Cover of The Sea, the Sea

The Sea, the Sea

Iris Murdoch, 1978

British and Irish novelist, 1919–1999. Won the Costa Novel Award in 1974 and the Booker Prize in 1978.

The Sea, the Sea is a 1978 novel by Iris Murdoch. It won the Booker Prize in 1978.

Acclaimed
  • Prize Winner

On 3 of the 19 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Iris Murdoch
First published
1978
Length
560 pages (UK paperback)
Awards
Genre
Literary fiction, Psychological, Philosophical, Love story

Is The Sea, the Sea worth reading?

3 of the 19 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them the Booker Prize and The 100 greatest British novels (BBC Culture).

ListPlaceOriginal
Booker Prize (winners and shortlists) (Booker Prize Foundation, 1978)WinnerSee the list
The 100 greatest British novels (BBC Culture, 2015)No. 61See the list
The Big Jubilee Read (BBC Arts and The Reading Agency, 2022)ListedSee the list

Best edition of The Sea, the Sea

The edition we link to is the Vintage Classics paperback (1999), 560 pages.

Publisher
Vintage Classics (paperback, 1999)
Pages
560
ISBN
9780099284093

How critics, prizes and readers rate The Sea, the Sea

Prize juries rate it most highly: it earned 50% of the points available on prize lists, against 13% on readers' and booksellers' lists and 8% on critics' lists.

Critics
8%
Prizes
50%
Readers and booksellers
13%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like The Sea, the Sea

If you liked The Sea, the Sea, try Under the Net, Brave New World or A Clockwork Orange.

Lists used on this page