The Sandcastle (Paperback)

~ Iris Murdoch (Author) "'FIVE hundred guineas!' said Mor's wife..." (more)
Key Phrases: stack room, Miss Carter, Tim Burke, Miss Handforth (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (March 30, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140014748
• ISBN-13: 978-0140014747
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #766,383 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #21 in

  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( M ) > Murdoch, Iris

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not her best, but still interesting, May 14, 2000

By	Lisa Schweitzer (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

I've always liked this novel, though it isn't what I would call Murdoch's best. I found it to be much gentler than her other novels: there isn't any of the astounding weirdness of The Good Apprentice or The Severed Head: no incest, no murder, no wife-swapping.

As a result, it is an interesting novel to read for the change of pace it offers in the body of her work. It offers perhaps a subtler take on repeated Murdochian themes of betrayl and alienation--artistic, intellectual, marital, sexual, and so forth.

I have always wondered why A.S. Byatt chose to highlight The Sandcastle in her book about women's writing _Imagining Characters_; perhaps Byatt sees some of the same qualities in the story that I do.

0 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Beware formulaic, empty & tedious, December 9, 1999

By	Haldane "haldane" (London) - See all my reviews

My first Iris Murdoch, due to her reputation I expected quality literature,but dear me, it was like reading a mills & boon, such empty boring characters sooo predictable I hope her other books are better & that her reputation is deserved, but I shan't be finding out, there's plenty other fish in the sea. The only reason I gave it 2 stars is for the portrayal of Upper Middle Class English Culture of the 50's YAWN...