The Black Prince in Reading 1001

Mar 11, 2022 Pamela rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: boxall-1001-read, guardian-1000-read

Bradley Pearson has retired from his tax office job to concentrate on writing - his small success from two minor previous works has long vanished, but he seems unable to produce the great work he feels he is capable of. Meanwhile his ‘friend’ and former protégé Arnold Baffin has become a popular novelist with a bestseller each year. Bradley’s attempts to get away and find peace are thwarted when his ex-wife Christian shows up, his sister Priscilla leaves her husband and suffers a nervous breakdo ...more

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Jan 22, 2016 Beverly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-bymrbyd

One of the 1001 books you must read before you die and this actually turned out to be an extremely interesting read. Ms. Murdoch has written a complex and intelligent story revolving around Bradley Pearson, an author in his late fifties who has recently retired and wants to get away from it all and try to do some writing in a quieter atmosphere. I wish couldn't be further from his reality. As he makes plans to travel his ex-brother-in-law (Francis) shows up to announce that his ex-wife's husband ...more

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Feb 02, 2016 Pip rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-books-challenge

I have read other responses and cannot agree that Murdoch is anything like Bellow! She is much more clever and subtle. It is not an easy ready, granted, but rating a book because you like or dislike the protagonist is surely shallow? Murdoch illuminates truth and deception, both in the storytelling and in how characters justify themselves. It was not an easy read but I give it four stars.

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Apr 08, 2014 Rory rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001, romance

Wasn't sure at first, romance is not my favorite genre, but fell in love with this one. And it's so much more than a simple romance novel. ...more

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Mar 12, 2014 Jen rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001, fiction, family, british-literature, dysfunctional-relationships, 20th-century, drama, england, family-relationships, women-writers

3.5 stars.
This hard to describe book contains a little of everything: murder, suicide, mental illness, “love” story, and reflections on art and life. Protagonist Bradley Pearson is an aging and largely unsuccessful author who plans to retire to the country to write his masterpiece. His hopes are dashed by a series of chaotic and extreme events that include the return of his ex-wife, the arrival of his suicidal sister, and a complicated and dysfunctional relationship with his “friend” Arnold. The ...more

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