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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've never read any Muriel Spark before and it was not what I expected. Witty, with beautifully observed characters and relationships. This book is about a cast of elderly characters and how they cope with their decline. It focuses largely on a group of upper middle class artists but also includes a few servants and highlights the difference in how they spend their last years in ailing health. It is a short novel that zips along. Often reading something like this in one sitting can emphasise glibness but there is enough weight to the novel to avoid that fate here. It felt fresh to read about a bunch of older people (almost exclusively over 70) - I'm not a fan of the "having a crisis in my twenties" bollocks (I'm looking at you Not Working) that seems to dominate modern light fiction about women. Unexpectedly quite dark in places, and a little strange, but also excellent satire.
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism
Minor: War
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.42 stars
This marks my first time reading Muriel Spark, and I quite enjoyed the experience. If you like your death served with yucks (as I do), this one's for you. We've got grannies obsessed with horoscopes, tangled affairs, dismissive coppers, wonderful analogies, and death as a character.
I like what Pritchett says in the introduction: "Mrs. Spark casts her comedy in the form of a thriller of pursuit. The pursuer is death."
This marks my first time reading Muriel Spark, and I quite enjoyed the experience. If you like your death served with yucks (as I do), this one's for you. We've got grannies obsessed with horoscopes, tangled affairs, dismissive coppers, wonderful analogies, and death as a character.
I like what Pritchett says in the introduction: "Mrs. Spark casts her comedy in the form of a thriller of pursuit. The pursuer is death."
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked this up without remembering what it was actually about, as the title sounded spooky. This book is not spooky. The opening scene sets up a mystery, but this book isn’t really a mystery novel either. What it really is, is a character study of old, posh old people in the 1950s (and more interesting than that might suggest).
I suppose the spectre of death and the horrors of aging hang over the narrative, so it’s sort of thematic? But don’t pick this up if you like resolution, you’ll only find it very perfunctorily here.
I suppose the spectre of death and the horrors of aging hang over the narrative, so it’s sort of thematic? But don’t pick this up if you like resolution, you’ll only find it very perfunctorily here.
Like [b:The Driver's Seat|668282|The Driver's Seat|Muriel Spark|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348828782l/668282._SY75_.jpg|2776383] this one was weird. However, despite some amusing moments, overall I found this a rather convoluted slog.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Racial slurs
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes