Bruno's Dream

by Iris Murdoch

 

An old man struggles to make one last connection with his estranged son, before it’s too late

 

The elderly Bruno knows he is not far from death. One of his last wishes is to contact his estranged son, Miles, whose marriage to an Indian woman drove a decades-long wedge between father and son. When Miles comes back into his father’s life, Bruno must confront his guilt, and his family must overcome the tension that grew during his long absence.

 

Set against an enchanting London backdrop, Murdoch’s complex family drama is a poignant exploration of love, remorse, and the power of emotional redemption.

 

Genres: Fiction, British Literature, Literary Fiction, Novels, 20th Century, Literature, Classics

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Dame Jean Iris Murdoch

Irish-born British writer, university lecturer and prolific and highly professional novelist, Iris Murdoch dealt with everyday ethical or moral issues, sometimes in the light of myths. As a writer, she was a perfectionist who did not allow editors to change her text. Murdoch produced 26 novels in 40 years, the last written while she was suffering from Alzheimer disease.

"She wanted, through her novels, to reach all possible readers, in different ways and by different means: by the excitement of her story, its pace and its comedy, through its ideas and its philosophical implications, through the numinous atmosphere of her own original and created world--the world she must have glimpsed as she considered and planned her first steps in the art of fiction." (John Bayley in Elegy for Iris, 1998)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_Mur...

Reviews

[BlackOxford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now is the Season of Our Discount Tents

Bruno’s Dream is a Shakespearean comedic send up of old age and death. If the Desert Island Disks choice were between Lear and Measure for Measure, I’d go for the Duke not the King. So, I think, would Murdoch. Less pomposity; more grit.

Bruno is in any case Shakespearean as a character. In his eighties, he is not simply a failure, he is an epic failure (as my 11 year old granddaughter would express it). Every one of his important relationships are bust because of, he thinks, trivial faux pas. Like the affair with the gold digger, and the unfortunate racial slur about his daughter-in-law. He’s understanding about those affected who just don’t get what is going on: “Of course they all caused him pain, all the time, they just could not help it.” His regrets are merely that things are past, not that they happened, “The women were all young while he aged like Tithonus” (referencing Midsummer Night’s Dream) No reason for despair though. Better communication can fix things up just fine.

The detail of aged concerns is priceless in Murdoch’s descriptions. For example in Bruno’s preparations for his trip to the toilet:

“Of course it wasn’t absolutely necessary to put on the dressing gown now that it wasn’t winter any more, but it represented a challenge. It was quite easy, really. The left hand held the bed post while the right lifted down the dressing gown and with the same movement slid itself a little into the right sleeve. The right hand lifted on high, the sleeve runs down the arm. Then the right hand rests flat against the door a little above shoulder height, while the left leaves the bed post and darts into the left-arm hole. If the left is not quick enough the dressing gown falls away toward the floor, hanging from the right shoulder. It then has to be slowly relinquished and left lying. There was no getting anything up off the floor.”

My own routine for putting on trousers in the morning is similar.

Bruno’s only interests are stamps and spiders, and he smells, but he has one great end of life desire, “when you’re my age there’s not much left except you want to be loved.” The mystical Puck-like Nigel, who “exists to be imposed upon” is Bruno’s primary caretaker. Nigel is more or less mad but is the only person who is unselfishly devoted to Bruno. Nigel is twin to Will, a handyman/pornographer/actor (‘How absolute the knave is!’ he quotes of himself from Hamlet). The stage is set therefore for some Comedy of Errors, farcical confusion.

Adelaide, the housekeeper, is cousin to the twins and lover of the caddish Danby, Bruno’s son-in-law. Danby is heir presumptive unless Miles, Bruno’s son and unsuccessful poet and middling civil servant, becomes un-estranged. Miles’s wife Diana, the bored middle class housewife, completes the cast. All the characters have “... somehow missed the bus of life.” The plot has its own momentum from this set of relationships.

For Nigel ”real worship involves waiting.” For everyone else there is ritual - in love affairs, personal confession, marital deception, curmudgeonly ire, apology, the resentful anger of loved spurned, all the little set piece battles of English mores. All these rituals are played out in the face of death, imminent or not. “Death contradicts ownership and self. If only one knew that all along,” says one of the cast. And yet "It was a mere convention after all that one ought to be on good terms with one's son or father. Sons and fathers were individuals and should be paid the compliment of being treated as such. Why should they not have the privilege, possessed by other and unrelated persons, of drifting painlessly apart?" If ritual is what constitutes love, can it bring any consolation at all when death is taken seriously?

Ritual and duty have an odd relationship. Duties demand ritual - the male works, the female keeps house; religious obligations are fulfilled through liturgical group actions; condolences are offered through rote ceremonies and phrases; seasonal gifts are exchanged. But it’s as if ritual is required to undermine ritual when duties are to be ignored - the seduction/flirtation game; the routines of civil religion; the legal rituals of divorce. Is love a duty? A mere duty? Does ritual promote or destroy love? My take on Murdoch is that this is her point in Bruno’s Dream. She has some interesting suggestions.

[Guille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hay libros que adoro, pero cuya lectura, he de reconocer, me agotan. Sin embargo, Murdoch nunca cansa. Su forma ligera de abordar temas universales como el amor, la belleza, la muerte, Dios, el bien y el mal, en tramas llenas de enredos, cambios sorprendentes, declaraciones imprevistas, apariciones trascendentales que rozan, si no traspasan, la línea de la inverosimilitud (no sé dónde leí que describían los libros de Murdoch como vodeviles filosóficos, pero me parece una expresión muy acertada), te mantiene pegado a sus páginas hasta alcanzar la última con ganas de empezar la primera de otra de sus novelas. «El sueño de Bruno » es un claro ejemplo de esto que digo, si no les gusta es que Murdoch no es para ustedes, no lo vuelvan a intentar.

Aquí se habla del enamoramiento y sus estragos, de los celos, de personas egoístas, como somos todos, que intentan portarse decentemente y no les salen bien las cosas, de venganzas, de la posibilidad de cambio y perfeccionamiento, del deterioro físico que acompaña al envejecimiento y que intensifica la sensación de reclusión en un cuerpo que parece cada vez menos nuestro, de ver la pena y el asco en los ojos ajenos que ya solo te ven como un despojo que no debería seguir vivo, y también de un aspecto del envejecimiento en el que creo que se hace poco hincapié: dicho en palabras de la propia autora, la cada vez más pesada carga de la propia conciencia. Y no me refiero sólo a hechos terribles que hayamos podido cometer, algo que no es muy común, me refiero a las muchas situaciones en las que simplemente no estuvimos a la altura de la idea que tenemos de nosotros mismos, hechos que puede que nadie más que nosotros recordemos, ni siquiera sus "víctimas", pero que van acumulándose y adquiriendo un peso creciente en nuestro ánimo y acaban por ser más reales y presentes, e inmutables, que todo lo que nos rodea.

“El drama del dormir y el despertar se había convertido en algo inquietante y aterrador, ahora que su propia conciencia podía significar una carga tan pesada… Era muy injusto verse obligado a soportar la carga moral de las palabras dichas con despreocupación, llevar aquello encima años y años hasta convertirse en una parte de sí mismo monstruosa y no deseada”

También se habla de la muerte, de cómo afrontarla, de cómo su cercanía nos hace echar la vista atrás y sufrir por todo aquello que hicimos o no hicimos y es imposible cambiar, de la posibilidad del perdón, de cómo la muerte parece transformar toda la vida en un sueño.

“Todo es un sueño -pensaba-, uno recorre la vida en un sueño, todo es demasiado duro. La muerte refuta la inducción. No hay ningún objetivo al que dirigirse. Sólo hay un sueño, su textura, su esencia, y al final subsistimos sólo en el sueño de otro, una sombra sobre otra sombra, desvaneciéndose, desvaneciéndose, desvaneciéndose”

Pero fundamentalmente se habla del amor, del amor como el fundamento de todo lo importante. Pese a su tamaño, no puedo resistirme a traer aquí esta ilustrativa cita.

“El amor es una cosa extraña. No hay duda de que él y sólo él mantiene el mundo en movimiento. Es nuestra única actividad significativa. Todo lo demás es sólo polvo y oropel y humillación del espíritu. Pero, por otra parte, cuántos problemas causa. Cuántos sueños imposibles crea, cómo nos mueve a abrazar los pies de lo inalcanzable. Resulta fantástico pensar que a todos les está permitido amar a quienes deseen, a quien en alguna forma les complazca. Nada hay en la naturaleza que lo prohíba. Un tipo cualquiera puede mirar a un rey, el indigno puede amar al bueno, el bueno al indigno, el indigno al indigno y el bueno al bueno. Suena la señal, y la gran luz se enciende revelando quizá la realidad o quizá la ilusión. Y cuán a menudo, por desdicha, mi muy querido Danby, ama uno solo, en total aislamiento, en una vana incapsulación, mientras lo que oculta se alimenta de la carne de su corazón. No es una cuestión de convenciones. El amor no conoce convención alguna. Todo puede suceder, así que en cierto modo, en un terrible, terrible cierto modo, no hay ninguna imposibilidad”

El amor que cuando aparece supone siempre un antes y un después en nuestras vidas y no siempre para el bien de los enamorados y muchas veces afectando para mal la vida de terceras personas. El amor lo intensifica todo y puede cambiar una vida placentera en el paraíso tanto como en el infierno.

“Habría sido feliz durmiendo con Adelaide, del todo feliz jugueteando con Diana. Aquellos seres pertenecían a su mundo vulgar y chato, a su conciencia vulgar y ordinaria. El conocer a Lisa fue el brusco cambio de la media luz a la claridad total, de los tonos grises a los colores vivos, del sombreado a la línea, al vigor de la forma”

4,5 estrellas

[Haytham ⚜️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

قائمة البوكر القصيرة 1970، تضعنا مردوك في دائرة برونو المتشابكة من العلاقات والشخصيات المحيطة به بدون اخلال بالنص ولا الحبكة الروائية تبدأ به وتنتهي به الرواية في سريره.

برونو ذلك المسن من الطبقة الوسطى والمنتظر للموت في السرير مع تزجية وقته بهواية جمع الطوابع وكتب عن حشرة العنكبوت المفضلة لديه.

خلال يقظته ونومه في سرير المرض والاحتضار؛ ومبادئ مرض الخرف يسترجع ماضيه مع كل من زوجته وأبناءه وزوج ابنته، وذلك الأخير هو من يعتني به بعد وفاة زوجته وابتعاد ابنه مايلز مع مأساته الشخصية، ومحاولة الانغماس في كتابة الشعر بعد فقد زوجته الأولى في حادث مأساوي. وشخصيات أخرى عديدة كما عودتنا مردوك ولكن بدون أي اخلال أو تشتيت.

نبدأ مع برونو في بداية السرد وننتقل لكل شخص من المحيطين به لكل منهم مأساته الشخصية، حب وموت ومرض وخيانة وندم مع تحليلات فلسفية نفسية كالعادة لكل منهم، مع الرجوع في النهاية إلى ثيمة الرواية وهي أن حياتنا تعتبر نوع من الحلم المعاش عندما نتأملها نراها شئ معقد على نحو مخيف هذه الحياة، التي يمكن أن تثير دهشة صاحبها إلى غير حد، وأن سعي الإنسان في حياته خاليًا من المعنى، كل الأشياء التي سعى خلفها وابتغاها؛ تأتي في نهاية العمر كشئ لا يهم كالسراب. ولكن مع شعور الإنسان بالموت، يجعلك مجرد من كل شئ إلا الحب، الشئ الوحيد الموجود في النهاية والباقي في نهاية المطاف.

وكالعادة نرى الفلسفة حاضرة بشدة في نصوص آيريس الأدبية وتأثرها بسارتر مع سرد شيق وغير ممل بالمرة.

ومن مآسي القدر أن آيريس عانت من مرض ألزهايمر في أواسط التسعينيات من القرن العشرين؛ وعندها فقط قالت الآن أتوقف عن الكتابة بعد روايتها رقم 26.

[Josefina Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitapla ilgili yazacağım ilk şey sıra dışı anlatış ama hikaye basit Yazarın anlatımı onu öyle ilginç hale getiriyor ki neler oluyor diyorsunuz kendinize! Daha ilerde biraz daha uzun yazacağım herkese tavsiye edeceğim bir eser kesinlikle.
https://edebiyatdanostalji.blogspot.c...

[Jonfaith · Rating 5 out of 5]

She has somehow missed the bus of life.

I admit to being amazed by how I connected to this novel, the prose and plot are likely 4.5 stars by whatever arbitrary metric is at hand but Bruno's Dream certainly had an open throttle impact on me. That result was not expected. The innocuous title and the standard Murdoch dilemma concealed its power. My own age and philosophical resignation left me in lockstep with many of the characters.

Again, the plot is similar to much of Murdoch's other output: a number of couples, an aged protagonist reflecting under the tyranny of memory and guilt. The couples disengage and seek others -- etcetera. Somehow this was much more. It is a discussion of perception and resemblance. There are a number of occasions where the gaze lingers, a certain light and a remembered smell. It isn't Proust but somehow a plumbing of intelligibility in the key of Heidegger. The concluding 30-40 pages were disappointing, but how does one end the infernal rotation, what halts the charade? Acts of God and 19C Romanticism aren't the best candidates, especially not in a contemporary novel.

[Aslıhan Çelik Tufan · Rating 4 out of 5]

#maykileheraybirayrinti okumalarıyla merhabalar...

Murdoch bildiğimiz gibi, sanki bütün kitaplarda hep aynı karakterlerin olduğunu hissedecek, yine hayatı sorgulatacak bir okuma.

Bruno, ölüm döşeğindeyken kendi yaşamındaki aşkları, ikili ilişkilerini sorgularken etrafında dönen dörtlü karmaşadaki ilişki ağlarını okuyoruz.

Öyle ya da böyle yitip giden hayata karşı bir yası üzüntülü olmadan okumak istiyorum diyenler buyursunlar.

Keyifli okumalar 🌼

..
..
..
#readingismycardio #aslihanneokudu #okudumbitti #2021okumalarım #okuryorumu #kitaptavsiyesi #neokudum #irismurdoch #rüyasakinleri #ayrıntıyayınları #dünyaedebiyatı #çevirikitaplar #maykileheraybirayrinti

[david · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man is a fairly predictable animal.

If we reflect on ourselves over a lifetime, it seems we exist in a loop. New Year’s resolutions. Ha.

But the thread of who we were at six years old appears to last as long as we do. And yes, this speculation is not unique. The same sentiment has been observed long before Adam (no, but that does not make sense) and has been reported to us by various cogent minds.

I seem to tread where smart Irish people go. And I do not know why. It is organic for me, not contrived or intended. It just happens. Over and over. Toss a brogue on the lawn and I will fetch it. Wrap it up in a female from Cork and I am suddenly powerless. I tacitly submit.

In fact, I know of three young ladies, I can never stop thinking of them, who are, naturally, half-Irish. The other half? Descendants of Moishe or Schmuley, the Baal Shem Tov or Jack Benny. My thought is this; -ish and -ish go together just like corned beef and cabbage, on rye with lots of mustard.

Iris surely can fill up a page with words. Lots of pages. I say banana and she says, “the golden yellow fruit that has not yet succumbed to the earth from where it originated and is a favorite of a particular group of simians and is high in potassium, continuously sung by Harry Belafonte.” Day-o, me say day-o.

Anyway, what has this to do with Bruno? Who knows?

Occam’s razor: It seems to me that what this fine writer intended to impart was that we are all about ourselves. And about perceptions and misperceptions. Being human.

And if I am wrong? So what? I live in Pogonip, south (or north) of Clueless.

Iris Murdoch wrote an interesting if not a somewhat prolix tale.

[Marica · Rating 4 out of 5]

guardarlo fiorire, come un figlio
Leggendo il libro si ha l'impressione che l'autrice si sia divertita molto a scriverlo. Si tratta di una commedia morale nella quale l'autrice si prende gioco in ugual misura dei personaggi, che sono trascinati a fare cose mediamente assurde, e dei lettori che increduli assistono, irretiti dalla narrazione brillante. Un uomo anziano e prossimo alla morte è il singolare nucleo di aggregazione di un gruppo di persone che lo assistono e lo intrattengono. Sembra che la sua vitalità si riversi in loro, che intrecciano relazioni come ghirlande. I personaggi sono spesso figure antitetiche, come il figlio e il genero di Bruno: il primo è un poeta serioso e permaloso, non va a trovare il padre da vent'anni per un frase buttata lì; il genero, uomo generoso e amante del piacere, vive col suocero e lo assiste con affetto. Ci sono due fratelli, uno saggio e riflessivo, l'altro impulsivo e violento e due sorelle, una spirituale, l'altra più mondana. Tutti a un certo punto si credono profondamente innamorati per la prima volta nella loro vita e non pensano ad altro: per poi, nel giro di poco, passare a un altro componente del gruppo. Il personaggio che svela il pensiero dell'autrice è Nigel, l'infermiere di Bruno, una persona leggiadra ("caprioleggiante") dedita alla meditazione e dotato di buon senso. Consola i disperati e spiega loro che non ha senso soffrire per amore se non si è ricambiati: bisogna distaccarsi dall'idea del possesso e volere il bene dell'altro, "guardandolo fiorire, come un figlio". Sullo sfondo del romanzo si sente la presenza fluente del Tamigi che infine silenziosamente invade la scena, straripando e coprendo tutto di fango.

[Jean-Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bruno Greensleeve is dying. He is ancient and absolutely grotesque, apparently. The joys in his life are his stamps and his spider books (Murdoch's characters always have such interesting hobbies and preoccupations), and surrounding him is a curious web of relations, relations of relations, nurses, and servants. Plenty of rain and muck, with the Thames and the Lots Road Power Station looming ominously over Stadium Street, where the book is set.

In a curious choice the mystical/maniacal Nigel is introduced and initially written about in the present tense while the rest of the novel is completely in the past tense. Is Nigel a mystic? Or merely a voyeur? He's one of a twin—Murdoch loves her twins—and he's not the novel's only voyeur. At least five of the characters (I wish I was kidding) come to know the destructive power of an all-consuming love.

Love is a strange thing. There is no doubt at all that it and only it makes the world go round. It is our only significant activity. Everything else is dust and tinkling cymbals and vexation of spirit. Yet on the other hand what a troublemaker it is to be sure. What a dreamer-upper of the impossible, what an embracer of the feet of the unattainable. It is a weird thought that anyone is permitted to love anyone and in any way he pleases. Nothing in nature forbids it. A cat may look at a king, the worthless can love the good, the good the worthless, the worthless the worthless and the good the good. Hey presto: and the great light flashes on revealing perhaps reality or perhaps illusion.

It's the second Murdoch novel I've read in which a man thinks he's entitled to the love of two women, and the first to feature a duel. And now for today's vocabulary word:

porlock
verb
to interrupt or intrude at an awkward moment

I started this book during a 'bomb cyclone' (atmospherically appropriate) and I finished reading it in the desert—Twentynine Palms.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

If your primary emotional reaction to a book is that you find you want to beat the author about the head and neck with a dead possum (wearing elbow length rubber gloves to avoid getting dead possum juice on yourself, while spraying it all over the author), is that a good enough reason to stop reading?

I think Iris Murdoch is just not my kind of author, the way gin and tonics are not my kind of beverage.

Stopping at p. 77, I have the sneaking suspicion that the worst parts of the novel are ahead of me. Prior to p. 77, it was annoying enough that Murdoch switched to the present tense for one character only (Nigel) who apparently is some kind of lunatic. I don't do present tense. So when you're slogging along in the past tense - and the fact that the book is written in the past tense is the only thing allowing you to move forward - and suddenly crazy Nigel surfaces, it is a bridge too far.

Also I can only tolerate the word "counterpane" so much in a novel. Once is really too much.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that centers on an old man was always going to be one I was predisposed to like yet in the initial chapters of Bruno’s Dream I wasn’t particularly drawn in and after reading the third chapter involving Nigel, I was distinctly concerned this book was going to go somewhere I didn’t want to follow. There are echoes of An Unofficial Rose in this one with its themes of unrequited love and past tragedies and that isn’t one of my favorites of Murdoch’s novels. There are also reminders of A Severed Head, which is one of my favorites yet even though there is the same ridiculousness in the love triangles and affairs and mild stalking that goes on, this one doesn’t have the humor of that one and there is an element of poignancy, particularly in the final chapters, that made this book rank far higher than expected.

Bruno is actually in the background for a lot of the book and the novel instead focuses on Danby, his son-in-law and the others who care for Bruno, Adelaide the maid and Nigel who is, and remains, an enigma for the whole book. There is then Miles, Bruno’s son, Diana, Miles’ wife and Lisa her sister as well as Will, Nigel’s twin who rounds out the cast of characters. The book is ostensibly about how these seven people oscillate around one another and around Bruno in the streets of London, for this is very much a London book. The homes of Danby and Miles are described beautifully and in contrast to one another while the looming power station across the water from Bruno's room and the Thames below feel like an ominous river Styx and a dark watcher, waiting for Bruno to die. The incessant rain adds to this mood, a rain that by the end of the book has finally stopped.

As always with Iris Murdoch novels, many of the characters are either dislikable, melancholic or on the ‘kooky’ side but in this one, most manage to elicit sympathy in one way or another, although the violent Will with his Hitler like mustache might be pushing it. The book is filled with sadness and tragedy, some in the present in unrequited love and mental abuse but primarily in the past and amongst the relationship drama and Shakespearean mistaken love and identity, there is this sense of coming to terms with what has been lost. Bruno himself, stuck in his room constantly thinks about the past and about dying, how life is the ‘dream’ and death is the reality.

The relationship drama can feel over the top with middle class woes that are exaggerated but unlike A Severed Head, this one gets more to the heart of things, it goes beyond the affairs and wise cracks. It looks at love, dying and familial relationships while Murdoch’s philosophical leanings shine through on occasion and her wonderful writing creates scenes that stick in the brain whether ridiculous or sublime.

Some Favorite lines

‘There was the general restless itching aching unease of the body which could find no rest now and to which even sleep came like an anxious cloud trailing its twilight over tense knotted limbs.’

‘The spider spins its web, it can no other. I spin out my consciousness, this compulsive chatterer, this idle rambling voice that will so soon be mute. But it’s all a dream. Reality is too hard. I have lived my life in a dream and it is too late to wake up.’

‘How strange it was that when almost all the other functions of the body had dwindled and fallen away into the hand of nature the eyes had not surrendered their mysterious power to manufacture tears.’

[Richard R]

At least notionally, Iris Murdoch's novels are impeccably realistic. They're generally set in or around London and depict the lives of a largely middle class set of characters, generally in professions like publishing, teaching, academia or the civil service. Working class characters are permitted to make appearances when strictly necessary and events are generally narrated through a characteristically English tone of self deprecation. And yet, the noumenal world frequently breaks through into the phenomenal in her novels. As someone who believed in religion rather than in god, this often manifests itself through rather absurdist plot devices, as if Ionesco had suddenly taken control of a Elizabeth Bowen novel. That absurdism also lends an arbitrary and tragic aspects to events: characters in Murdoch novels frequently die unexpectedly and accidentally in a manner that's rather uncharacteristic of most realist novels. At one point, one of the characters observes that "We are cool self-interested people. We did not want to set a course into ruin and madness," without realising that this is a rather good description of precisely what happens in most Murdoch novels.

Bruno's Dream exemplifies these points more than most of her novels, albeit it lends itself to bleak farce rather more than tragedy per se. Arguably, the entire plot, which consists of Shakespearian quadrilles of deceit and desire amongst siblings and lovers amounts to little more than the demented imaginings of a dying man. Many of her novels revolve around the manipulations of one character, with that role fulfilled here by the mystic Nigel: "I am God. Maybe this is how God appears now in the world, a little unregarded crazy person who everyone pushes aside and knocks down and steps upon." But inevitably, the deus ex machina he attempts to contrive instead descends into meaningless farce and is instead displaced by a more literal deus ex machina: exeunt, swept aside by floodwater.

[Terris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had not read Iris Murdoch before, but had certain expectations -- and this wasn't at all what I expected -- in a good way!! The characters are quirky, there are several unexpected situations, AND it's funny! I just didn't expect that. Iris Murdoch is such a good writer, and I really think she had fun with this one. I highly recommend it. Enjoy! :)

[aslı · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hastalık ve ölüm üzerine yapılan çıkarımlar güzeldi. Ancak genel olarak aşk üçgen-dörtgenleri üzerine kurulu bir romandı ve bu beni biraz irrite etti. Nigel karakteri en sevdiğim karakterdi, sanırım kitaptan sevdiğim alıntılar hep onun cümleleriydi ve bu sayede 3 yıldız verdim kitaba. Umarım bir sonraki Murdoch kitabım daha doyurucu olur.

[Melisa]

Honestly, I still don't know what to make of this book, but here are some thought-provoking quotes I'd like to share with you:

"It was a mere convention after all that one ought to be on good terms with one's son or father. Sons and fathers were individuals and should be paid the compliment of being treated as such. Why should they not have the privilege, possessed by other and unrelated persons, of drifting painlessly apart?"

"I suppose one is like what one loves. Or one loves what one is like. All Gods are private Gods"

"How happy are those who believe that they can pray and be helped, or even, without being helped, be listened to. If there really existed an all-wise intelligence before which he could lay the present tangle, even if that intelligence held its peace, the knowledge that the right solution somewhere existed would soothe the nerves"

"-You see, I'd like to know what I'm like.
-Perhaps there isn't such thing, Bruno.
-I want to get it into focus, what I really feel about it all.
-One doesn't necessarily feel anything clear at all about the past. One is such a jumbled thing oneself."

"If only there were not these vain ghostly hopes, these sudden inane shadows of possibilities , these unfulfilled conditionals of hopeless desire"

"It is a weird thought that anyone is permitted to love anyone and in any way he pleases [...] Anything can happen, so that in a way, a terrible terrible way, there are no impossibilities"

Major themes: Eros & Thanatos (very Murdochian)

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful novel! The topic seems like it would not be that interesting, but I wanted to read more Iris Murdoch and so thought I would dive into this one. My favorite so far. Bruno and his circle of family and acquaintances all interact in unexpected ways and their relationships by the end of the book have been transformed from the beginning. The characters are interesting and real. She is artful in her foreshadowing and dialogue. Her philosophical bent comes through in an enjoyable manner. I highly recommend this book. I didn't want it to end.

[Joy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1969, Bruno's Dream focuses on the people in the life of the titular character. Bruno is a cantankerous octogenarian confined to his bed in a decaying London house. The narrative weaves together the stories of his estranged son Miles, daughter-in-law Diana, and Diana's sister Lisa, who lives with Miles and Diana. Their lives become entangled with Danby Odell, Bruno's son-in-law (who lives with him), maidservant Adelaide Hanway, nurse Nigel Bose, and Nigel’s twin brother Will. The plot involves a series of interconnected emotional crises, romantic entanglements, and moral reckonings.

Murdoch’s novels always seem to employ an element of chaos, especially regarding interpersonal dynamics. The storyline explores different types of love as both positive and negative forces. Past grievances and present desires intersect in unexpected ways. The characters grapple with difficult questions of moral responsibility, and in Bruno’s case, regrets about his actions, especially regarding his late wife. The pacing alternates between moments of intense psychological drama and quieter, contemplative passages that allow for philosophical reflection.

The work maintains the reader's engagement through well-developed characters and relationships. It is not a book for those looking for action. It is more of a domestic drama. Though it addresses philosophical concerns, it does so within the fabric of the story and is never heavy-handed. I always appreciate Murdoch's ability to capture the essence of human psychology. If you enjoy books that explore the art of living an ethical life in a morally complex world, give this one a try.

[Laura]

4* Living on Paper: Letters from Iris Murdoch, 1934-1995
5* Iris: A Memoir of Iris Murdoch
5* Iris Murdoch: Dream Girl
4* A Severed Head
4* The Sea, the Sea
4* The Black Prince
4* The Bell
3* Under the Net
4* The Sandcastle
3* The Italian Girl
TR The Sacred and Profane Love Machine
TR A Fairly Honourable Defeat
TR The Nice and the Good
TR The Philosopher's Pupil
TR Bruno's Dream
TR The Good Apprentice
TR The Red and the Green

[Cathryn Conroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel by Booker Prize-winning author Iris Murdoch is a tragedy, a comedy, a farce, and a soap opera—all at the same time. It's also great literature.

While I was reading this novel, I kept imagining it as a theater play. The cast of eight characters so deftly and absurdly play against each other, that I saw the stalking exits to stage right, the lyrical lines delivered while gazing upward at the spotlights, the angry words spoken with such vitriol that spit must be flying across the stage, and the eye-rollingly insipid declarations of love (and hate). It's hilarious! But it also might make you shed a tear or two, so beware.

The characters: Bruno is an old man, who is dying of some unnamed (but horrific) illness that has left him grossly disfigured, although his mind is clear. Obsessed with spiders and stamps, he is bedridden and relies entirely on his son-in-law Danby with whom he lives. (Bruno's daughter Gwen and Danby's wife died years ago.) Danby has hired Nigel as Bruno's nurse and Adelaide, Nigel's cousin, as the maid. Nigel's identical twin brother, Will, shows up just to stir up trouble. Meanwhile, across town we have Miles, Bruno's estranged son; Diana, Miles's second wife; and Lisa, Diana's sister. Miles's first wife, Parvati, died soon after they were married, and even though he married Diana, he has never gotten over Parvati's death or the hateful things Bruno said about her.

The plot: Bruno has a deathbed wish to see his son Miles to make up for past indiscretions and arguments. Miles grudgingly agrees to see his father and is horrified not only at his father's deformities, but also at his confessions of extramarital dalliances. That sets the stage for everyone else to misbehave. We readers almost need a scorecard to keep track of who is sleeping with whom, who wants to sleep with whom, and who had gotten caught sleeping with whom. There is even a duel!

But Murdoch, ever the master writer, has it all in hand, keeping firm control of the action and characters with unforgettable and pithy philosophical lessons on the convolutions and intermingling of death and love, as well as the importance of reconciliation and redemption. Sometimes a simple apology is worth everything.

Your job as the reader is to sit back and enjoy this little treasure of a novel.

[Erkan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kara Prens ve Deniz Deniz gibi harika romanlar yazmış Murdoch'tan beklentim daha yüksekti, bu romanda da diğerlerinde olduğu gibi karmaşık insan ilişkileri ve tutarsız insan davranışlarınin üzerine ısrarla gitmis ama romanın verdiği keyif sınırlıydı.

[jölen meltem tarr · Rating 3 out of 5]

yine de sensiz yapamıyorum iris murdoch

[Diego]

Uno a veces se pregunta qué hacemos con el tema de la moral en tiempos de brocha gorda y luchas descarnadas que deben batirse tan solo por poder dar una bocanada de aire. No hay espacio para poetas ni para poesía porque no hay tiempo para pararse a contemplar lo que nos rodea mientras todo arde. No hay belleza en el dolor, en el sufrimiento, en el miedo o en la supervivencia. Quizás, no lo creo, había otros tiempos preteritos más sencillos para un tipo muy, muy particular de gente y era entonces, allí, donde se podía frenar y pararse a oler las margaritas. Quizás, no lo creo, era un sitio mejor para un grupo muy, muy reducido de gente. No es que esto vaya de eso, pero un poco sí. Por supuesto, la maestra de todo esto nos quiere hablar de Platón y del Amor y la Bondad, como en la mayoría de sus novelas, para que al menos nos podamos pensar desde otra perspectiva y entendamos y comprendamos que todos, absolutamente todos, somo gente aristada y confusa, que emite varias sombras distintas porque estamos siendo enfocados por muchas luces simultaneas, luces que dejan espacio para ciertas sombras. Y es en las sombras donde debemos debatir por nuestra propia supervivencia, por descubrirnos a nosotros mismos qué valoramos y qué importa realmente. Lo siguiente se podría aplicar a todas las novelas después de esta, más o menos: estas novelas tienen un ritmo endiablado, hipnótico y único. La exploración interna tiene su contraparte en los diálogos con otros, aquí siempre un uno contra uno, que les lleva a enfrentarse realmente a aquello que no quieren ver. No hay acotaciones, tan solo un flujo constante de diálogos. Esto genera un extraño trance, donde saltamos entre psiques de personajes y entre los dentros y los fueras de estos, donde los vemos cómo quieren ser y cómo los ven los demás. Aquí hay algo que se desarrollará por mil en otras historias similares, pero quizás un poco más encapsulado, un tanto más reducido a su esencia más directa y sincera - Nos deseamos en los aspectos menos buenos de nosotros mismos.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasure to read. Yes the characters are victims of circumstance but more importantly the individuals are not read as symbols of a universal 'type' (goodie, baddie etc), this separates the novel from the moral tales that prevailed in the past and still abound today. Given this existential outlook, the histories of the characters related within the book make up a satisfying, readable and racy 'story'. One is inevitably drawn to comparisons between several situations (there are deliberately 'paired' situations), note the table-turning events, reflect upon the choices possible to a character and consider how 'normal' a decision in the novel seems, consider alternatives. Despite this, as said, it is a modern 'existential' novel rather than a staged morality tale and is thought provoking, moving and memorable as one would expect from Iris Murdoch and thoroughly enjoyable. One of my favourite IM novels.
It strikes me that a constant theme throughout all Murdoch novels is the acceptance (and thereby forgiveness) of individuals as they are. People in close relationships- families,couples- are outraged and bemused by the behaviour of their loved ones (also astonished at the extremity of their own actions at times) yet come to terms (forgive)- in an individual way- with the situations that prevail. I stress again- individual situations, not standard cases,represetative myths etc. People are understood to compose a practically infine spectrum and given such a range it can be no surprise that finding perfectly matching jigsaw pieces is unlikely and problematic. This fact can be mused upon by human beings, not counted among their faults.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

I liked Bruno’s Dream but it’s not my favorite of Murdoch’s books. I haven’t read the sea yet but this is the second of her books where I’ve noticed that water plays a big part or major metaphor. Per the brief bio at the end of the book Murdoch and her husband Bailey loved swimming so I’m assuming that’s one reason why water is significant to her. Love her intellectual dexterity and her use of philosophy.

[Charlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would say this book read like an opera but the truth is that it read more like a poorly written soap opera. Everyone falls in love with everyone. Perhaps some sort attempt at exploring the complex nature of love?

It started strong, quickly became uninteresting, and never recovered.

[Gary Branson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow start to what becomes a death and dying novel. A bit shallow in some of the relationships. Still a good Murdoch.

[Fulya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murdoch okuyucularının malûmudur ki, Murdoch kitaplarında kendine has bir örüntüyü izler. Hatta şunu söylemek de pek hatalı olmaz sanırım: Tüm kitapları Murdoch evreninde geçer. Karakterler, gerçek dünyada gerçek olamayacak kadar saçma eylemlerde bulunsalar da Murdoch evreninde hepsi kendisiyle tutarlıdır. “Rüya Sakinleri” de aynı yolu izliyor. Birbirine girmiş bir aşk yumağı içinde, heyecanı ondan ona atlayan karakterler en sonunda bizi bir son duygusuna ulaştırıyor. Karakterlerin hiçbirinin zaten mantıklı hareket etmediği ortada; bu sebeple seçimlerinin de mantıksız oluşu şaşırtıcı değil. Oldukça sürükleyici bir öykü; Murdoch’ın alamet-i farikası olan, tam dozunda alay ve varoluşçu düşüncelerle, en iyi kitaplarından biri olmasa da okunacak kitaplarından biri diyebilirim. Ancak Ayrıntı’ya hiç yakışmayan çeviri hataları ve cümle düşüklükleri, “Bu kitabın son okuması yapılmış mı acaba?” diye düşündürmedi değil.

[Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

عظيمة قدرة ايريس مردوخ على صياغة النفسيات المضطربة لأبطال روايتها وسط علاقات متشابكة وغريبة، ورغم غرابة نفسيات بعض أبطال الرواية، الا انهم كانوا واقعيين، شخصيات تشبهنا بشكل او بآخر.
رواية نفسية وفلسفية مدهشة، تأملات عن الحياة والموت والحب والعلاقات.
برونو بطل الرواية يتأمل في ماضيه وهو يحتضر، ويسأل في النهاية عن إمكانية استرداد الماضي لتغييره، وشكل الموت، وعن حياته الطويلة التي مضت مثل حلم سريع.
ومايلز، ابن برونو، حول مأساة وفاة زوجته الأولى إلى قصيدة، حتى لا يصاب بالجنون من فرط مأساته، فبدا موت زوجته مثل حلم بعيد، قصيدة حالمة.
رواية ادهشتني الحقيقة من البناء والسرد والفكرة. اول تجاربي مع ايريس مردوخ.

[Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing my journey through the works of Iris Murdoch, my fifth stop was Bruno's Dream, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It's very, very good. It gives an extremely pathetic and visceral portrait of old age in the figure of Bruno Greensleave: bed-ridden, deformed by age into something the other characters can barely recognise as human, yet with a mind keenly aware and prone to philosophical musings about the "dream" that his past life, in retrospect, seems to have become. The other characters - various members of Bruno's family and household - orbit around him, coming and going in the grip of their own "dreams", acting like maniacs and fools, as humans are wont to do. They fall in love with wild and inappropriate abandon, wound each other inadvertently (and advertently, if that's the word I want). They plot against each other, lie, steal, cheat, and even try to kill one another. For all its moments of pathos, it's really quite a comic novel, even farcical in the Shakespearean way that my favourite Murdoch novels so far all seem to have in common. And yet it all ends on a transcendent note of seriousness, compassion and great beauty. This one is right up there with The Black Prince and The Sea, the Sea. Highly recommended!

[Hugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a few years ago after finding a second hand copy. At the time I was much less familiar with Murdoch's work (in fact it was only the second of the 16 I have read so far), and I would have to re-read it to review it properly - I remember the next two I read (Under the Net and The Black Prince) much better.
The prospect of re-reading it does not appeal to me, as for me this was one of her more forgettable and less interesting books, but perhaps I would see more in it if I read it again now. I am adding this review because The Mookse and the Gripes group is currently revisiting the 1970 Booker shortlist.