Favorite parts

One of my favorite scenes in the book was when Jake and his cohorts got tipsy at the pub, then took a late-night dip in the Thames, followed by a snack of foie gras and crackers pilfered from Sadie's flat. The scene was well described. I could almost feel the foul, murky river water — and also the childlike sensation of not caring that it was foul, and the peculiar hunger you get after swimming. That's kind of a universal human experience, I think — the need to commune with the elements, water and night, and to feel like it's a kind of right, whether it's trespassing or dangerous or stupid or whatever. Jake's nighttime expedition after Anna in Paris also had that feel: the pursuit of a primal, if elusive, goal.

Although I thought some of the scenes rambled on a bit too long, I did enjoy the tours through London and Paris, all the place names and associations and the sense that the cities were themselves characters in the book. It didn't seem like a story that could be set just anywhere. It reminded me a little of George Orwell's "Down and Out in Paris and London." They should release an edition of Murdoch's book with maps of all of Jake's rambles.