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owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
‘"I wonder, was it Rose who betrayed me?' The whine in her voice -"… betrayed me, betrayed me' - bored and afflicted Sandy. It is seven years, thought Sandy, since I betrayed this tiresome woman. What does she mean by ‘betray'? She was looking at the hills as if to see there the first and unbetrayable Miss Brodie, indifferent to criticism as a crag.’
I really liked this! The writing style might not be for everyone but really worked for me. The characterisation and description was very sharp, and captures something that felt very authentic about the experience of growing up a teenage girl (and the moments of joy and cruelty that come with that). The exploration of fascism was really clever and the themes of not blindly trusting your idols were developed really well. I loved how Miss Brodie was given a lot of nuance whilst also being completely condemned. I adored the narrative style of flicking back and forth through time quite casually. The flashbacks and flash forwards could be a bit jarring but I do think Spark’s voice is compelling enough that you get completely wrapped up in the style and carried along by it. I’ll definitely check out some more Muriel Spark once I’m out of my reading slump! The brevity of this book made it an excellent choice for getting back on track with reading.
I really liked this! The writing style might not be for everyone but really worked for me. The characterisation and description was very sharp, and captures something that felt very authentic about the experience of growing up a teenage girl (and the moments of joy and cruelty that come with that). The exploration of fascism was really clever and the themes of not blindly trusting your idols were developed really well. I loved how Miss Brodie was given a lot of nuance whilst also being completely condemned. I adored the narrative style of flicking back and forth through time quite casually. The flashbacks and flash forwards could be a bit jarring but I do think Spark’s voice is compelling enough that you get completely wrapped up in the style and carried along by it. I’ll definitely check out some more Muriel Spark once I’m out of my reading slump! The brevity of this book made it an excellent choice for getting back on track with reading.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Body shaming, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, and Infidelity
nmcannon's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I hadn’t heard of Muriel Spark’s novella before it was cited in the opening pages of Dr. Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran. Like many of Dr. Nafisi’s cited books, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie went on my To Read list. Later, when I was scrolling through Libby’s “dark academia” tag, I spotted Prime and it was only four hours long. I borrowed it.
Miss Jean Brodie is a vivacious schoolmistress at Marcia Blaine School for Girls in Edinburgh, Scotland. The school urges its students to conform to patriarchal ideals under the guise of “team spirit.” Girls can expect a brief career as a nurse, teacher, or secretary before being condemned to a suffocating marriage. Miss Brodie alone is unmarried and middle-aged, and she fills her life with art and travel. As a teacher, she encourages her students to do the same: to think for themselves, resist conformity; to live passionately and ambitiously. She takes especial interest in six girls, and they’re privy to their teacher’s love affairs with two other staff members. While Brodie plays, one student plots, hoping to bring her down.
While not necessarily spooky, a feeling of unease permeates the novella. In an alternate version of this story, Brodie is the feminist heroine who defies ageism and sexism to live happily. I was pleased to hear, repeatedly, how middle-age is a woman’s prime. I rooted for Brodie and her students to find happiness, financial independence, and artistic fulfillment. I loved that girls got to be gooey and gross. In Spark’s actual work however, Brodie’s good points are overshadowed by her rotten core. The narrator is Brodie’s betrayer so she’s never put in absolutely good light, but some of her actions are undeniably evil. Brodie frequently praises Mussolini and Italian fascism. There’s like, actual grooming, as Brodie encourages and positions a student to fuck a man twenty years the student’s senior.
Brodie’s fall from grace left a bitter taste in my mouth. The betrayer’s actions seem rather random. She gains nothing and isn’t motivated by morals or a specific spite. She wants to bring her teacher down, so she does. Perhaps that was the point. Brodie taught ambition, and the betrayer’s ambition was to stab her where it hurt. Overall, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie was an entertaining, knife-twist of a read. If you want darkness in an academic setting, pick it up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: War and Infidelity
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