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krep___'s review against another edition
1.0
One more writer writing a book about a writer writing a book. I think that should be its own genre, so that such books can display the proper warning tags. Self-serving? Ya think? How many movies would you want to see that about making movies? One or two maybe? This one, besides the creativity demerits for the writer-thing, was almost plot-less to boot. Dull. Lame. At one point the protagonist, who's been hired to ghost write autobiographies for a group of inconsequential snobs, points out that biography necessarily includes the dull bits of people's lives. I couldn't tell if that was the author's way of apologizing for how dull her story was or if she was having a laugh at my expense. I won't bother pointing out character relationships and plot devices that challenged credulity. The strongest point in its favor: it is short. Readers who like this book would also like the similar "The Children's Book" by A. S. Byatt which even duller and has the added benefit of being four times as long.
michael5000's review against another edition
4.0
This one may be worth going back to; I think I missed some of the subtleties on audio.
2021 Update: It was worth going back to!!
2021 Update: It was worth going back to!!
s4ufos's review against another edition
3.0
Edge of my seat! The first twenty to thirty pages were alright, but the farther I got into the book the more captivated I became with it.
This was an assigned book for one of my literature classes, but I found myself enjoying it immensely!
I normally wouldn’t have picked this for myself, however, it was a delight to read. I don’t know if I’ll read it again, but everyone should at least try it once.
This was an assigned book for one of my literature classes, but I found myself enjoying it immensely!
I normally wouldn’t have picked this for myself, however, it was a delight to read. I don’t know if I’ll read it again, but everyone should at least try it once.
aaronreadabook's review against another edition
4.0
I love Spark's writing style, plots are completely secondary when it comes to enjoying her books. This is full of her biting wit.
rainbowarpaint's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Drug use and Sexism
pinknblue's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
dvogel's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
emilybookmark's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
mfjellstrom's review against another edition
5.0
Loitering with Intent is Fleur Talbot’s autobiography. It is Fleur’s story about the time when she was working as a secretary for Sir Quentin Oliver’s Autobiographical Association. While working there, Fleur was also working on her first novel, Warrender Chase. Written and constructed in a précis and straightforward way, with numerous beautiful repetitions that are always followed through; a superbly written story, recommendable to anyone.
As Fleur moves her story along we get to experience her discovery: something is not right with sir Quentin and his association. Scared members want to leave the association but are somehow blackmailed by Sir Quentin. Fleur finds their autobiographies incredibly dull and badly written and decides to re-write them. What is strange is that they don’t seem to mind. In fact, they are convinced that it must have happened the way Fleur wrote it. Stranger still is that Fleur’s Warrender Chase is being played out in real life by the members of the association. Despite everything that is going on in Fleur’s life she doesn’t care about anything apart from her novel; it is all inspiration for her writing. She is witty, independent and at times a bit ruthless and mean; in many ways she is a modern female version of Wilde’s sensational Lord Henry. When Fleur’s novel gets stolen, she gets to act out like a fictional heroin detective in order to get it back, and getting to read how she goes about it is very much like the reading experience equivalent of taking the first drag of a cigarette after a glass of wine, - divine.
Loitering with Intent is so far from waste of tree as a novel possibly can be. It manages to mess with your head and at times you forget that it is a fictional story about a writer, writing about the time when she wrote her first novel, really written by internationally award winning Muriel Sparks. Don’t go and look for Warrender Chase at the library, sadly it does not exist.
As Fleur moves her story along we get to experience her discovery: something is not right with sir Quentin and his association. Scared members want to leave the association but are somehow blackmailed by Sir Quentin. Fleur finds their autobiographies incredibly dull and badly written and decides to re-write them. What is strange is that they don’t seem to mind. In fact, they are convinced that it must have happened the way Fleur wrote it. Stranger still is that Fleur’s Warrender Chase is being played out in real life by the members of the association. Despite everything that is going on in Fleur’s life she doesn’t care about anything apart from her novel; it is all inspiration for her writing. She is witty, independent and at times a bit ruthless and mean; in many ways she is a modern female version of Wilde’s sensational Lord Henry. When Fleur’s novel gets stolen, she gets to act out like a fictional heroin detective in order to get it back, and getting to read how she goes about it is very much like the reading experience equivalent of taking the first drag of a cigarette after a glass of wine, - divine.
Loitering with Intent is so far from waste of tree as a novel possibly can be. It manages to mess with your head and at times you forget that it is a fictional story about a writer, writing about the time when she wrote her first novel, really written by internationally award winning Muriel Sparks. Don’t go and look for Warrender Chase at the library, sadly it does not exist.