The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

This topic has been created for those of you who are reading any of the Mookse Madness books by Muriel Spark.
These are the four books that have been selected.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Abbess of Crewe
Loitering with Intent
A Far Cry from Kensington

I have read all four of these now and would rate them:
"The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", the only one I have read more than once,
"Loitering with Intent", which I have just finished and enjoyed a lot,
and two I will not be voting for,
"A Far Cry From Kensington", which is fun, but little more,
"The Abbess of Crewe", as a find her satire lacks subtlety.

I am almost halfway through Loitering with Intent and enjoying it greatly - if it carries on in this vein it may well be my choice to represent Spark.

Once that one is out of the way, I will be down to my last 8 books (one each by 8 writers), and I'll be tempted to move on to the two big ones (Illywhacker and the Robber Bride).

Finished Loitering with Intent last night and really enjoyed it - My Review

I loved this book as well. The old woman, her name escapes me now, was hilarious.

Just finished THE ABBESS OF CREWE. Seems like I either love or hate Muriel Spark’s works but this one is a 5 star read for me! The eponymous main character Alexandra has become one of my favorite fictional characters....just wish there was a chance of a sequel!

WndyJW wrote: "I loved this book as well. The old woman, her name escapes me now, was hilarious."
Edwina Oliver, and yes, she is a wonderful character.

I need to order The Abbess of Crete next apparently.

bonus points after you've read the Mookse picks--The Driver's Seat was apparently Spark's favorite novel. It's relentless and wonderful.

I'm with Lark here. I view Spark's work as Jean Brodie, which is a brilliant, stand alone classic, and the rest which are puzzle pieces, highlighting different aspects of Spark's wit, humor, inventiveness, religous conflicts, and diabolical playfulness. Some of the the books, like puzzle pieces, seem to fit with one another as for example The Comforters and Loitering With Intent, both of which highlight Spark's inventive or experimental aspect. Driver's Seat is important because it best illustrates that diabolical playfulness where Spark toys with the reader like a mouse. I feel each book of Spark's that I read helps complete a picture of the authors quirks and peculiarities, that isn't fully appreciable with the reading of just one book alone. That better understanding of Spark's quirks and talents enhances the enjoyment of Jean Brodie, her masterpiece IMO.

The only authors that I remember reading several of their books in a row are Hilary Mantel and Jose Saramago, but Sam’s comments make me want to embark on a Spark’s bender.

Sam wrote: "I'm with Lark here. I view Spark's work as Jean Brodie, which is a brilliant, stand alone classic, and the rest which are puzzle pieces, highlighting different aspects of Spark's wit, humor, invent..."

Sam this is so interesting. Muriel Spark is one writer who I've seriously considered reading all in one go with nothing in between. The other writer I've thought about doing that with is JG Ballard.

Lark wrote: "bonus points after you've read the Mookse picks--The Driver's Seat was apparently Spark's favorite novel. It's relentless and wonderful." Thanks - I will add that to the ever-increasing wishlist.

Just read Loitering With Intent and also enjoyed it - my brief thoughts here

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Also realised looking back that I read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie as my first book of 2005 - alongside (in what I thought at the time was a clever double choice by a book group I belonged to) Zoe Heller's Notes on A Scandal. Looking back on my notes I am struck that (a) I preferred Heller's book and (b) that is the one I can remember.

So I think Loitering With Intent is my current choice

Finished A Far Cry from Kensington yesterday (my review), and if anything it is even better than Loitering with Intent. Before this competition I had only read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and gaining familiarity with Muriel Spark has definitely been the most enjoyable part of this exercise for me (though I also greatly enjoyed the Beryl Bainbridges)

Does it have a lot of echoes of Loitering? I thought from the blurbs that it might, and so, although Kensington appealed more at first glance, I read Loitering first.

Yes, they are quite similar (both have a lot about writing and the publishing industry and both are set shortly after the war), but I think A Far Cry is slightly less farcical.

An article about Spark in the New Yorker:

https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-...

Ang wrote: "An article about Spark in the New Yorker:."

oh no! I've reached my last free article...time to bite the bullet and renew my subscription I guess. I keep subscribing and then never reading all those New Yorkers that come in the mail and so I let my subscription lapse but next thing you know they publish an article that I must read.

Lark wrote: "Ang wrote: "oh no! I've reached my last free article...time to bite the bullet and renew my subscription I guess"

Just delete the cookies!

Antonomasia wrote: "Just delete the cookies!"

I've had too many magazines I love close down because of lack of money by now though. I even just subscribed to my local public radio station!

Lark wrote: "Ang wrote: "An article about Spark in the New Yorker:."

oh no! I've reached my last free article...time to bite the bullet and renew my subscription I guess. I keep subscribing and then never read..."

Your public library might have an online subscription......

Delete the cookies today and subscribe tomorrow.

I just read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and it is in the running now for my top vote tied with The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne. Of course the common thread in these two books is the (are the??) unforgettable, brilliantly realized female protagonists.

That Muriel Sparks can tell a long story with several interesting personalities and relationships over a period of decades in only 150 pgs (in my edition) is remarkable.

I hope my copy of The Abbess of Crewe arrives tomorrow.