Under the net

Iris Murdoch's first novel.Iris Murdoch's first novel is a gem - solid and sparkling. Set in a part of London, where struggling writers rub shoulders with successful bookies, and film starlets with frantic philosophers. Its hero, Jake Donaghue, is a drifting, clever, likeable young man who makes a living out of translation work and sponging on his friends. Meeting again, after some years, an old flame, Anna, he is led into a series of fantastic adventures. Iris Murdoch has wit, great power of invention and a knack for producing absurd incidents with a serious undertone and tender episodes…