Product Description

In the healing waters of Ennistone the townspeople seek health and regeneration, righteousness and ritual cleansing. To this town of subterranean inspiration the Philosopher returns. And there he exerts an almost magical influence, especially over George McCaffrey, his old pupil.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85685 in Books
• Published on: 2000-01-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Customer Reviews

You really will believe that Ennistone exists.
What an enjoyable book. From a suspected murder attempt at the start of the book, you are immersed into the Ennistone spa where you meet all the Ennistone townsfolk, each as fascinating as the other. Murdoch cleverly interweaves their lives and creates a page-turning novel that, as corny as it sounds, you really don't want to put down. I'm sure though that there were deeper philosophical meanings in the story which I missed, but the story was so good, it didn't seem to matter. Maybe I'll pick up on them the next time I read it.....

Spa town frolics and adventure
For me Murdoch's literary talent is embedded in her captivating ability to blend complex philosophical ideas with entertaining, humorous story telling to produce a hybrid philosophical tale that is accessible and intellectually rewarding. The Philosopher's Pupil conforms to many of the Murdochian themes and literary metaphors found elsewhere in her oeuvre: mysticism, academics, redemption, swimming, suicide, infidelity, youthful naivety, good and evil.

Murdoch's description of a fictional spa town (Ennistone), located somewhere in the south of England, is soaked in mystery (i.e. flying saucers, an ancient stone circle, Lud's Rill) and immersed in the waters of a vividly realised spa complex complete with steaming public pools and private rooms. Furthermore Murdoch's dazzling descriptive serenades, like the opening paragraph of the story, which evokes the effect of rain hitting a car windscreen (`... fractured in sudden stars upon the rain-swarmed glass'), are delightful and scattered throughout the novel. And there is no sense of complacency in Murdoch's plot and character development: tension, twists, unrequited love, and psychodrama. The main protagonists are the MacCaffrey's, particularly George (the philosopher's pupil) a violent, pugnacious man who sees `the world as a conspiracy against him, and himself as a victim of cosmic injustice.' George is obsessed with the arthritic Professor Rozanov (the philosopher), who returns to his birthplace in Ennistone with a mission to marry off his virginal seventeen-year-old granddaughter. Rozanov's plans, however, are fraught with misunderstandings and repressed desire. In a telling passage Murdoch ponders the elusive substance of philosophical thought (`some encrusted treasure which instantly crumbled') placing Rozanov's profound introspection at the centre of an incommunicable process to discover `some great symphonic finale.'

Other treats include the adventures of Zed (the pet dog), the occasional appearance of an anonymous Ennistone narrator (N), a priest who does not believe in God, gypsies (particularly the enigmatic Ruby), spa town gossip and William Eastcote. This edition comes with a superb introduction by Malcolm Bradbury.

Brilliant
A huge cast of characters, intensely described personal dramas and a pinch of fun... it's typically Murdochian, though on a larger scale than in most of her other books. Although some of the characters are vile, there are enough of them that there's sure to be at least one that you'll like.

I myself could have done without the narrator character who only steps into the story occasionally.

Whilst a lot of weight could have been scythed off this carcass if you are willing to embrace Murdoch's world then there's a lot to enjoy in this book.