7/27/2019 Review Iris Murdoch Under the Net

1/2

hate solitude, but I am afraid of intimacy. The substance of my life is a private conversation

with myself which to turn into a dialogue would be equivalent to self-destruction"

Winner of the Booker Prize, Irish-born British author Iris Murdochs (1919-1999) 1954 novel

'Under the Net' is a philosophical fiction dealing with the exuberant spirit of existentialism and

freedom in a postwar europe. 'Under the Net' is Murdochs very first novel, and remains one of

her most popular. In 2005, it was nominated by the TIME magazine as one of the greatest

English-language novels from 1923 to present.

'Under the Net' is an intimate journey, a retrospective look at life through the eyes of Jake

Donaghue, the protagonist and the novels swashbuckling first-person narrator. Jake is a

impoverished, rootless, aspiring young writer who also translates French novels into English for

a living. The novel depicts Jacks picaresque quest for love and friendship. Jake has no

commitment, no jobs and his relationships are purely for sex & shelter.

At the beginning of the novel Jack and his friend Finn are thrown out of the flat they have been

living rent-free for last 18 months. The owner of the flat is their female friend Madge, who is

concerned that her new lover, a rich bookmaker Sammy Starfieldby, may not like her sheltering

two bohemian male friends. Jake seeks refuge among his other friends - Anna Quentin, Jakes

ex-love, Hugo Belfounder, Annas current admirer and particularly Dave Gellman, a

professional philosopher who is heavily influenced by the Austrian-British philosopher Ludwig

Wittgenstein, and who leads the philosophical discourse, the exchange of ideas and words in

this novel.

Jakes life goes through a series of chance, chaos, misfortune and hilarious misunderstandings,

all of which conspire to transform his perception of life. When the French novelist Jean-Pierre

Breteuil, whose rather mediocre novels Jack has been translating for a living, unexpectedly

wins the prestigious Prix Goncourt award - Jake realises that his perception needs to change.

During the course of moving from one place to another, particularly the journey between

London and Paris, Jake takes a hard look at his own life, - his past, present and future,

renegotiates his love life, - all from a philosophical point of view. At the end Jake realises that

his literary career has only began. He is finally ready to see the world.

The novel is an easy read, fast moving, cleverly written and subtly funny; the characters arewell developed, interesting and distinct. Murdochs tactic of using first person narrative makes

the novel very approachable and engaging, readers will immediately get into the story and

become a part of their favourite characters.

Beneath the surface of Jakes narrative, lies a number of philosophical questions. It shows how

we are trapped in a net of language, prisons created by none but us, where emotions and

7/27/2019 Review Iris Murdoch Under the Net

2/2

sentiments are inexpressible through the limited power of words, yet this exchange of ideas and

dialogues is the only hope to escape from this prison. Murdoch paints this struggle and

contradiction vividly, and shows our inability to describe our very personal feelings in words.

She rigorously explores the nature of art and how far it distances us from reality, and concludes

that art and morality are one. Under the Net teaches us to appreciate the philosophical silence in

the backdrop of a self-centred, chaotic, superficial city life and leads us to a greater

understanding of friendship, love, art, creativity and nature of truth.

Murdoch, Iris. Under the net, London : Vintage Books, 1954.(less)

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