The Black Prince

Reading 'The Black Prince' was my first venture into the the novels by Iris Murdoch. As I understand it, this isn't her most well known novel - and some more familiar titles are on my list and will be tackled at a later date.

'The Black Prince' is the story of Bradley Pearson, a novelist of moderate success for his one previous novel who is suffering from writers block. Pearson is surrounded by friends and family who encroach on his plans to get away from London in order to write a novel. His ex-wife re-appears on the scene with her devious brother, his sister leaves her husband and turns up on his doorstep, and his relationship with his friend (successful, younger author) Arthur Baffin, his wife and their daughter takes a complicated turn, and eventually vicious turn. This is mainly the story of a middle-aged man's sexual frustration, distraction and procrastination, but is also a disturbing examination of human nature.

It is a witty novel with dark comedy skillfully woven through it. It is a page-turner in a similar vein to a murder mystery or thriller, but due to the content and examination of the unpleasant natures of human characteristics, I could not say that it is an enjoyable read. My favourite aspect of the novel came in the last few pages, where a number of post-scripts are added by other characters in the novel. These throw the whole narration by Pearson on its head, contradicting entire sections of the story and the reader is left questioning the honesty of the narrator and the truth and innocence of the main character. I was left thinking about the story and re-evaluating my conclusions for days afterwards which I always take as a sign of a good author.