{"product_id":"the-sea-the-sea-a-severed-head-introduction-by-sarah-churchwell-hardcover","title":"The Sea, the Sea; A Severed Head: Introduction by Sarah Churchwell - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eThese two major novels--by one of the most influential British writers of the twentieth century--are ferociously dark comedies that combine playfulness with profundity. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Severed Head\u003c\/i\u003e (1961) is one of Iris Murdoch's most entertaining works, tracing the turbulent emotional journey of Martin Lynch-Gibbon, a smug, prosperous London wine merchant and unfaithful husband, whose life is turned inside out when his wife leaves him for her psychoanalyst. The story takes bedroom farce to a new level of sophistication, with scenes that are both wickedly funny and emblematic of the way momentous moral issues play out in everyday life. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe Booker Prize-winning \u003ci\u003eThe Sea, the Sea\u003c\/i\u003e (1978) is set on the edge of England's North Sea, where egotistical Charles Arrowby, a big name in London's glittering theatrical world, has retreated into seclusion to write his memoirs. Arrowby's plans begin to unravel when he encounters his long-lost first love and finds himself increasingly besieged by his own fantasies, delusions, and obsessions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBoth novels are tragicomic masterpieces that brilliantly dramatize how much our lives are governed by the lies we tell ourselves and by the all-consuming need for love, meaning, and redemption. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIntroduction by Sarah Churchwell","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51370222682335,"sku":"9781101907665","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/oR0vLD3Q0x9781101907665.webp?v=1789153672","url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/products\/the-sea-the-sea-a-severed-head-introduction-by-sarah-churchwell-hardcover","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}