“Almost any tale of our doings is comic. We are bottomlessly comic to each other. Even the most adored and beloved person is comic to his lover. The novel is a comic form. Language is a comic form, and makes jokes in its sleep. God, if He existed, would laugh at His creation. Yet it is also the case that life is horrible, without metaphysical sense, wrecked by chance, pain and the close prospect of death. Out of this is born irony, our dangerous and necessary tool.”
The book follows the life and adventures of a young prince during the 14th century. more
Iris Murdoch was an Irish-Canadian philosopher and author, born on July 15, 1919, in Dublin, Ireland, and passed away on February 8, 1999. She is celebrated for her philosophical novels that intertwine moral and ethical dilemmas with complex narratives. Murdoch's work has left a lasting impact on the literary world, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century. more
“Art is brief. (Not in a temporal sense.) [...] Words are for concealment. Art is concealment.”
“There is no triumph of good, and if there were it would not be a triumph of good.”
“Only capitalists get photographers.”
“Last year's troubles, They shine up so prettily, They gleam with a lustre they don't have today.”
“[I]t's safer to be fond of dangerous people.”