Henry and Cato by Iris Murdoch

I feel really divided about this book. On the one hand, it's the most deliciously-written thriller if, like me, you like thrillers on the screen but find them annoying reading. There's a terrifying kidnapping plot that is dealt with psychologically and philosophically, and makes for really intense and satisfying reading. However, I didn't like any of the characters, I thought they were all pretty horrible, and didn't really care what would happen to them. I found Henry especially a really dreadful character; with maniacal energy, he rampages through everyone's lives, destroying them in his own quest for some sort of spiritual renunciation of the materialism of the world, he disregards everyone's emotions and views, and lists Hitler as one of the 'heroes beginning with an H'. He is abusive towards his girlfriend and bullies everybody while whining that he has been bullied his whole life, and bizarrely, no one calls him out on his outrageous behaviour. I felt really unsettled by the end of the novel, because Henry's behaviour is never dealt with or even discussed. I felt like he was the darkest force in the novel, not the person who orchestrates the kidnapping plot. Cato I just found very annoying, with his loss of faith and never-ending agonising about it. Cato's father John is a disgusting, callous misogynist, unable to comprehend how he has maltreated his children and considers all women stupid because 'it had taken them practically the whole of recorded history to invent a simple idea like the brassiere.' Henry's mother is self-centered and dull, as is her pathetic would-be poet hanger-on, Lucius. Stephanie, the charwoman who pretends to have been a prostitute to get Henry's attention (and succeeds), probably has the most interesting story, but is incurably stupid and depressing. I just couldn't get over my dislike of all of these characters, and had no sympathy with them, which made it very difficult to read the book. But I was as usual enchanted by Murdoch's style and the atmosphere she creates, so in that respect, it was very easy to read.