by Iris Murdoch
First published 1975
Blaise Gavender lives caught between two worlds of desire. His marriage provides one kind of love while his passionate affair offers another. Each relationship demands what the other cannot give. When he tries to satisfy his wife, he yearns for his mistress. When he loses himself in forbidden passion, he feels the pull of domestic devotion. Blaise discovers that sacred and profane love feed off each other in an endless cycle. The more he experiences one, the more desperately he needs the other. His heart swings back and forth between these opposing forces, never finding rest in either. Neither the pure nor the carnal can fill the void that each creates. Murdoch explores how the human heart creates its own torment by demanding both spiritual and physical fulfillment, only to find that possessing one makes the other essential.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, adult-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: forbidden-love, love-triangle
Paperback · Warner Books