the sacred and profane love machine

The Sacred and Profane Love Machine by Iris Murdoch (Viking 1974)

A typically engaging and well-written novel by Murdoch, but not among her best.  Like all her novels, this one deals with a tangled web of many characters: Blaise and Harriet Gavender; their sixteen-year-old son David; Emily McHugh, Blaise’s mistress; Luca, Blaise’s and Emily’s eight-year-old son; Montague Small, the Gavender’s neighbor (they live in a suburb of London), who is a best-selling and famous writer of detective novels; Edgar Demarnay, Montague’s childhood friend; Constance Pinn, a sort of mysterious go-between amongst all parties; and Kiki LaFoy, a 17-year-old student who is loved by David, loves Blaise, and is deflowered by Montague.  After Blaise leaves Harriet to set up house with Emily, Harriet alternately throws herself at Montague and Edgar.

None of these people are remotely likable, with the exception of Harriet and Edgar, who are both so selfless they become annoying and pathetic.   All the remaining adults are monsters.  The children are all much-abused innocents.  Murdoch is generous with children and dogs–they have not been corrupted and damaged and made toxic like the adults.

Murdoch does a good job establishing all these characters, and their various complicated relationships; she’s a master at combing exposition, description, dialogue, and internal monologue to create a rich, sensual, and engaging brew.  She’s not concerned with plot and despite some clever machinations in the first two-thirds of the book, the ending is seriously marred by an overabundance of coincidence and not one but two violent deaths (one death by terrorist attack, one near-death by dog attack).  So one finishes the book feeling a bit drained, exhausted and disappointed, like a ride on a scary but not thrilling rollercoaster.