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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
got a little lost in the absolute myriad of various old people, but a witty and unforgettable read
Muriel Spark's cruel streak runs right through Memento Mori—a novel where the characters' quotidian trivialities and septuagenarian politics fend off existential dread and thoughts of mortality.
Loved the tone of voice, and it was refreshing reading a book where the protagonists are elderly, and not everyone has to be described on the sexiness scale. The only reason it’s not four stars is that the ending didn’t explain the calls. I was expecting a reveal, hoping for one.
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Shoot me but I didn't enjoy this book. Maybe Muriel Spark isn't for me?
Not quite what I expected. Spark's excellent novel "The Girls of Slender Means" was a surprisingly dark story disguised as a society tale; the opposite dynamic is at work here. "Memento Mori" establishes a bleak, intriguing premise (a group of English pensioners are harassed by a prank caller telling them to "Remember you must die"). But it plays more like a geriatric comedy of manners. Charming but slight.
Meh. I really wanted to like it but at times it seemed overwrought. But then the end came together too neatly and quickly.
Momento Mori is a thoughtful, philosophical, dark but not morbid, funny but not scathing, mystery novel. And yet the mystery that drives the plot forward doesn't take center stage. This balance sets the novel apart.
The foreword of this book described Spark as a combination of Angela Thirkell and Barbara Pym and, although I haven't read Pym yet, the comparison to Thirkell's wit is apt.
This book focuses on a cast of mainly septuagenarians and octogenarians. The cast of people are in various stages of physical and mental fitness. I immediately felt bad for how a husband was treating his wife, whose ability to remember the present had taken a major hit. Thinking about spousal expectations and gender roles at the time this book hit home how, in some ways, the expectation of women's roles and rights within a marriage have come a long way.
Memento Mori is basically a meditation on death. If you're expecting much of a plot, you may be disappointed. But, if you're interested in a character study, you may find the book much more interesting.
I'm now interested in reading more of Sparks's work.
This book focuses on a cast of mainly septuagenarians and octogenarians. The cast of people are in various stages of physical and mental fitness. I immediately felt bad for how a husband was treating his wife, whose ability to remember the present had taken a major hit. Thinking about spousal expectations and gender roles at the time this book hit home how, in some ways, the expectation of women's roles and rights within a marriage have come a long way.
Memento Mori is basically a meditation on death. If you're expecting much of a plot, you may be disappointed. But, if you're interested in a character study, you may find the book much more interesting.
I'm now interested in reading more of Sparks's work.
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes