Iris [Paperback]

John Bayley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2002

John Bayley's account of his long and loving marriage to the great novelist Iris Murdoch takes us on a journey, from their love affair's comically inauspicious beginnings in the Oxford of the early 1950s, (Bayley courted Iris on account of her unchallenging plain looks and their first date consisted of a revolting dinner followed by a disastrous dance when Iris sprained her ankle) to its slow and painful closure more than 40 years later, due to Iris's Alzheimer's. As Bayley charts the gradual dissolution of Iris's remarkable intellect side by side with the detail of their gloriously eccentric and profoundly satisfying life together, what emerges is the complex portrait of an enigmatic and brilliant woman and of a marriage of quite extraordinary, unforced happiness, and some remarkable insight into the richly mysterious symbolism of Iris Murdoch's novels.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Quite simply one of the best audiobooks I've ever heard. I didn't buy the book, not being a fan of Murdoch's novels and unable to imagine that I could enjoy any sort of account of her decline into Alzheimer's. But I was quickly hooked by the love, wisdom and humour so disarmingly, openly offered by John Bayley. There is also much unconventional but remarkably nourishing food for thought about the nature of marriage, all greatly enhanced by Jacobi's candid, unhurried reading." Christina Hardyment, Independent 13/3/99 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

John Bayley is the author of ALICE, THE QUEER CAPTAIN,GEORGE'S LAIR and THE RED HAT. He was Warton Professor of English at the University of Oxford and is a fellow of St Catherine's College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Abacus (January 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0349114293
• ISBN-13: 978-0349114293
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,593,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I thought it would be much better, December 3, 2007

By 

Barb F. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Iris a Memoir of Iris Murdoch (Paperback)

I only read about 40 some pages--and that was enough for me to decide I had enough. I was very interested to read this memoir, but it let me down. I think this book uses too many big words that I get lost in--that takes away from the author's experiences. It was also hard to follow who the author is speaking about and his relationship to them.