris Murdoch's debut novel on the Modern Library 100 list but ultimately read this later work because it seemed more relevant to my interests. And so it was: a subtle study of the intersection of madness and mysticism, woven into a sometimes-funny magically real yarn about a traditionally non-traditional extended family in London. ( )