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myriadreads's review against another edition
3.0
Stories were hit and miss. The good ones were very, very good. Odd and lovely. The ones that missed really missed though, and I found myself skimming and skipping to the next story several times.
thishannah's review against another edition
I have loved every Muriel Spark novel I've read, but in this collection of stories, it felt like something was missing. The stories were all written several years apart, and I don't think they were originally intended to be released as a collection. The "ghost stories" theme was interpreted pretty loosely by whoever decided to group these stories together, and I wished there had been more of a thread connecting them.
My favorite story was probably "The Executor," about a woman whose uncle dies and and makes her executor of his literary state, including an unfinished novel. I wasn't as much a fan of "The Girl I Left Behind Me," which felt a little predictable.
I love how Muriel Spark crafts sentences, and every story had at least a few lines that gave me a thrilling shiver and left me feeling unsettled. But several of them also seemed to end abruptly, before all the unsettling energy could reach any kind of resolution. I think I enjoy her style more in a short novel, where the tension has more room to grow.
My favorite story was probably "The Executor," about a woman whose uncle dies and and makes her executor of his literary state, including an unfinished novel. I wasn't as much a fan of "The Girl I Left Behind Me," which felt a little predictable
Spoiler
(maybe it was less so when it was originally written, before "the narrator was dead all along!" was sort of a trope)I love how Muriel Spark crafts sentences, and every story had at least a few lines that gave me a thrilling shiver and left me feeling unsettled. But several of them also seemed to end abruptly, before all the unsettling energy could reach any kind of resolution. I think I enjoy her style more in a short novel, where the tension has more room to grow.
categal's review against another edition
3.0
I found the first story in this collection, "The Girl I Left Behind Me" and also "The Hanging Judge" so startling and interesting. Such a voice! I was reading along thinking, I truly do not know what is going to happen next here. This was really inspiring and thrilling.
The other stories didn't hold up as well for me, but well worth reading.
The other stories didn't hold up as well for me, but well worth reading.
joann_l's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jessicabrazeal's review against another edition
4.0
I first read Muriel Spark in high school with The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie and have been interested in her work since. These stories were definitely spooky and literally about ghosts, but I didn’t find them overly scary. I still enjoyed the read and loved finding this one on a recent trip to City Lights Books in San Francisco.
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