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wtedwards24's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hj22's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cchipmunck's review against another edition
did i read the majority of this is the noah kahan queue… yess… can i remember anything at all… no
kbkittyb's review against another edition
3.0
I'm embarrassed to say this short book took me a while to read. But I can't quite put my finger on why. A good book, it just didn't seem to thoroughly engage my interest.
But in essence the story is a good one. None of the characters are particularly likeable, in fact, there are a few that I openly despise. And in all honesty, the book doesn't really end 'happily' for any of them. Despite Miss Brodie's unconventional influence over them, most of the 'Brodie set' live out very traditional lives for the time. Namely, marriage. Largely unhappily so.
And throughout, the reader's initial love for the eccentric Miss Brodie is slowly stripped away in the same way as it does for many of the girls she influenced. There is a massive sense of disappointment by the end of the book, for many reasons.
Unlike others, I do not view this book as a comedy. If anything it is satire. Miss Brodie's unhealthy control over her students creates a general sense on unease, particularly towards the end of the book.
This book of unhealthy juvenile loyalty has left me a little sad and jaded. And more than a little confused - the arrangement between Miss Brodie, Teddy Lloyd and the Brodie set is one that I will never be able to get my head around.
Overall, a good, easy read with some interesting characters.
But in essence the story is a good one. None of the characters are particularly likeable, in fact, there are a few that I openly despise. And in all honesty, the book doesn't really end 'happily' for any of them. Despite Miss Brodie's unconventional influence over them, most of the 'Brodie set' live out very traditional lives for the time. Namely, marriage. Largely unhappily so.
And throughout, the reader's initial love for the eccentric Miss Brodie is slowly stripped away in the same way as it does for many of the girls she influenced. There is a massive sense of disappointment by the end of the book, for many reasons.
Unlike others, I do not view this book as a comedy. If anything it is satire. Miss Brodie's unhealthy control over her students creates a general sense on unease, particularly towards the end of the book.
This book of unhealthy juvenile loyalty has left me a little sad and jaded. And more than a little confused - the arrangement between Miss Brodie, Teddy Lloyd and the Brodie set is one that I will never be able to get my head around.
Overall, a good, easy read with some interesting characters.
book_concierge's review against another edition
4.0
Audio book performed by Nadia May.
Miss Jean Brodie is a teacher at conservative girls’ school in 1930s Edinburgh, Scotland. The school has a prescribed curriculum, but Miss Brodie prefers to inspire her “Brodie set” – the handful of girls she has chosen as her crème de le crème – with stories of her trips abroad, posters and favorable remarks about Mussolini, comments about sex, and field trips to museums and gardens. She is, after all, “in her prime,” and she wants to instill in them passion, independence and ambition. The girls adore her and remain faithful followers even after they have progressed in school beyond the grade Miss Brodie teaches. And yet, one of them ultimately betrays her.
Spark moves from time frame to time frame, or from reality to imaginative fantasy, frequently without any transition. One moment we are reading a realistic scene in the 1930s, the next we are far in the future when Miss Brodie is in a nursing home. In the space between the end of one sentence and the beginning of the next, the story moves from a real-life encounter between the girls and Miss Brodie to an imagined conversation one girl is having with a character in a book.
I recognized several people I know in Miss Brodie, including parts of myself. She is strong-willed and determined, intelligent and independent, and yet she is vulnerable because she wants so desperately to be loved and revered by “her girls.” There are times when I am simply appalled by her behavior and other times when I want to cheer her on. Miss Brodie cannot – or will not – see the realities of her relationships and situations.
I’ve had this on my tbr since the movie came out in 1969. I have to wonder what my reaction would have been had I read it back then, when I was still a teenager.
Nadia May does a fine job performing the audio version. She has good pacing and is able to differentiate the characters. My only difficulty in the audio version came with the abrupt changes in time frame or reality vs fantasy. Until I got used to Spark’s technique I kept thinking I had skipped or missed something important.
Miss Jean Brodie is a teacher at conservative girls’ school in 1930s Edinburgh, Scotland. The school has a prescribed curriculum, but Miss Brodie prefers to inspire her “Brodie set” – the handful of girls she has chosen as her crème de le crème – with stories of her trips abroad, posters and favorable remarks about Mussolini, comments about sex, and field trips to museums and gardens. She is, after all, “in her prime,” and she wants to instill in them passion, independence and ambition. The girls adore her and remain faithful followers even after they have progressed in school beyond the grade Miss Brodie teaches. And yet, one of them ultimately betrays her.
Spark moves from time frame to time frame, or from reality to imaginative fantasy, frequently without any transition. One moment we are reading a realistic scene in the 1930s, the next we are far in the future when Miss Brodie is in a nursing home. In the space between the end of one sentence and the beginning of the next, the story moves from a real-life encounter between the girls and Miss Brodie to an imagined conversation one girl is having with a character in a book.
I recognized several people I know in Miss Brodie, including parts of myself. She is strong-willed and determined, intelligent and independent, and yet she is vulnerable because she wants so desperately to be loved and revered by “her girls.” There are times when I am simply appalled by her behavior and other times when I want to cheer her on. Miss Brodie cannot – or will not – see the realities of her relationships and situations.
I’ve had this on my tbr since the movie came out in 1969. I have to wonder what my reaction would have been had I read it back then, when I was still a teenager.
Nadia May does a fine job performing the audio version. She has good pacing and is able to differentiate the characters. My only difficulty in the audio version came with the abrupt changes in time frame or reality vs fantasy. Until I got used to Spark’s technique I kept thinking I had skipped or missed something important.
lmkramer507's review against another edition
2.0
This has been on my to-read list for a long time, and I finally got around to it. I wasn't impressed.
I did the first half as an audiobook and finished by reading the rest. It didn't make a difference. I guess I can say I read it, but it wasn't what I'd expected.
I did the first half as an audiobook and finished by reading the rest. It didn't make a difference. I guess I can say I read it, but it wasn't what I'd expected.
cristinavisu's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kaitlynlw_04's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0