under the net.....

ok, so i have finished my 3rd iris murdoch novel and begun my 4th.......under the net was her first novel....and it read like a daschel hammett thriller, though with comedic touches and without a murder....go figure......the one novel that cried for a killing and no one was (physically) harmed.......i did appreciate that the hero ended up with the british version of rintintin.....the scene where the dog is stolen from the movie producers flat is priceless and was unexpected in murdoch's generally angst-ridden works.......think jimmy stewart trying to spirit lassie out of a secure apartment building.....though jimmy stewart wasn't really irish enough to be perfect for the role.......but i digress....the plot had many hammett-style double and triple crosses...so much so that it did conjer up images of the maltese falcon.....the bell goes down a completely different path......focusing on religion and convictions and relationships (all alternatives it would seem).......so far nobody is dead, but the signs are there.......being as there is a murky lake that must be crossed by a punt.......and so many people that so want others to be out of the way......intrigue abounds......my spouse commented today to one of our children that he doesn't quite understand the need to read all of her works in succession.....makes perfect sense to me......to get a thorough feel for her style, her trends, her ways......and to see if one can get a glimpse of her impending senility......so far there she shows no signs whatsoever of confusion...quite the contrary.....and probably knows how it will all end before she ever starts.......