Vous voulez voir cette page en fran�ais ? Cliquez ici.

11 used & new from CDN$ 9.06

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Loitering With Intent (Paperback)

by Muriel Spark (Author) "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..." (more)

4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.

7 new from CDN$ 9.06 4 used from CDN$ 14.09

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Second Scroll

by Seymour Mayne

5.0 out of 5 stars (1) CDN$ 13.10

Money

by Martin Amis

4.2 out of 5 stars (41) CDN$ 16.02

Imagined Communities

by Benedict Anderson

4.1 out of 5 stars (17) CDN$ 16.38

Peace, Power, Righteousness: An Indigenous Manifesto

by Taiaiake Alfred

4.3 out of 5 stars (3) CDN$ 14.56

Cage Eleven

by Gerry Adams

CDN$ 13.18

› Explore similar items

Product Details

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.ca Sales Rank: #905,461 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category:
#42 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( S ) > Spark, Muriel

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

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.

From 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-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)

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

Explore More
Concordance

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

What do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?

	69% buy the item featured on this page: Loitering With Intent 4.8 out of 5 stars (4)
	31% buy Money 4.2 out of 5 stars (41) CDN$ 16.02

Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

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, April 25 2000

By	Glenn Fleishman (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

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.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

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, Sep 3 1998

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.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

4.0 out of 5 stars "Tis a pity, Nov 20 2007

By	Reader (Toronto, ON) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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."

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 4 customer reviews...

Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Story of One's Life
There is a sense of the autobiographical in this novel which in fact is quite appropriate when one considers the actual pivot around which the whole plot revolves. Read more

Published on Aug 10 2003 by Manthos A. Mattheou