As with all of Iris Murdoch's books, "Henry and Cato" is an unpredictable story with really thought-provoking aspects. It features two friends who meet up again as mature adults, each facing a life crisis. Henry is a wealthy landowner who wants to dispose of his property and live as an ordinary individual in America. Cato is a priest with no possessions who wants to leave the church and find the means to assist a delinquent teenager to make something of himself. As such, it raises many pertinent issues around money, religion and traditional family bonds.Murdoch typically plays around with the element of contingency, with the result that the reader has no idea where the plot is heading and the characters themselves are taken off guard by events. This serves to reveal characteristics in the various men and women in the story which would not have been apparent had events followed a predictable path. For readers who enjoy in-depth character portrayal and the exploration of philosophical and psychological conundrums, this makes for a very satisfying read.As a writer, I also enjoyed Murdoch's description of setting. The characters interact with their environment in a very engaged way. Emotions are reflected in the weather, the appearance of the trees and buildings, the sounds of insects and birds, and the movement of objects. It is difficult to describe how effective this is, except to say that it charms one into experiencing the scene with vividness and fellow feeling.So successful is the dialogue, moreover, that whole exchanges can go on without the need for any indicators as to who is speaking. The content and style of the lines is entirely characteristic of each member of the cast, which further drives home the point that people are unique and distinctive not just because of how they appear but because of how they think and communicate. Certainly a fantastic model for any novelist to imitate.I gave the book five stars because I found so many passages worthy of quoting or recalling for later reference. The conversations in the closing chapters about loss of faith, the dark night of the soul and the reason why people focus on suffering were particularly fascinating and well worth contemplating, coming as they do from a writer who was herself a philosopher by training and profession.
The plot of Henry and Cato is characterized by the strength and weakness and of a human being, in other words this novel is a deep travel inside their souls.The thoughts of Cato, a priest, are alternated by Beautiful Joe, a beautiful boy and his relation to God, for this reason this tale is set in London the sin city.After a deep reasoning Cato decided that his duty is try to convert beautiful Joe to a better life.Henry is the right opposite of Cato, he has a strong self - esteem , he thinks that he can lives without God, he feels invincible, a superman, but in reality this means a clear lack of personality.The main arguments touched are a deep reasoning of morality and the existence of God and the existentialism as a model of life and religion and in particular the catholic 's religion and an intimate conversation followed by the torment of a loss of faith.The link between Cato and Henry is their incapability of a clear idea about their personalities, this is due to a difficult childhood, for instance John Forbes, the father of Cato is a self - righteous and intolerant, in brief he hates his son, because he was not a perfect child.The figure of Collette Forbes is strong and mature, he is able to find the most rational way on how to resolve a philosophical problem and daily problems.The most intimate passages are the letters as an intimate tools in order to manifest their noble sentiments and impressions.Personally I think that the most difficult part of this novel is the reason of the kidnapping of Cato orchestrated by his fiancée.In conclusion the most immature characters are Cato and Henry, they do not care about the others, they are guided by their instincts and not the reason like Colette, nor a detailed answer about the best model of life with or without God.
What do You think about Henry And Cato (1977)?
This was a slow read - not because the language was particularly difficult, but because the pace of the book itself was rather ponderous. But I did become invested enough in the characters early on to want to persevere. I wish the female characters - Cato's sister, Henry's mother, Henry's girlfriend - had been more to the fore and let Henry and Cato slip to the back.I think I've started with a more obscure Murdoch, so now I feel I should read a better known volume to see if this pace and slight boredom are typical of her works.
—Gemma
Well, this was quite an introduction to the world of Murdoch, and I must say now I am hooked. One of those rare books I found myself waiting to get back to. I wanted to throttle Henry throughout most of the book, and his surreal relationship with Stephanie was gratingly obnoxious, but in a way that I think was intended, and thus able to be appreciated as fine emotional manipulation at the hand of the author. It was also wonderfully juxtaposed with Cato's relationship with the boy. A story of the ways in which people manipulate each other, often without realising they are being manipulated in turn. Definitely worth a re-read.
—George
...a bit late but finally answering: it's a boy and his name is Emil, he's very active and often hungry... and we are all charmed :)hugs and kisses very much appreciated! *hugs*
—Plch
