Reading the World discussion

From Wikipedia

The Red and the Green is a novel by Iris Murdoch. Published in 1965, it was her ninth novel. It is set in Dublin during the week leading up to the Easter Rising of 1916, and is her only historical novel. Its characters are members of a complexly inter-related Anglo-Irish family who differ in their religious affiliations and in their views on the relations between England and Ireland.

The novel combines a thoroughly researched account of the events leading up to the Easter Rising with a complicated sexual farce. It received mixed reviews on its publication.

(Jokes on me: this is a book about Easter!!)

I had just finished reading The Sea, The Sea so reading a different Iris Murdoch was quite educational. Also, I had just finished reading At Swim, Two Boys by Jaimie O'Neill which is a story set at the same time and place as The Red and the Green. While O'Neill dunks you straight into the Irish voice and the Irish emotions around the Easter uprising of 1916 in Dublin, Murdoch took pains to make sure the reader understood some historical background and some historical context. The book is about two young men, one a British officer and one an Irish rebel who are cousins. Pat Dumay is consumed by the need to rise up against the British and also by his part in the rebellion which he intuits will not end well. Andrew Chase-White is oblivious to the potential for rebellion in Ireland and is more consumed by asking a young woman he has known since childhood to marry him before he is shipped off to the "real war" happening in Europe. Murdoch shines a spotlight on the mixed motivations, and sense of honor during these emotional times in which the whole world was changing. As in The Sea, The Sea, Murdoch's style is very detailed and we are given interior thoughts and insights into our two main characters and are introduced to a large scattering of other men and women secondary characters. The two main characters are somewhat two dimensional however, and the woman characters carry much of the complexity of the story. Also, much like in The Sea, The Sea, Murdoch can not help but introduce an absurd theatrical comedy into the middle of her book when the whole tangle of lovers and/or would be lovers crash into each other at the worst possible moments. This is evidently not one of Murdoch's "classics" but I learned both about the Irish uprising and about honing a specific writing style. In addition, it was a good fast read.

Gail wrote: "I had just finished reading The Sea, The Sea so reading a different Iris Murdoch was quite educational. Also, I had just finished reading At Swim, Two Boys by Jaimie O'Nei..."

Thank you Gail for sharing your reflections on this book and Swim Two Boys too. You are one of the stalwarts in this group that I really appreciate.