Loitering with Intent

by Muriel Spark Narrated by Nadia May

Overview

“How wonderful to be an artist and a woman in the twentieth century,” Fleur Talbot rejoices. 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,” as secretary to the odd Autobiographical Association. Are they a group of mad egomaniacs, hilariously writing their memoirs in advance-or poor fools ensnared by a blackmailer? Rich material, in any case.

But when its pompous director, Sir Quentin, steals the manuscript of Fleur's new novel, fiction begins to appropriate life. The association's members begin to act out scenes exactly as Fleur herself had already written them in her missing manuscript. And as they meet darkly funny, pre-visioned fates, where does art start or reality end?

This novel is*Muriel Spark in prime form, one of her most enjoyable, complex, and instructive*jeux d'esprit.

Editorial Reviews

New York Times Book Review Book Review

[A] delirium of delight....robust and full-bodied, a wise and mature work, and a brilliantly mischievous one.

A.S. Byatt

[O]ne of Muriel Spark's most accomplished moral fables or puzzles...it provides considerable insight and wit, and no easy answers.

Auberon Waugh

I found it a delight from start to finish—funny, unexpected and compulsively readable...this strange, immensely enjoyable novel. —Daily Mail

APR/MAY 03 - AudioFile

Heroine Fleur Talbot loiters at what Spark calls the "grubby edges of the literary world," gathering material for her novel while working for the mysterious Autobiographical Association. Spark's involved plots, unhurried pace, and willingness to poke at the intricate eccentricities of human behavior are well served by Nadia May's reading. May easily manages the story's complex, numerous strands: Fleur's frequent discussion of the writing process, art's mirroring of life, and the book's many characters. It’s a credit to May that we can keep track of the wealth of personality and detail Spark offers; May's throaty narration is particularly well suited to portrayals of the story's many elderly characters, especially the wonderfully eccentric Lady Edwina. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169664232
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	06/23/2005
Edition description:	Unabridged

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