“At any moment one can be removed from a state of guileless serenity and plunged into its opposite, without any intermediate condition, so high about us do the waters rise of our own and other people‘s imperfection.”
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I can see this book becoming a really compelling miniseries. The characters each carried well their own personal histories and justification for how they ended up at the Abbey. Although Dora is a main character, she’s not the central focus and I appreciated the variety of perspectives. 

The group dynamics were so authentic and captivating. I found it very telling that each character’s inner perception was so different from how they were actually perceived. 

At first, I felt sympathy for Michael’s struggle with his sexual identity and religion. I came to loathe him for the harm he caused other main characters when they were vulnerable to him and should’ve been protected. I found it hard to distinguish if Murdoch understood how wrong his behavior was, but the alcoholism and deterioration of one of his victims led me to conclude yes. 

Toby‘s unearthing of the old bell felt symbolic to me – that he and other characters were also unearthing truths and feelings they’d tried to drown. I really appreciated that Nick functioned as a kind of protector for him. The nun who gave Toby grace for sneaking in and recognized he was still effectively a child made me think Murdoch was signaling she understood that too. 

For the final few chapters, this book turned into a comedy of errors and gave some relief from the extreme tension the group had built up to. I felt really immersed in the landscape our characters moved through and once again appreciated Murdoch‘s ability to embody in such a taut atmosphere, as in The Sea, The Sea.