The Bell by Iris Murdoch

The Bell by Iris Murdoch

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Dora Greenfield is a young woman, married to the bullying, supercilious Paul who is thirteen years her senior. She has been separated from him for six months before deciding to go back to him when he invites her to join him at Imber Abbey where he is working on some ancient manuscripts. The Abbey is home to an order of cloistered nuns and has a small lay religious community attached, living in a stately home. The community has a wide range of members from the self appointed leader Michael, aspirant nun Catherine and her brother Nick, to the young Toby preparing for studying at Oxford. There are many secrets and reasons for wanting to be separated from the world, and behind the scenes the Abbess is pulling strings as the community prepares for the arrival of a new bell for the Abbey.

This is a highly perceptive and entertaining book, initially seeming like a fairly gentle comedy as the somewhat ditzy Dora makes her entrance at the community, but gradually growing darker and more complex as the motivations for each person in the community become clear. Written in 1958, Murdoch has a good insight into the repressed sexuality of the era, particularly where the repression is religious in nature, and the characters are all very believable. The book makes the point that religion does not alter the fundamentals of a person's character, but it covers them up in ways that are ultimately damaging to all concerned.

Well worth reading!

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