Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Muriel Spark is often named as a spiritual ancestor to a number of my favorite writers, so I gravitated towards her iconic book. "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" is a short novel about a group of students at an upscale girls' school in 1930s Edinburgh, and the impact of the titular instructor. The unmarried and determinedly nonconformist Miss Brodie is my favorite sort of fictional character; a lover of art, female empowerment, and Mussolini, she's not easy to love or easy to despise.
I quite enjoyed Spark's style, with its cold, acidic humor and casual disregard for standard storytelling. Plot bombshells are less foreshadowed then matter-of-factly dropped in your lap, as time bounces between past and future. But I found it kind of inert and less than compelling, at least until the final quarter. Even at 129 pages, the middle is a bit of a slog. As much I admire the bite of Spark's writing, this felt more like an inflated short story than a compact novel.
I quite enjoyed Spark's style, with its cold, acidic humor and casual disregard for standard storytelling. Plot bombshells are less foreshadowed then matter-of-factly dropped in your lap, as time bounces between past and future. But I found it kind of inert and less than compelling, at least until the final quarter. Even at 129 pages, the middle is a bit of a slog. As much I admire the bite of Spark's writing, this felt more like an inflated short story than a compact novel.
Started off charming, then it got scattered and hard to track.
It's the 1930s. A teacher who is both brilliant and full of herself gathers a group of misfits under her wing and tells them that they're special. They're the best. Meanwhile, Mussolini, Hitler, and the Spanish Civil War rage in the background. A brilliant, acidly witty sendup on the rise and fall of fascism on the smallest scale.
I really didn't know what to expect, other than the book was a) short, b) on a lot of best-of lists, c) on sale at the time I picked it up. Why not? Reading was a series of "wait...WHAT?!?" moments. It's very subtle, very dark, very cynical, and very ironic. It would make a great pairing with Animal Farm.
I really didn't know what to expect, other than the book was a) short, b) on a lot of best-of lists, c) on sale at the time I picked it up. Why not? Reading was a series of "wait...WHAT?!?" moments. It's very subtle, very dark, very cynical, and very ironic. It would make a great pairing with Animal Farm.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
I do wish that Edinburgh had been more of a character, but Miss Jean Brodie and the Brodie set were amusing enough. The writing is often spare and uncompromising, the characters fascinating, if not entirely likeable. I should like to see the film.....
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
reflective
Spark vividly evokes the period and presents an interesting exploration of a brilliantly rendered character, discussing girlhood and its progression into womanhood.