The Sea, the SeaThe Sea, the Sea
Score Classic
What it's about
Charles Arrowby, a famous, vain London theater director, retires to a lonely house by the sea to write his memoirs. In the village nearby he discovers his first love, Hartley, whom he hasn't seen in decades, now a plain old woman married to someone else. Convinced she's unhappy and still loves him, Charles becomes obsessed with rescuing her, with disastrous results.
Why it's worth reading
It won the Booker Prize. It's a brilliant, funny portrait of a self-deluded man, with wonderful writing about the sea.
You'll love it if you liked
The Remains of the Day
The Magus
LolitaGood to know
Charles is an unreliable, self-absorbed narrator; much of the comedy is seeing what he doesn't. It's long and talky.
By the numbers
- Readers40 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics67 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller18 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #151 of the 309 literary novels we rank
- #380 of the 762 classics we rank
- #1298 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving, Thought-provoking
More by Iris Murdoch
If you like this, read next
The Brothers Karamazov
The Thorn Birds
The Age of Innocence
The Great Gatsby
Middlemarch
Giovanni's RoomExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is The Sea, the Sea worth reading?
Yes. It won the Booker Prize. It ranks #1,298 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 70.0 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Sea, the Sea about?
Charles Arrowby, a famous, vain London theater director, retires to a lonely house by the sea to write his memoirs. In the village nearby he discovers his first love, Hartley, whom he hasn't seen in decades, now a plain old woman married to someone else. Convinced she's unhappy and still loves him, Charles becomes obsessed with rescuing her, with disastrous results.
How long does it take to read The Sea, the Sea?
About 13 hours (528 pages), or about 4 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has The Sea, the Sea won?
Booker Prize winner (1978).
What should I read after The Sea, the Sea?
If you liked it, try The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Magus by John Fowles or Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.