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A review by book_concierge
What Was She Thinking?: Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller
4.0
From the back cover: School teacher Barbara Covett has led a solitary life until Sheba Hart, the new art teacher at St George’s befriends her. But even as their relationship develops, so too does another: Sheba has begun an affair with an underage male student. When the scandal turns into a media circus, Barbara decides to write an account in her friend’s defense – and ends up revealing not only Sheba’s secrets but also her own.
My reactions
Wow. Told from Barbara’s perspective the story unfolds slowly as Barbara observes and records her impressions of the new art teacher. It is clear that Sheba is obsessed with the affair, emotionally stressed and not thinking straight. But the reader slowly becomes aware that Barbara is also emotionally damaged- equally obsessed with her friendship with Sheba and jealous of Sheba’s relationships with other teachers and even with her husband and children.
In the end, the more interesting psychological study is the portrayal of Barbara. What she reveals about herself in recording Sheba’s story is more subtle and interesting than the story she is trying to tell. She is dangerous woman to have as a “friend.”
I did think that Heller was a bit heavy-handed with the symbolism in these central character’s names. “Bathsheba” is bad enough, with all the implications of sexual misconduct, but “Covett”? Really? Still this is a minor irritation.
My reactions
Wow. Told from Barbara’s perspective the story unfolds slowly as Barbara observes and records her impressions of the new art teacher. It is clear that Sheba is obsessed with the affair, emotionally stressed and not thinking straight. But the reader slowly becomes aware that Barbara is also emotionally damaged- equally obsessed with her friendship with Sheba and jealous of Sheba’s relationships with other teachers and even with her husband and children.
In the end, the more interesting psychological study is the portrayal of Barbara. What she reveals about herself in recording Sheba’s story is more subtle and interesting than the story she is trying to tell. She is dangerous woman to have as a “friend.”
I did think that Heller was a bit heavy-handed with the symbolism in these central character’s names. “Bathsheba” is bad enough, with all the implications of sexual misconduct, but “Covett”? Really? Still this is a minor irritation.