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Iris Murdoch
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The Flight From the Enchanter Mass Market Paperback – April 12, 1973

by Iris Murdoch (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars 88 ratings
Vintage paperback
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  1. Print length
    317 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Warner Books
  4. Publication date
    April 12, 1973
  5. ISBN-10
    0446760714
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0446760713
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"All the Little Raindrops: A Novel" by Mia Sheridan for $10.39
The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Warner Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 12, 1973
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 317 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0446760714
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0446760713
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
  • Best Sellers Rank: #4,845,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 88 ratings

About the author

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Iris Murdoch

Iris Murdoch

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Iris Murdoch (1919–1999) was one of the most influential British writers of the twentieth century. She was awarded the 1978 Booker Prize for The Sea, The Sea, won the Royal Society Literary Award in 1987, and was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1987 by Queen Elizabeth. Her final years were clouded by a long struggle with Alzheimer's before her passing in 1999.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
88 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers appreciate the book's character development, with one noting how the characters are beautifully defined as individuals. They find the writing engaging, with one customer describing it as quite amusing in an unexpected way.

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Character developmentHumorWriter quality
3 customers mention "Character development"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with one review noting how the characters are beautifully defined as individuals.

"...Another interesting, charismatic and mysterious character is Mischa Fox and Peter involved in a desperate quest to translate into english an ancient..." Read more

"...The characters are beautifully defined as individuals, but whose aggregate is one human entity...." Read more

"...The descriptions of the people, and their clothing (interestingly enough) are up to Murdoch’s usual standards." Read more

3 customers mention "Humor"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book humorous, with one mentioning it is quite amusing in an unexpected way.

"...She is a most amazing writer and also quite amusing in an unexpected way. A reviewer of one of her other novels said "Iris I miss you." And so do I." Read more

"...Another interesting, charismatic and mysterious character is Mischa Fox and Peter involved in a desperate quest to translate into english an ancient..." Read more

"...This book was filled with humor and symbolism." Read more

3 customers mention "Writer quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers praise the author's writing style, with one noting the beauty of the prose and another describing them as a moral writer.

"...She is a most amazing writer and also quite amusing in an unexpected way. A reviewer of one of her other novels said "Iris I miss you." And so do I." Read more

"...A novel not for the faint of heart, but with a beauty of prose now missing in most modern novels." Read more

"...Murdoch is a moral writer, and her goal is not simply to provide entertainment, but to show us what it means to live a good life, possibly (mostly?)..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Kim10024
    5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful Iris
    Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    I love Iris Murdoch! I can't believe no one has reviewed this book. It's a pretty easy read and a good introduction to her work. The usual academic/related characters of semi-upper class Brits with the odd Europeans thrown in (like those scary Polish guys and the eccentric dressmaker. As usual the plot is irrelevant it's the characters that draw you in. It's about passion, old love, absurd love, odd parents, adult siblings oddly entwined, eccentric old ladies, beautiful gardens ripped up by owners....Anyway if you've never read her give her a try. She is a most amazing writer and also quite amusing in an unexpected way. A reviewer of one of her other novels said "Iris I miss you." And so do I.
    15 people found this helpful
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  • Dott. Italo Perazzoli
    4.0 out of 5 stars Two Women One Man
    Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    In every novels written by Iris Murdoch there is a lesson telling us that we can choose our destiny like the little princess Annette Cockeyne when she abandoned her golden life for a life lesson.

    The first lesson is when the princess decided that her life must be different, but her decision was wrong, in the sense that she did not learned anything about her life, this imply that her reasoning was extremely superficial, without considering the pros and cons.

    The central plot is a feminist magazine called Artemis close to closure due to a lack of readers.

    Another interesting, charismatic and mysterious character is Mischa Fox and Peter involved in a desperate quest to translate into english an ancient text.

    'Young girls are full of dreams... That is what makes them so touching and so dangerous. Every young girl dreams of dominating the forces of evil. She thinks she has that virtue in her that can conquer anything. Such a girl may be virgin in soul even after much experience and still believe in the legend of virginity'
    (Flight From The Enchanter, Vintage Classics, Iris Murdoch)

    In my opinion this reasoning, is the best description of Mischa's personality which is not against the women but about the borders about love and infatuation happened to Rosa and the two hypermasculine Polish engineers.

    At the end of this novel Rosa told herself that she was able to decide what to do about her life, but her destiny was already made, now my dilemma is the following it was a subconcious decision or not? or better what is it and means the truth?

    In my opinion 'The Flight From The Enchanter' is Mischa Fox able to look deeply inside the souls of the people.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Nichole Long
    3.0 out of 5 stars Real Life Vs. Fantasy
    Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    It is often said that Iris Murdoch was a moral writer. A philosophical writer. My reading of this novel (my first Murdoch) found this to be true. We humans are not fabulistic creatures. We are people. We always stumble and make errors in judgement as we try to figure life out. This book was filled with humor and symbolism.
    One person found this helpful
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  • LAST CHANCE CAFE
    5.0 out of 5 stars Deep, dark annd disturbingingly beautiful
    Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Murdoch plumbs the depths of the human psyche, detailing all aspects of grief, joy, perversion, despair, hope and redemption. The characters are beautifully defined as individuals, but whose aggregate is one human entity. A novel not for the faint of heart, but with a beauty of prose now missing in most modern novels.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Erzsebet Carmean
    4.0 out of 5 stars Murdoch at her Character-Twisting Finest
    Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Iris Murdoch has an unparalleled talent for putting her characters into awkward, flabbergasting messes. Each character's hideous bad decisions result in unintended outcomes that tend towards horrific. THE FLIGHT FROM THE ENCHANTER is Murdoch at her character-twisting finest.

    Annette, youthful and vibrant, leaves school. She wants to go to the school of life, and despite two near-rapes, a ridiculous midnight (and half-naked) pursuit of a man old enough to be her father, and a silly suicide attempt by antacid, Annette comes out no more worldly. It is an unwritten rule in Murdoch's universe that youth (and the carelessness of it) are resilient - but… Somewhere, somehow, youth is broken. Rosa could be a middle-aged Annette. The school of life has knocked Rosa around, yet a compulsion towards pliant self-effacement (and plenty of ill-advised decisions) has landed Rosa in the middle of a brother sandwich. Her threesome has horrific consequences, not least of which is the very real, not by antacid, suicide of a minor character.

    THE FLIGHT FROM THE ENCHANTER is a reminder that we are linked. Although the plot machinations tend towards the melodramatic, and as such are not quite "realistic," they are best viewed as educational scenarios, a safe place to see the repercussions of immoral (bad) decisions. Murdoch is a moral writer, and her goal is not simply to provide entertainment, but to show us what it means to live a good life, possibly (mostly?) by negative example. THE FLIGHT FROM THE ENCHANTER can be read on multiple levels, none of which disappoint.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • frwspencer
    4.0 out of 5 stars That does it...
    Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Well, I have now read all of Murdoch’s novels, and feel like many of her characters do, kind of lost in a world without redeeming features. I’m half way through a Le Carré (TTSS) and it doesn’t make me want to keep reading as much. This may, of course, be a good thing. Anyway, any self-respecting review has at least a word or two about the book. Read Flight if you want to know the inner workings of some characters, including what might possess them to do terrible things to each other. The descriptions of the people, and their clothing (interestingly enough) are up to Murdoch’s usual standards.
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  • Matt Bates
    2.0 out of 5 stars different copy advertised
    Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2015
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    The copy of the book I received was not the one advertised (it was a mass rather than trade paperback) and it was not in very good condition.
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  • Zeenath Jahan
    1.0 out of 5 stars I generally like Iris Murdoch books
    Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I generally like Iris Murdoch books; this one left a bad taste in my mouth so i didnt finish it... i generally plod on and finish a book i start even if i find it boring. this was not boring, just didnt like it
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • S. A. Griffiths
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 2, 2017
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    A reread so interesting to find it well worth coming back to.
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  • Cliente Kindle
    4.0 out of 5 stars My opinion has changed
    Reviewed in Italy on October 29, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I read this book the first time more than 40 years ago. I judged it cold and pretentious. Now, I've changed my mind. I think it's well written, brilliant, with some ironic representation of the people of the period, although I think it's not so profound in meaning as it could look, The enchanter is not so important after all.
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  • mjheath
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 26, 2017
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    excellent
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  • la signora nilsson
    2.0 out of 5 stars Dondolarsi dal lampadario
    Reviewed in Italy on April 30, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Dopo una scena iniziale entusiasmante, quella ritratta in copertina, la storia perde smalto e non sono riuscita a continuare a leggere... Uno dei primi libri di Iris Murdoch, di certo non il migliore.
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