The Sea, the Sea

This is the story of an obsession. It also concerns the use and the surrender of magical power. Charles Arrowby, a well-known theatre director, over sixty and a bachelor, has come to live in a lonely house beside the sea, 'to repent of a life of egoism'. He has given up the 'trickery' of the theatre, and longs for simplicity and innocence and solitude. Charles soon runs into difficulties. His house appears to be haunted. Something very odd emerges from the sea. Women, from whom he intended to escape, reappear. But his new regime changes suddenly and completely when he encounters an 'old flame' and discovers that an innocent first love is still the great love of his life. Driven by obsessive passion, Charles attempts to rescue his lady from her marriage. He confronts a dangerous husband, a whimsical son. Charles's male helpers have also appeared on the scene, among them cousin James, soldier turned Buddhist, Charles's life-long rival for the world. Kidnapping and violent death play their part in the story, and so does the innocent and terrible sea.

Reflections upon love and hate and fear contribute to the intense atmosphere of this comic tragedy. The Sea, The Sea is a formidably exciting novel about violence and forgiveness.