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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Wow, I'm not having good luck with Muriel Spark, am I? This novel is absolutely baffling to me. No one speaks or behaves like a real person. As indicated by the front cover of my edition, the main character is setting up her own murder, but Spark never provides any real psychological insight into her or why she would do this. Hammy and melodramatic nonsense from an author I'd been led to believe was "literary" (whatever that means). Apparently it was nominated for one of the Lost Man Booker Awards -- lol, because of course it was.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book kept me on the edge of my seat, and it made me appreciate the title the more I got into it. Very unnerving and unsettling from the first scene, which shows how unhinged the narrator is. I love the imagination that went into the story, but I did want a bit more, especially building up to the ending.
And again with the list sorting itself into groups. This is almost the perfect companion to "Under The Skin" in tone. A tiny novella, finished in a single sitting, here we have another mysterious single woman trying to take control of her destiny. Lise comes from an unknown northern European country, and she's heading out on holiday. But she's also looking for someone - a lover perhaps? While this story doesn't rely on the slow reveal as Under The Skin does, the horror builds equally as strongly as Lise's control is wrested away from her by a succession of creepy male characters.
Or is the peculiar Lise, in fact, in the driver's seat?
Or is the peculiar Lise, in fact, in the driver's seat?
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
WTF is this?
I don’t think I enjoyed a single thing about it.
I don’t think I enjoyed a single thing about it.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3/5 ⭐️: Muriel Spark has messed with my head! This short story subverts every expectation. It follows Lise, who we are told from the beginning of the novel will soon be found dead. Tension builds as Lise embarks on a series of erratic escapades, particularly with men. She ends up in some dangerous situations, and Spark appears to make light of these. I couldn’t tell if this was a commentary on the late 1960s/70s when the book was written, or if it was supposed to be an empowering, feminist move. There are plenty of unanswered questions, and a lot of what Lise is thinking is never fully revealed. I listened to this on Audible, and the narration by Judy Dench was excellent, perfectly suited to this story.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
After hearing a lot of raving reviews about this one, I went in blind and was sorely disappointed. This is the kind of shallow book (pointedly called a whydunnit) where you are told the conclusion and are then taken on a journey to see why it turned out that way. The pace is fast but the manic narrative completely lost me. The endless musings about people who may or may not exist, men who may or may not be Lise's "type" and the conclusion left be completely bored and if this book was longer than it is, I would certainly have abandoned it. As it stands, I don't think there was anything particularly interesting or novel about this book but perhaps I'm just not smart enough to understand the point of it all.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated