The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark
It has been a week since I finished reading this and I am still not sure what I thought of it. I suppose that as I am still thinking about it then there was something special about it but I really can’t put my finger on exactly what it is.
Once more I found this a book where I didn’t care for any of the characters and a book where very little happens. A group of school children are influenced by their teacher, form a clique, become precocious and ultimately grow up. One of them betrays their mentor.
This simultaneously sums up the book entirely and gives nothing at all away. Like I said an odd book.
I quite liked the writing style, the plot flicks back and forth in time in a way that is easy to read but makes you concentrate hard on the book at the same time.
I also liked the Homeric way that every time a character is mentioned the same description is attached to them, for me this created a lovely rhythm to the reading.
So like the morals of the characters I remain ambiguous about this book. I’m glad I read it but I won’t be seeking out more by this author, nor rushing to watch the film adaptation.
