The Message to the Planet (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991)
At a glance:
- Author: Iris Murdoch
- First Published: 1989
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: The 1980’s
- Setting: London
- Principal Characters: Marcus Vallar, Irina Vallar, Alfred Ludens, Gildas Herne, Patrick Fenman, Jack Sheerwater, Franca Sheerwater, Alison Merrick
- Genres: Long fiction, Magical Realism
- Subjects: Intellectuals, Supernatural, 1980’s, England or English people, Upper classes, Hallucinations or illusions, Morality or morals, Immaturity
- Locales: London, England
Part of the interest of yet another novel by the prolific Iris Murdoch is charting the intense reactions it invariably provokes among reviewers. A Murdoch novel is not only wildly creative but also can be a cause of creativity in others, judging from the range of simile and metaphor used to express the satisfaction, bafflement, or exasperation of its readers. Murdoch’s twenty- fourth novel, The Message to the Planet, is no exception. “[A]s sturdy and reliable as a well-made trench coat” observes one, while another finds in The Message to the Planet “the impassive force of...
[The entire page is 1592 words long]
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