Customer Reviews

A Word Child

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4 star:		(1)
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The plot concerns a deeply unappealing and uncivil servant called Hilary whose current angst has arisen from, as the blurb puts it, "a tragic love tangle". I found the first third the book a little difficult to get through but what kept me turning pages was Murdoch's remarkable insight into human action. Once the reason for Hilary's abominable behavior becomes clear, you can't help but share Murdoch's empathy for him and, thereafter, the novel blooms and rips along with all the key relationships intertwining in increasingly intense ways. The conclusion is deeply satisfying on every level: dramatically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. This was my first sampling of Murdoch. She is a stunning writer and I'm very glad to have "discovered" her for myself.

I recently re-read "A Word Child" and was completely charmed by it. I hardly know where to begin listing its merits. Firstly it is good and true and seeks to make us better people in a very practical way. Too earnest for the 2000s? We shall see. Secondly it is beautiful and mystical and full of the poetry of human action. Thirdly it is humble and funny and messy and REAL. Reading Iris Murdoch is like reading no other modern author: how clear and generous her prose style is, how non-"tricksy". She was a great writer about London too: why do we forget this? I think her reputation is entirely secure as the greatest English novelist of her age and she will be read and loved by readers when many other flashier talents are long forgotton.

Oh, Iris, how I miss you. I first began reading Iris Murdoch in college, for a Philosophy in Lit. class, and was immediately captivated by "A Severed Head", which remains high on my list of favorites. But it is "A Word Child" to which I return most often.

Iris Murdoch's breathtakingly simple and yet piercing prose is at its best in this novel. Her theme is obsession, as always, and while we cannot approve of Hilary, the narrator, we find ourselves liking him for his honesty and his uncompromising view of himself. At first I was disappointed with the outcome of this brilliant novel, then I realized it truly was redemptive. Anyone who adores stellar writing and an eye that sees straight into the human heart must own this novel.

This is a deeply satisfying novel, surpassed in my affection only by The Black Prince. Like The Black Prince, it seems to be from Murdoch's "middle period," when she communicated to us what it was like to be her. She was interesting. When I read these two novels I feel similar emotions to those I feel about Shakespeare when I read Hamlet, or Joyce when I read Ulysses.

Iris Murdoch's A Word Child is the kind of book you want all your friends to read. It's a dark comedy, a tragedy, and a romance all in one, written with an engaging combination of sarky wit and sad resignation. Since it's out of print and is one of Murdoch's lesser known novels, it's rather hard to find -- which makes it all the more special! I've read several other Murdoch novels, but A Word Child remains my favorite.

This is one of those books that you simply cannot put down once you begin. Murdoch does such an excellent job of creating a most complex and entertaining character (Hilary) -- I laughed while reading it so much I think my husband will be reading it next. An amazingly developed character, a plot that will keep you turning the page, and sorrow so palpable you will want to weep on poor Hilary's behalf.

I've read a fair number of Ms.Murdoch's books and enjoyed them all. This book focuses on Hilary, a low level English civil servant who has been his own worst enemy since a brutal childhood. His own personal history repeats itself here and we wonder if he will ever learn.

I had never read any novels by Iris Murdoch until I randomly decided to download 'A Word Child' onto my Kindle. I could not put it down once I started reading it. It is a gorgeously written book about a sad, bitter, unarguably hateful little man who lives a shabby life in a shabby London flat. Yet Murdoch manipulates her anti-hero and her other characters to weave a tale about the mundane connections we have to others in our lives that grows into a thing of such enormity and, at times, such horror, one has no choice but to examine the underbelly of love for what it really is. Obsessions, petty jealousies, and tenacious memories lead to ruinous events for everyone involved.

This book is an utter must-read and I have since downloaded three more books by the brilliant Murdoch.

The mysterious and mystical Dame Murdoch is my favorite author, and I continue to refer to her many novels for her astute, wise and insightful views on the human condition as the years go by. I only wish she had been my philosophy teacher at school, and she has had a profound impact on my way of thinking over the decades. Having just finished her trenchant and darkly ironic "A Word Child" late in life, I wonder if this was in fact her most autobiographical work and summing-up of life when published in 1975. Miss Murdoch, who seldom if ever adopts a tragic tone in her writings, continues to remain sanguine and caustic here while some readers of this novel may want to pull out their hair in a fit of despair over the selfish and taciturn, Hilary, the central character and narrator of this story, who persists with great stubbornness in being his own worse enemy. Only Murdoch would be able to make such a man as Hilary likeable enough not to wish him to self-destruct as he seems intent on doing. There is plenty of farce and mordant wit to be found here while keeping one tempted all along to give Hilary a neat kick in the shins. Highly original and unpredictable, "A Word Child" is a sumptuous and entertaining novel which made me feel more of a tune on many life issues which the late Miss Murdoch brings to one's mind. She is magnificent as always in her unique and moderate way.

I wouldn't suggest this as your first intro to IM. The protag Hilary is so thouroughly unlikeable and selfcentered as he lurches thru life messing up everyone else's lives. But that's what makes this one of her funniest books - even as major characters die in car wrecks, suicide, exposure. More loneliness and isolation than typical for IM's little world of govt employees (who seem to do no real work), academic/political types, and regular dinner dates writ in stone. She must have had fun writing this one as she keeps pulling the rug out from under everyone's feet. The message: don't make plans.