Human-ness, Encapsulated

Iris Murdoch is literature's Divine Being of delving into and offering forth what it is to be a person, messy, flawed, wounded, but living life nonetheless.

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Superb reading of modern classic

If you could sum up The Bell in three words, what would they be?

Philosophical, spiritual, relationships. This was one of my favourite books of the 60s, beautifully read.

What other book might you compare The Bell to, and why?

Women in Love - for the intense relationships, contemporary issues (of that time), and spiritual dimension.

Which character – as performed by Miriam Margoyles – was your favourite?

Dora Greenfield

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The world and its problems impinge on a religious community

Any additional comments?

I can't really imagine a film being made of The Bell - this book explores the inner lives of characters, perhaps too much for modern tastes. In some ways the novel has dated obviously, but this did not worry me, since I was so fond of it from way back.

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Wonderful book, slight sound issues

Any additional comments?

Dora Greenfield leaves her husband because she is afraid of him. She then returns to him for the same reason. At this point her husband Paul (a very unpleasant man) is living in a community near Imber Abbey. When Dora arrives at the community it appears that hers is the only unhealthy relationship, however that's not quite the case.

The story is at times disturbing as we see characters behaving badly and justifying it to themselves and others. Together they manage to remain blind to the worst of their hypocrisies.

Murdoch's writing is beautiful and a pleasure to listen to. I would highly recommend her books to everyone who enjoys great writing. If you've enjoyed Austen, the Brontes and Virginia Woolf you will love Iris Murdoch. Her style is exceptional.

Miriam Gargoyles is the perfect choice to narrate this book. She has the right accent and tone to match this classic. Her timing is spot on.

Apart from minor issues the sound is good quality. Occasionally the sound will be only from one channel and switch between left and right. It's infrequent and while distracting it doesn't last long. There's other rare distortion, but don't let the relatively minor sound quality issues put you off. The rest of the recording has been cleaned up beautifully. It's worth putting up with the minor sound issues in order to have the pleasure of this incredible read.

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