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A review by zeltzamer
Memento Mori by Muriel Spark
The second-(possibly third- or fourth-) hand copy of this book I have is a tad worse for wear, but then I guess if it were going to be any book it would be the one about how everything will eventually die.
I like books with premises revolving around grumpy old-timers, for what am I if not a grumpy old-timer-in-waiting? Spark dishes out the crones and geezers with a jaundiced eye for detail. There is a sequence in the latter part of the book where the main elderly characters attempt to exit taxis, which is a three-page ordeal. I would’ve preferred, however, if she hadn’t made the metaphorical nature of the book quite so blunt and obvious. This rears its ugly head the most during a scene or two towards the end where a previously minor role is the focus of a few pages, and he is unfortunately the worst kind of character; ostensibly admired by the author but rather loathsome to read about. Admittedly, I can’t say that with total conviction, because, despite being positive about the second part, I’m not so certain on the first. If he’s intended to be a beacon of sanity, then it’s not only unsuccessful (he’s more much obsequious than charming), but also completely unnecessary. You already have the Mortimer’s as a sort of moral buoy amidst all the venal grasping, you don’t need this other gargoyle to shuffle in and sour the home stretch. Spark even seems to lose something of her knack for dialogue, since this character speaks in haughty academic maxims, which seem insufficiently made-fun-of for my taste. On the other hand, if he’s intended to be as much of a target for satire as the rest of the cast, I can’t say in good conscience that works terribly well either. There are hints of foibles here and there that Spark recognizes, with the character what I suppose is a sort of comeuppance in the end, and I gather from her bibliography that you’re not supposed to be under the impression that the fictional books-within-the-book are actually good, but it seems as though she put down the scalpel for a while and decided, for whatever reason, to air on the side of reverence. It’s only a portion of one chapter, but it’s a weird black eye on an otherwise taut tone of sardonicism.
I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of the book’s concluding chapters in general at the moment, but then I guess this is a story that doesn’t exactly paint the prettiest picture of final stages.
I like books with premises revolving around grumpy old-timers, for what am I if not a grumpy old-timer-in-waiting? Spark dishes out the crones and geezers with a jaundiced eye for detail. There is a sequence in the latter part of the book where the main elderly characters attempt to exit taxis, which is a three-page ordeal. I would’ve preferred, however, if she hadn’t made the metaphorical nature of the book quite so blunt and obvious. This rears its ugly head the most during a scene or two towards the end where a previously minor role is the focus of a few pages, and he is unfortunately the worst kind of character; ostensibly admired by the author but rather loathsome to read about. Admittedly, I can’t say that with total conviction, because, despite being positive about the second part, I’m not so certain on the first. If he’s intended to be a beacon of sanity, then it’s not only unsuccessful (he’s more much obsequious than charming), but also completely unnecessary. You already have the Mortimer’s as a sort of moral buoy amidst all the venal grasping, you don’t need this other gargoyle to shuffle in and sour the home stretch. Spark even seems to lose something of her knack for dialogue, since this character speaks in haughty academic maxims, which seem insufficiently made-fun-of for my taste. On the other hand, if he’s intended to be as much of a target for satire as the rest of the cast, I can’t say in good conscience that works terribly well either. There are hints of foibles here and there that Spark recognizes, with the character what I suppose is a sort of comeuppance in the end, and I gather from her bibliography that you’re not supposed to be under the impression that the fictional books-within-the-book are actually good, but it seems as though she put down the scalpel for a while and decided, for whatever reason, to air on the side of reverence. It’s only a portion of one chapter, but it’s a weird black eye on an otherwise taut tone of sardonicism.
I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of the book’s concluding chapters in general at the moment, but then I guess this is a story that doesn’t exactly paint the prettiest picture of final stages.