by Muriel Spark
3.5★ – which (to me) means I liked the book & would like to read more by the author.
I have read Spark before & love her style – in short stories.
Very perceptive about the influence a teacher can gain over her pupils – & this reminded me of my Form 2 teacher although she didn’t have a set. But Mrs D would sit lightly perched on the edge of her desk & favour us with her opinions on all sorts of subjects. I am very grateful one of her opinions was that the short story format in general, & Katherine Mansfield in particular were not studied enough for children our age & she would often read them to us when she could squeeze them in.
But I digress.
I can see why this is considered a modern classic & have shelved it as such, but while I did like the foreshadowing (which I don’t normally enjoy, but Ms Spark did it so well!) the constant repeating of “in her prime” in such a short book just about drove me mad!
But if repetition as an authorial technique doesn’t both you, you may well love this.
Carol - She's So Novel! 