andrew61's review against another edition
4.0
Muriel spark is one of those writers in whom I feel I should invest more time. I read Prime of Miss jean Brodie as a teenager inspired by the ITV series, have read 'Girls of slender means' about young women living in bedsits in post war London and recently heard a great short story set in an Austrian hotel which was very dark. I was aware of The Drivers Seat and had wanted to read it for some time but was genuinely shocked by the book but as I like dark fiction enjoyed it immensely and given its shortness hope to reread it soon.
The plot centres around Liese a young woman who is embarking on a trip abroad to Italy , the opening sees her buying a dress but when told that it is stain resistant she has a complete wobble and then buys a bizarre combination . After leaving work she boards her plane and has an interaction with two men who react very differently to her. I won't say anymore as I think the less the reader knows the better with this book however it is a fascinating read with an ending that is unique and memorable.
There may be flaws in relation to plot if the reader is a crime enthusiast but this is not a crime novel and I anticipate it's literary merit is clearer on a second reading but I loved it and will reread and search out more of her work.
The plot centres around Liese a young woman who is embarking on a trip abroad to Italy , the opening sees her buying a dress but when told that it is stain resistant she has a complete wobble and then buys a bizarre combination . After leaving work she boards her plane and has an interaction with two men who react very differently to her. I won't say anymore as I think the less the reader knows the better with this book however it is a fascinating read with an ending that is unique and memorable.
There may be flaws in relation to plot if the reader is a crime enthusiast but this is not a crime novel and I anticipate it's literary merit is clearer on a second reading but I loved it and will reread and search out more of her work.
mondovertigo's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder, Sexual assault, and Mental illness
wizard_of_uhhh's review against another edition
The first thing I have to say about this funny little novel is, in fact, the same as the title of the new shelf I have just created to keep it on.
Well that was weird.
To begin with, there's the length. It's only just over a hundred pages long, so I feel like I ought perhaps to classify it as a novella. Whatever we call it, it's a very readable pieceof writing which I demolished in a couple of hours.
But readable as it is, it feels a bit like a cryptic letter, written to inform its reader of some dark and secret thing, mentioning it only elusively, and giving clues on a strictly need-to-know basis. As I continued to read, I was sure that the mystery would eventually unveil itself, but it never did. Instead, the reader is left to piece together his or her explanation of the novel's occurrences from the bare facts that are presented.
In this novel, we are given Lise, a thirty-four-year-old woman who has been working at the same job for sixteen years. Lise likes to make a scene. Lise is going on holiday. Lise is looking for a man, a man who is "her type". Lise meets various people along the way and seems to create a different persona for herself everytime she meets someone new. And Lise is murdered. We find this out very early on in the story, but how - and why - is left for the very last pages. And even when we are told, we do not understand.
I had expected this novel to be a trip into the mind of a disturbed character. In reality, it is nothing of the sort. It is more like watching a video recording of a disturbed character going about their disturbed business with no commentary, no explanation, nothing. Just plain facts. Very, very odd facts.
Is this novel enjoyable? I honestly don't know. But it certainly is something quite, quite different. Different from everything I've ever read. And to me, that makes it a worthwhile experience.
Well that was weird.
To begin with, there's the length. It's only just over a hundred pages long, so I feel like I ought perhaps to classify it as a novella. Whatever we call it, it's a very readable pieceof writing which I demolished in a couple of hours.
But readable as it is, it feels a bit like a cryptic letter, written to inform its reader of some dark and secret thing, mentioning it only elusively, and giving clues on a strictly need-to-know basis. As I continued to read, I was sure that the mystery would eventually unveil itself, but it never did. Instead, the reader is left to piece together his or her explanation of the novel's occurrences from the bare facts that are presented.
In this novel, we are given Lise, a thirty-four-year-old woman who has been working at the same job for sixteen years. Lise likes to make a scene. Lise is going on holiday. Lise is looking for a man, a man who is "her type". Lise meets various people along the way and seems to create a different persona for herself everytime she meets someone new. And Lise is murdered. We find this out very early on in the story, but how - and why - is left for the very last pages. And even when we are told, we do not understand.
I had expected this novel to be a trip into the mind of a disturbed character. In reality, it is nothing of the sort. It is more like watching a video recording of a disturbed character going about their disturbed business with no commentary, no explanation, nothing. Just plain facts. Very, very odd facts.
Is this novel enjoyable? I honestly don't know. But it certainly is something quite, quite different. Different from everything I've ever read. And to me, that makes it a worthwhile experience.
lagobond's review against another edition
1.0
Umm... ok so I read the first 3 chapters (out of 7), then I got tired of this weird nonsense and skipped ahead to the end*. Can't imagine there's anything worthwhile in between. A ridiculous premise, wooden writing, and not a single one of the characters feels like a normal human being. They all act like automatons or crazies, dramatically staring at each other or doing/saying other weird things for no discernible reason.
The author felt the need to talk about the main character's mouth ad nauseam:
There are two things I appreciated about this book. First, the description of Lise's apartment -- I would love to see a place like it. Second, the way this particular book was produced: that beautiful 1970s style with thick paper, an elegant typeface, and lots of room for the text to breathe (small pages, wide margins, plenty of line spacing). I'm finding that I really prefer to read older books, they feel cozy to me. Newer books with their cramped pages and bright white (worse if glossy) paper tend to overwhelm me.
* ... The ending reminded me of the movie Parfait Amour (Perfect Love) by Catherine Breillat, so if you love this book, give the movie a try, but don't say I didn't warn you.
The author felt the need to talk about the main character's mouth ad nauseam:
Her lips, when she does not speak or eat, are normally pressed together like the ruled line of a balance sheet, a final and a judging mouth, a precision instrument, a detail-warden of a mouth [...] with her lips straight as a line which could cancel them out completely [...] her lips are slightly parted as if to receive a secret flavour. In fact her nostrils and eyes are a fragment more open than usual; imperceptibly but thoroughly they accompany her parted lips in one mission [...] Lise makes her mouth into a straight line.That was just two (small) pages' worth of writings about Lise's mouth. Ridiculous. This reads like something written by an AI entity with facial-recognition training and a mouth fetish. (Can AI develop a fetish? Now there's an idea for a sci-fi plot.)
There are two things I appreciated about this book. First, the description of Lise's apartment -- I would love to see a place like it. Second, the way this particular book was produced: that beautiful 1970s style with thick paper, an elegant typeface, and lots of room for the text to breathe (small pages, wide margins, plenty of line spacing). I'm finding that I really prefer to read older books, they feel cozy to me. Newer books with their cramped pages and bright white (worse if glossy) paper tend to overwhelm me.
* ... The ending reminded me of the movie Parfait Amour (Perfect Love) by Catherine Breillat, so if you love this book, give the movie a try, but don't say I didn't warn you.
oddly's review against another edition
5.0
This is a showcase of the power of short fiction: an incredibly chilling powerhouse piece of writing that I must recommend.
This novella took me just under an hour to read, but I feel the staying power of it deep under my skin. My first encounter with Muriel Spark, I found this tale of a woman going on vacation with a strange ultimatum in mind very much in the vein of Shirley Jackson’s writing.
I don’t want to go into the plot, but the use of foreshadowing is some of the most shocking and perfectly positioned, creating tension you could cut with a knife that only rises up into your throat as you continue reading.
And the ending . . . well—you really just need to read it.
Brilliant, brilliant. Does anyone have a Spark recommendation for what I should try next?
This novella took me just under an hour to read, but I feel the staying power of it deep under my skin. My first encounter with Muriel Spark, I found this tale of a woman going on vacation with a strange ultimatum in mind very much in the vein of Shirley Jackson’s writing.
I don’t want to go into the plot, but the use of foreshadowing is some of the most shocking and perfectly positioned, creating tension you could cut with a knife that only rises up into your throat as you continue reading.
And the ending . . . well—you really just need to read it.
Brilliant, brilliant. Does anyone have a Spark recommendation for what I should try next?
wendoxford's review against another edition
5.0
The caprice of an unhinged woman (Lise) could be putting it kindly and yet, caricature-like parked, it is magnetically fascinating. Despite knowing her fate from the outset, this is a short narrative totally driven by character.
Despite being loosely drawn, Lise takes the driver's seat from the off with a determination to meet her own end, that is bizarre yet continues to tickle every aspect of black humour. Apportioning blame, abuse, the synergy of unreliable tellers, as this woman is dead all combine to make this an endlessly layered head fuck of a read!
Despite being loosely drawn, Lise takes the driver's seat from the off with a determination to meet her own end, that is bizarre yet continues to tickle every aspect of black humour. Apportioning blame, abuse, the synergy of unreliable tellers, as this woman is dead all combine to make this an endlessly layered head fuck of a read!