The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch – A book review

I don’t know if I’ll believe in an autobiography ever again!

An ageing fifty eight year old writer, struggling with time, space and inspiration to write a great piece of art is Bradley Pearson and he makes himself to be the Black Prince in his own story. But his ranting and raving about the writing of his book tires the reader as Bradley incessantly procrastinates until the end of the story till you discover that this is the very story that you’re reading.  You believe the poor old fellow though – I did; you sympathize with him, you pity him, often you do relate to his actions and at times you applaud him for his clarity of thoughts, his austerity and his relentlessness; he seems genuine.

Like most Murdoch stories, there’s philosophy and deeper psychology at play here, there’s the attempt to understand, characterize and explain love and life beyond their one sentence definitions. And Murdoch then, almost instantly and urgently, mocks her own characters for this futile attempt as they falter and deceive their own thoughts and morals, inadvertently falling prey to the cunningness of desire, anxiety, pity and many such emotions that seem to be within their control but often jump and cross the boundaries of the thing we call love.

At times, you tend to become more excited about Bradley’s adventure than he is; he most definitely is even though he tries to suppress it as a reality of the norm. You urge him to take the next step; you try to prevent him from his foolhardy actions. ‘Don’t do it, don’t do it Bradley!’ – you shout and warn from own experience, an experience where you yourself had been reckless once. And as he restlessly listens yet ignores you, you live it again – your experience, and it almost seems like the rebuilding of a scene – yours – Murdoch’s descriptions are so accurate, the feelings are relatable to the verge of being felt yet again.

For the characters she creates and the infidelities she imposes on them, you’d think Murdoch was a wicked one. It seems her written materials are a study, an attempt by her to extrapolate or argue about her understanding of psychology, or to raise questions she never got answers for or probably the answers were too many and most of them though grounded and logical, could be easily discarded or overridden, even by the most casual of characteristics – impetuousness when it came to love lust and longing.

As you get engrossed and live the tale, at times you hate yourself for being able to relate with their restlessness; it reminds you of instances and incidents in the past when you were either Bradley or Julian or Rachel or the others; how ridiculous it seems now but how uncontrollable an urge it was then, how degraded it feels now; how right it felt then. You inadvertently feel the weakness you felt then, when you allowed yourself and a few others to demean you, imploring at the altars of the feeling of love. You can’t seem to shake off the indelible scars they have made; the pain reminds it. Murdoch explains perfectly through Bradley’s restlessness and delirium the madness that is truly associated with love, the preposterousness in its actions driving one insane – it probably takes the humanity off a human. And if Bradley is to be believed, if his story is to be believed, then every character is a sufferer of love. One is made to wonder if he was insane before he fell shamelessly in love with Julian, a girl much less than half his age or did the act of falling make him that?

Everything can be justified – you’ll surely want it to be true if you’re in the wrong books, particularly socially. Acts of infidelity, incest, petty theft, jealousy feel so wrong when committed by others but for the infallible you, there is always a strong reason for having done it. And you fail to understand why others fail to understand. Bradley feels so angry and disgusted with his brother-in-law’s liaison with a younger girl but seems to be empathetic when he is in a similar position. He then understands and believes it all.

Do Murdoch’s books reveal anything about her? Why is infidelity, incest, rebellion of the ages the common theme in most of her books, whether it be the eccentric protagonist in ‘The sea, she sea’, or the appalling incestuous relations of a failure of a priest in ‘The time of the angels’, or the wickedness of power and influence in ‘A fairly honourable defeat’? For sure, she’s been a rebel and a non-believer in the ordinary aspects of this hated thing called love – and I love her for that. All her stories have at least one intellectual or a philosopher, whether it is a priest, a writer or just a thinker. I’m sure she must have known or come across a lot of intellectuals in her life and laughed boisterously at the comfort and surety they must have built around them with their stupid intellectuality and wisdom on life and its intricacies – all talk, when there hasn’t existed ever any rulebook of life.

Having said all of that, what I find unreal in Murdoch’s stories and this one is no exception, is the incredible mental strength and civility the characters portray while countering each other even in the worst of muddles. Even when encountering the most treacherous or heinous of acts, they sit, have a drink, and talk, like ladies and gentlemen; they don’t jump across to wring and break each other’s neck; they talk, they argue, they reason it out! Murdoch clearly believes in the ends of the spectrum – at one end she creates characters that can be really wicked, at the other end these characters are so saintly in a discussion. Is it a cultural thing I wonder, especially when the tabloids are filled with news of grotesque murders and attempts in case of infidelities. It is unbelievable – this endurance and maturity; do such people really exist? Should they? I fail to appreciate them.

‘The Black Prince’ is a story full of restlessness and deception; a deception that transcends the common types. Coincidences, accidents, feelings, madness make it a tragedy of errors. And when you think you that you have sympathized enough with Bradley, the incredible end claims you. You flinch in disgust at what has happened to him. And as if that wasn’t enough, Murdoch trumps you with the final post scripts written by four important characters of the story and one by the editor. And you wonder if you have understood the characters at all, there is a strong urge to read it all over again; everything is left to interpretation. Brilliant!

My rating: 5 out of 5

Images copyrights:

Book cover:  https://www.amazon.in/Black-Prince-Iris-Murdoch/dp/0099589257

Iris Murdoch: https://quotes.thefamouspeople.com/iris-murdoch-1671.php

The green road by Anne Enright – a book review

Years later, old and withered, when you sit down to write Christmas or homecoming cards for your flock that has flown away from the nest and has been away for a long long time, what will you write to them, write of them? Will you address him as the now besuited CEO, or will you remember and remind your son of always being bullied in school; will you frown terribly or have a happy smirk as you write of your daughter as the chubby grumpy child who’d never stop following her mother like a lost puppy?

What we remember is what we choose to remember – of people, of things, of situations, of life. Sketches made and stored in our memory might not necessarily resemble the muses; seldom are artists true and neutral; rarely can they resist not adding or altering something in the name of creativity. Subsequently and consequently the muse changes and that’s how we remember them thenceforth.

Anne Enright’s eccentric Rosalene tries to bring together her flock, probably for one last time, during Christmas. She feels neglected, and she is; her children – four of them, have chosen to stay away from their domineering mother for reasons they know best but she fails to understand. She thinks she is a failure as a mother, she thinks they too have failed her as children. Insecure, old, alone and lonely, having been deserted by a dead husband too – a man who she thinks she married beneath her yet loves him even today, a man who worshipped her but went quiet towards the end, the huge and empty house gets to her and she intends to sell it. Attention and company is what she seeks and yearns for, like a child.

Why do they want to stay away from their mother, these children of her: Constance, Dan, Emmet and Hanna? Do they fear that like their father; they too would eventually lose their voice and resilience and go quiet finally to the grave? Is she that bad?

Divided into two parts, the first part of Anne Enright’s story has one chapter dedicated to each child, as she eloquently sketches their lives away from home and finally their mother’s. The second one is about their homecoming.

Rosalene’s restlessness is apparent in each child as they progress in their lives. Their struggles, though disparate, are the link they carry. Though from the same womb, they’re distinctly apart in their thoughts and doings, as if each fused in a different time and space from different sperm and egg owners. Enright very adeptly and beautifully presents their lives, the disturbances in them. Her ramblings through her characters seem to be her highlight; it reminded me of ‘The Gathering’ – the first one of hers that I’ve read. She subtly puts across the hundreds of thoughts, emotions that go unnoticed in each life lived, some of them so beautiful yet never conveyed, or understood, or possibly even ignored. The interminable chatter in the head, the struggle to push beyond yourself to do what you know is right when the only one who prevents you is you; these struggles are not just Emmet’s and Dan’s as much as they are yours and mine. We define our ideals and when we discern that we’ve drifted away from them, frustrated we fight or give in, but there is never a full acceptance of the defeat, of ourselves. And the ramblings only grow, some words are blurted, some are not, some emotions are let out, some smothered; we become different versions of ourselves, for the world, for the acceptance of us by them. In an interview for one of her other books ‘Actress’, Anne Enright said, ‘As a writer, your problems are your solutions.’ So true, not only for writers, but for all of us, I believe!

I loved Anne Enright’s matter-of-fact way of presenting her story; I’d probably want to read it again. I wish everyone finds their green road to walk upon, a place that gives clarity to the mind and subdues the noise, even if to some extent.  

My rating: 4 out of 5

Picture copyrights:

Anne Enright – https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/anne-enright-as-a-writer-your-problems-are-your-solutions-1.4161408

Book cover – https://www.amazon.in/Green-Road-Anne-Enright/dp/0099539799

 

Top Gun: Maverick – a movie review

I sit myself down with bated breath after the national anthem has been played. At 9 o’clock there are a few people sitting, at three, there’s a couple. I only hope that the chirpy teenagers at five don’t continue with their garrulity. And then … then, Mayday Mayday, we are hit, we are hit. Ah, no distress, pure excitement and adrenaline rush as the original Top Gun anthem is being played. Every time I hear it, in my mind I see aviator sunglasses, patched leather jacket, a roaring Kawasaki, the hurried landing and take offs of sleek man-made birds, the trained and practiced gestures of men in uniform on a naval ship. Thank you Harold Faltermeyer and Steve Stevens for this piece of passionate riveting music causing the listener, even if for a few seconds to be possessed and think themselves to be charming striking handsome naval aviators.

Exactly identical to the original till the names of the actors and crew were being displayed, I would have been so delighted if the original had been played instead of the sequel. I’ve never had the opportunity to watch the original on a big screen. In fact, I had watched Top Gun much later than when it was released, and when I did, I instantly fell in love with everything about it – the adventure, the gear, the dashing confidence, the dialogues, the script, the discipline, the rebellion, the characters, the music, the every bloody thing.

Why then was a sequel required? Before the movie begins, Tom Cruise answers this by saying that for years fans have been asking him for a sequel. I wish he hadn’t listened to them. And I’m also glad that he did!

Maverick hasn’t changed. He still goes after what he sees; still rebellious, still buzzes towers, has taken a step ahead from his circus stunt fly-by’s. As Iceman had once said, he’s unsafe and dangerous every time he goes up there. He’s deliberately still a captain, soon to return as an instructor to Top Gun. Goose is dead; he was the only family he had. Maverick often reaches out to him though, “Talk to me Goose, talk to me.” However, you won’t miss Goose much as Rooster, his son, is a spitting image of him. Surprisingly, there’s no mention of Charlie; she’s disappeared and Penny Benjamin, who is only mentioned as a passing reference in the original one is brought to life and takes her place, played by my favourite, the beautiful Jennifer Connelly. Val ‘Iceman’ Kilmer, another favourite actor, is a pleasure to watch too.

It seems the movie makers wanted the viewers to feel nostalgic about every scene from the original. And in an attempt to do so, they’ve created an over the top, fanciful, larger than life, not so easy to believe movie and moments. Most of the scenes seem contrived, the characters - the way they speak and act portray a feigned attempt to be cool. They go out of the way to be Goose and Iceman and Slider, and hence to me it came across as not very natural. In fact, I found ‘Cyclone’ trying very hard to act like the austere ‘Viper’ was in the original. Overall, I felt, they’ve struggled extensively to be like the original and that struggle shows. So, there are the 4G inverted dives that had so much surprised Charlie in the original, Mav suddenly being called to Top Gun, introduction of Maverick as an instructor to his pilots is similar to Charlie’s introduction in the original, pilots not knowing of the instructor's identity as they play along with him, going below hard deck scenes with Viper and now with Cyclone, the ‘Talk to me’’s, the competition for who’s the best fighter pilot, the game on the beach, Rooster’s rendition of ‘Great balls of fire’ just like Goose’s and so on.

Am I complaining? No, no, no and even then just a little bit, yes. Give me the original any day. As I write this, I know I’m going to go and watch it a second time on the big screen. You should too – for Cruise, for Goose, for Tony Scott – as an ode to the original.

Alright gentlemen we have a hop to take!

Revvin' up your engine
Listen to her howlin' roar
Metal under tension
Beggin' you to touch and go

Highway to the Danger Zone
Ride into the Danger Zone

Headin' into twilight
Spreadin' out her wings tonight
She got you jumpin' off the deck
Shovin' into overdrive

Highway to the Danger Zone
I'll take you right into the Danger Zone

You'll never say hello to you
Until you get it on the red line overload
You'll never know what you can do
Until you get it up as high as you can go

Out along the edges
Always where I burn to be
The further on the edge
The hotter the intensity

Highway to the Danger Zone
Gonna take it right into the Danger Zone
Highway to the Danger Zone
Ride into, the Danger Zone

Highway to the Danger Zone
Gonna take it right into the Danger Zone
Highway to the Danger Zone
Ride into the Danger Zone
Highway to the Danger Zone
Gonna take it right into the Danger Zone
Highway to the Danger Zone
Ride into the Danger Zone
Highway to the Danger Zone

Danger Zone – Top Gun soundtrack
Songwriters: Giorgio Moroder / Thomas Ross Whitlock
Danger Zone lyrics © Wb Music Corp.

Picture copyrights:

https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/361743-top-gun-maverick/images/posters

https://www.military.com/off-duty/movies/2021/02/17/tom-cruise-fully-committed-july-2-release-top-gun-maverick.html