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akiikomori's review
*note I did listen to the audiobook vs reading the copy I have.
I feel like it would make a lot more sense if I read it.
The reader was not good. In one ear out the other.
Just a whole lot of nothing really... elderly postering.
** I tried listening to the last 2.5 hours and I could not. Like in one ear out the other.
Probably a much better book to read.
Was there a conspiracy or did nothing really happen. Was there a mystery I wasn't really sure.
I feel like it would make a lot more sense if I read it.
The reader was not good. In one ear out the other.
Just a whole lot of nothing really... elderly postering.
** I tried listening to the last 2.5 hours and I could not. Like in one ear out the other.
Probably a much better book to read.
Was there a conspiracy or did nothing really happen. Was there a mystery I wasn't really sure.
daja57's review against another edition
4.0
A group of old people start getting anonymous phone calls: each one says, "Remember you will die." They attend one another's funerals. Old people in and out of geriatric wards write and rewrite their wills. A housekeeper companion, disappointed not to receive an inheritance from the woman she had been caring for, infiltrates another old household and tries to convince the elderly woman (a famous novelist) that she is losing her marbles; she blackmails her husband. Old people remember love affairs from long ago and the ramifications haunt some of them. Memoirs are written. One old man has a penchant for staring at suspenders and stockings in situ.
As John Mullan said in his 2021 Gresham College lecture, "n Muriel Spark novels, murders are common while blackmail is more or less a narrative principle." In this novel, Spark considers the issue of ageing with her trademark humour. It's a fun book but it is dated and not just by the 'geriatric ward'. Almost all of the characters are posh (not just a famous writer but also a Dame) and wealthy, employing maids and manservants, and it says something for the author's prejudices that the main villain is one of the few lower class characters.
Not only entertaining but full of acute observations regarding old age and the approach to death.
As John Mullan said in his 2021 Gresham College lecture, "n Muriel Spark novels, murders are common while blackmail is more or less a narrative principle." In this novel, Spark considers the issue of ageing with her trademark humour. It's a fun book but it is dated and not just by the 'geriatric ward'. Almost all of the characters are posh (not just a famous writer but also a Dame) and wealthy, employing maids and manservants, and it says something for the author's prejudices that the main villain is one of the few lower class characters.
Not only entertaining but full of acute observations regarding old age and the approach to death.
shelbymarie516's review
1.0
So basically we all die, and don't forget it. And this is some prankster calling "boomers" or whatever the 1950s equivalent was and saying like hey one day you'll be dead ya gilded age materialist. I think I'll stick to Rose Gallagher for my Gilded Age fiction.
Aging geriatrics in post WW2 England debating the merits of staying home or going to a nursery home. Or did they imagine the calls and need to be put in a different type of home? Is this an inspiration for the Black Phone movie?
Aging geriatrics in post WW2 England debating the merits of staying home or going to a nursery home. Or did they imagine the calls and need to be put in a different type of home? Is this an inspiration for the Black Phone movie?
millssb's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
annabelws23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cornnut_mccarthy's review against another edition
5.0
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a classic for good reason, but do not sleep on Memento Mori. I found this book surprisingly (delightfully) strange, and unsurprisingly hilarious. I can’t think of another writer who does better dialogue.
fieldfaregirl's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
A darkly comic novel with some serious themes underlying it
karinlib's review against another edition
3.0
This book is filled predominately with characters who are advanced in years. Most have known each other for years, and they are beginning to pay attention to the aging process in themselves and others. One of the characters is getting anonymous phone calls telling her to "Remember you must die" (memento mori). Soon they are all getting the message, and they respond to it differently.
I went into this book without any knowledge of the story. I liked the story, but wasn't overly affected by it. I did find the characters somewhat silly.
I went into this book without any knowledge of the story. I liked the story, but wasn't overly affected by it. I did find the characters somewhat silly.
pensiona's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0