I reread loitering with intent after reading sparks memoir curriculum vitae, and enjoyed the novel far more than i did 30odd years ago. Loitering about london in 1949, with intent to gather material for her writing, fleur finds a job on the grubby edge of the literary world. Muriel spark books list of books by author muriel spark. Stannard shares the opinion expressed by many critics as each new novel appeared the drivers seat, loitering with intent, a far cry from kensington that muriel spark. Muriel spark s most popular book is the prime of miss jean brodie.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. It is a wonderful novel, reminding me somehow of momento mori maybe as its packed with eccentric characters. Art, reality and the strange ways the two imitate one another are at the core of muriel sparks delightful loitering with intent, first published in 1981. Art, reality and the strange ways the two imitate one another are at the core of muriel spark s delightful loitering with intent, first published in 1981. In some respects, there are similarities with memento mori, sparks wonderful social comedy on the challenges of ageing another vehicle for her razorsharp wit coupled with a dash of the macabre. Spark has a sense of humour i enjoy and i appreciate that she feels no need to create likeable characters i cant think of any in the six of her books that ive read but i cant quite put my finger on why i feel so coolly towards her. Todays deals your gift cards help whole foods registry sell disability customer support. I took in barbara pyms excellent women, which is unshowy and more restrained, but no less ruthless in its intelligence. Muriel spark, nadia may, blackstone audio, inc audible audiobooks. Loitering with intent book by muriel spark half price books. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. Always update books hourly, if not looking, search in the book search column. Nov 12, 2016 book 25 for the bookashelf 2016 reading challenge. Check out other translated books in french, spanish languages.
Dame muriel spark the highly acclaimed scottish writerpublished over twenty novels and more than a dozen shortstory collections from the late 1950s until her death in 2006. Loitering with intent is probably muriel spark s most autobiographical novel and centres on fleur talbot, an aspiring novelist with an observant eye. As with many of sparks books, the terse, clear prose style can trick you into imagining that you. But the book is rather odd, even for muriel spark, who usually has more than a touch of the odd in her stories and characters. Fleur talbot, aspiring poetess and novelist, finds herself employed by the shady sir quentin oliver as secretary for his autobiographical association, a group of dull but august persons intent on writing about their lives in as illiterate a manner as they. Jan 18, 2009 loitering with intent 1981 a far cry from kensington 1988 the edinburghborn muriel spark. Loitering with intent, like many of muriel sparks novels, is about the art of fiction itself. Kirkus identified those moments that are pure, tart spark, and compared the novel to the work of thomas berger and italo calvino. All in all, very enjoyable, and im now looking forward to reading the second muriel spark book that i have in my stack of bedside books, waiting to be read. Muriel spark author of the prime of miss jean brodie. In this grand, elusive little entertainment, we spotted eccentric comedy on the surface and serious. Loitering with intent by muriel spark rebeccah giltrow. May 22, 1981 of the muriel spark novels ive read so far, loitering with intent is perhaps the most playful.
Pdf loitering with intent by muriel spark download pdf. Muriel spark has 151 books on goodreads with 164376 ratings. Like i see no reason to keep silent about my enjoyment of the sound of my own. Loitering with intent new directions paperbook spark, muriel on. Fleur talbot is an aspiring novelist who lives a somewhat bohemian lifestyle. Loitering with intent by muriel spark, paperback barnes. Spark s books are generally a touch bizarre and loitering with intent is no exception. Loitering with intent quotes showing 16 of 6 my novel took up the sweetest part of my mind and the rarest part of my imagination.
Loitering with intent was published eleven years before curriculum vitae, but it seems that spark was already thinking about her own autobiography, and autobiographies in general. She became dame commander of the order of the british empire in 1993. Fleur talbot is a relatively young woman living in london in 1950 when the story begins. A handsome modern edition, with an introduction by joseph kanon. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. Dust jacket is slightly wrinkled at top edge but otherwise bright and fine. Pdf loitering with intent download full pdf book download. Muriel spark out of stock the prime of miss jean brodie the comforters the only problem the drivers seat memento mori loitering with intent the girls of slender means the abbess of crewe the bachelors the ba. Review of loitering with intent by muriel spark 1981. Published at a time when muriel sparks writing career was already well established, loitering with intent is a novel about writing. It contains many autobiographical references to spark s early career and was reprinted in 2001 by new directions, in the us, and in 2007 by virago press in the uk with a foreword by mark lawson. I read and saw the prime of miss jean brodie, muriel spark s most famous book, a long time ago, and have been meaning to get around to another of her many novels since especially since i would see her name increasingly. The final paragraphs of loitering are quite simply perfect.
Loitering with intent by muriel spark and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Loitering with intent by muriel spark all the vintage ladies. Full of unusual characters living unconventional lives, muriel sparks sharplyobserved loitering with intent is a quirky and entertaining story with a touch of the gothic to it. It contains many autobiographical references to sparks early career and was reprinted in 2001 by new directions, in the us, and in 2007 by virago press in the uk with a foreword by mark lawson. A year after the authors death, jenny turner pays tribute to. Loitering with intent muriel spark stuck in a book. Loitering with intent virago modern classics book 346.
In the life of the protagonist, fleur talbot, these forms have. Muriel sparks lyrical, formally perfect novel loitering with intent drew on her experiences as a penniless writer in postwar london. Muriel spark, loitering with intent about us emily books is a project that publishes, publicizes, and celebrates the best work of transgressive writers of the past, present and future. Complete summary of muriel spark s loitering with intent. Loitering with intent muriel spark the captive reader. Muriel spark s loitering with intent plays with the interaction between the literary forms of the novel and the autobiography. There are more than 1 million books that have been enjoyed by people from all over the world. To this extent its an important contribution to an understanding of her work and thought. Books by muriel spark author of the prime of miss jean. May 27, 2014 loitering with intent fiction by muriel spark happily loitering in london with the intent of gathering material for her writing, fleur talbot finds a job on the grubby edge of the literary world at the very peculiar autobiographical association. Jun 23, 2005 listen to loitering with intent audiobook by muriel spark. Dec 29, 2014 by coincidence or serendipity ive since read two novels that are quite close in intent to my own aims, last years first novel by nicholas royle and now, loitering with intent, muriel spark s booker shortlisted novel from 1981.
Loitering with intent is a novel by scottish author muriel spark. Through a contact she secures a job working for the autobiographical association, a project of sir quentin oliver. Published in 1981 by bodley head, it was shortlisted for the booker prize that year. Loitering with intent virago modern classics book 346 ebook. But it does have some amusing bits and is probably worth a go.
The beginning of loitering with intent hints at the novels playful exploration of opposites and the ways in which these oppositions frequently coexist. Dame muriel spark, dbe was a prolific scottish novelist, short story writer, and poet whose darkly comedic voice made her one of the most distinctive writers of the twentieth century. Tims has got her eyes on my chinchilla but ive left it to the cochin mission to be sold for the poor. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion and a free quiz on loitering with intent by muriel spark. Fleur talbot is our narrator, looking back on her early days as a writer from some later period. Of the muriel spark novels ive read so far, loitering with intent is perhaps the most playful.
Muriel spark s loitering with intent 1981 is a remarkable autobiographical novel based on the authors experiences on the intellectual and literary fringes of postworld war ii london. A few years ago, i worked my way through most of her novels, and probably overdosed. Right through to the end, i could not be certain about the nature of fleur talbot, the narrator and. Published at a time when muriel spark s writing career was already well established, loitering with intent is a novel about writing. I do love the blogosphere all the bloggers and blogreaders, and all the talk of books going on all around the place. Loitering with intent new directions classic kindle. I laughed when muriel spark rendered the donothing writer man character in loitering with intent with an evisceration so succinct it made me avert my eyes in secondhand embarrassment. Get e books loitering with intent on pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi and audiobook for free. The girls of slender means is the third muriel spark audio release of 2012, following the prime of miss jean brodie and the complete short stories. A year after the authors death, jenny turner pays tribute to one of the greatest british novelists of her time. Sparks books are generally a touch bizarre and loitering with intent is no exception. Loitering with intent new directions classic kindle edition by spark, muriel.
Will be tracking down books by the same author and recommending to. Having loved some of the other muriel spark books, i found this one quite hard work. She keeps telling us what is going to happen to people in the future so it seems a bit muddled. The book is set just after the end of world war two, a period of time that another authoress, barbara pym, has written extensively about, so there were a few similarities. Loitering with intent is the story of a struggling but carefree wouldbe author, fleur talbot. Two of spark s favorites, those of cardinal john henry newman and benventuo cellini, recur throughout loitering, which is all about the way people write about.
How wonderful to be an artist and a woman in the twentieth century, fleur talbot rejoices. Loitering with intent by muriel spark, 9781844082483, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Buy loitering with intent virago modern classics by muriel spark, mark lawson from amazons fiction books store. Loitering with intent fiction by muriel spark happily loitering in london with the intent of gathering material for her writing, fleur talbot finds a job on the grubby edge of the literary world at the very peculiar autobiographical association. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading loitering with intent new directions classic.
Loitering with intent when muriel spark was mentioned in recent comments on this blog, i realised how long it is since i read anything by her. Loitering with intent the girls of slender means the abbess of crewe the bachelors the ballad of peckham rye. Muriel sparks loitering with intent 1981 is a remarkable autobiographical novel based on the authors experiences on the intellectual and literary fringes of postworld war ii london. Loitering with intent by muriel spark librarything. Loitering with intent, muriel spark s booker shortlisted novel from 1981. Spark s evocative and sharply drawn novel focuses on a group of women living together in a hostel in kensington who face new challenges in uncertain. How muriel spark revised her own history in loitering with intent, and why. Here a young novelist finds a job with stuffy and failed snobs on postwar england.
Ll of muriel spark s novels are, in one way or another, sly, frequently droll meditations on the four last things which is another way of saying that they are about good and evil, god and the devil. Chapter six, which deals with spark s adventures at the poetry society, is interesting for providing background on her novel loitering with intent. Muriel spark 19182006 was the author of dozens of novels, including the prime of miss jean brodie, memento mori, a far cry from kensington, the girls of slender means, the ballad of peckham rye, the drivers seat, and many more. I am probably a little hypocritical, in that relatively few of the books i read come from blogger recommendations. Oh, dont read the long introduction in this edition. Two of her novels, the public image and loitering with intent, were shortlisted for the booker prize, and another, the prime of miss jean brodie, was made into an. Wouldbe novelist fleur talbot works for the snooty, irascible sir quentin oliver at the autobiographical association, whose members are all at work on their memoirs. Apr 21, 2007 muriel spark s lyrical, formally perfect novel loitering with intent drew on her experiences as a penniless writer in postwar london. Full of unusual characters living unconventional lives, muriel spark s sharplyobserved loitering with intent is a quirky and entertaining story with a touch of the gothic to it. Loitering with intent muriel spark read online free books. Loitering with intent 1981 a far cry from kensington 1988 the edinburghborn muriel spark her early years are brilliantly summoned up in her memoir, curriculum vitae had a strong claim to be. Jan 27, 2007 loitering with intent by muriel spark, 9781844082483, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Published in 1981 by the bodley head, it was shortlisted for the booker prize that year. There was a certain period in my life during which the only thing i could write about was my divorce.
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