- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: New Directions; Reprint edition (Jun 1 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0811214745
- ISBN-13: 978-0811214742
- Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 13.2 x 1.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 649 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,333,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
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. Would-be novelist Fleur Talbot works for the snooty, irascible Sir Quentin Oliver at the Autobiographical Association, whose members are all at work on their memoirs. When her employer gets his hands on Fleur's novel-in-progress, mayhem ensues when its scenes begin coming true. Generating hilarious turns of phrase and larger-than-life characters (especially Sir Quentin's batty mother), Sparks's inimitable style make this literary joyride thoroughly appealing. ( June 28)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
A delicious conundrum. -- The New Statesman
Generating hilarious turns of phrase and larger-than-life characters...Spark's inimitable style make this literary joyride thoroughly appealing. -- Publishers Weekly, 18 June 2001
I found it a delight from start to finish—funny, unexpected and compulsively readable...this strange, immensely enjoyable novel. -- Auberon Waugh, Daily Mail
One of Spark's very best novels—funny and clever and surprising. -- The New Republic
The most intensely Sparkian of her books. -- The Listener
Though first published only 20 years ago, Spark's offbeat fiction certainly deserves a place in [ND's] line of contemporary classics. -- Kirkus Reviews,, 15 February 2001
Unsurpassable. -- The Times Literary Supplement [London]
What a coolly crafted, wickedly funny novel this is! -- Daily Express
[O]ne of Muriel Spark's most accomplished moral fables or puzzles...it provides considerable insight and wit, and no easy answers. -- A.S. Byatt
Generating hilarious turns of phrase and larger-than-life characters...Spark's inimitable style make this literary joyride thoroughly appealing. -- Publishers Weekly, 18 June 2001
I found it a delight from start to finish—funny, unexpected and compulsively readable...this strange, immensely enjoyable novel. -- Auberon Waugh, Daily Mail
One of Spark's very best novels—funny and clever and surprising. -- The New Republic
The most intensely Sparkian of her books. -- The Listener
Though first published only 20 years ago, Spark's offbeat fiction certainly deserves a place in [ND's] line of contemporary classics. -- Kirkus Reviews,, 15 February 2001
Unsurpassable. -- The Times Literary Supplement [London]
What a coolly crafted, wickedly funny novel this is! -- Daily Express
[O]ne of Muriel Spark's most accomplished moral fables or puzzles...it provides considerable insight and wit, and no easy answers. -- A.S. Byatt
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
One day in the middle of the twentieth century I sat in an old graveyard which had not yet been demolished, in the Kensington area of London, when a young policeman stepped off the path and came over to me. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
One day in the middle of the twentieth century I sat in an old graveyard which had not yet been demolished, in the Kensington area of London, when a young policeman stepped off the path and came over to me. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of her best; one of the best books ever,
This review is from: LOITERING WITH INTENT (Hardcover)
It's hard to believe this book is out of print (as it appears to be in many editions). Spark is the finest living English writer (as of early 2000, she's still with us) and this is one of her best novels. It folds back in on itself. It's obviously autobiographical even with the kind of foreshadowing and self-reflection of the author, who doubles back the flashback, first seeing herself, then seeing herself remember herself.The plot is fascinating and a constant undertow back into the same themes of the true reality of a book. Is this memoir (fictional) told by an unreliable narrator? I think so. It's hard to know. Some events seem Kafkaesque in their bizarreness, but then turn out to have plain explanations. Ultimately, evil bizarrely destroys itself; good triumphs with sacrifices. All is never as it appears with Ms. Spark.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A mature and energetic exploration of life's formative years,
By A Customer
This review is from: LOITERING WITH INTENT (Hardcover)
Spark, as always, completely captures the reader with her straight-on energy and wit. She is a master at this craft, always providing honest and intimate portraits of real, but sometimes quirky, humans. This is nothing new for her. What I find especially intriguing about this novel is the striking perspective it takes--that of a young lady diligently pursuing her destiny despite the hilarious, distracting, and downright mean actions of those more "adult" than she.This perspective, of honest and thoughtful youth, I find refreshingly sane. The protagonist triumphs completely over the obstacles set before her by employers, publishers, and especially, friends, ultimately realizing her full potential and achieving success. She also defeats passion to some extent, by remaining thoughtful and true to herself, a lesson I find extremely important for young people in modern society, where so little guidance is offered in this area. Though overcoming passion, Fleur is by no means dispassionate, nor is she judgmental or moralizing. She simply recognizes and accepts others for what they are, choosing to spend her time at things most important to her. The clarity of self-perception Spark offers us is, I feel, poetic and inspirational. She manages to convey strength as a force of will and self-worth, rather then the all to frequent hodge-podge of money, appearance, peers, employers, etc., offered by the mass media to young people today. I hope that this book would be used in cirruculum for teenagers or summer reading programs.
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Tis a pity,
By Reader (Toronto, ON) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Loitering With Intent (Paperback)
I wholeheartedly agree with the praise expressed by other reviewers here. It's good have to have this superb little masterpiece back in print. What a shame, though, that this Virago reisuue is marred by poor proofreading. There are several distracting typographical errors, the most startling of which occurs on page 32, where Father Egbert is made to say: "For me, too, it was a moment of climax. I wrestled with my God, the whore of one entire night."
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