Cold, Creepy, and Claustrophobic

Brrrr! I thought I would go back to Iris Murdoch, after many years away from her, and see if I still had a slightly uneasy feeling about her novels. The answer is: Emphatically, Yes! I just finished "The Time of the Angels" (Viking, 1966) and found it cold, creepy, and claustrophobic. The characters are cold, even when they are ostensibly passionate, and to emphasize the cold, the weather in London is constantly freezing throughout the novel. The atmosphere in the house where most of the story takes place is creepy and claustrophobic, as are the main characters, especially the horrible - even evil - Carel, who controls all around him from his dark room. There are glimpses of human warmth in two characters, the Russian refugee Leo and the sad, orphaned housekeeper Pattie, but even they are so damaged by life and by Carel that they can't keep up that warmth for long. I have to say that I kept reading to the end, although I now often don't continue reading a book I don't like, so there was some psychological fascination that kept my attention. I was relieved, however, when it was over and I was released from the cold and the creepiness.