Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Remember you must die

Memento Mori
Muriel Spark

It's a curious thing to objectively view a novel when you hated nearly EVERY. SINGLE. character. I mean, some seriously AWFUL people inhabit the pages of Spark's Memento Mori that I could barely get past the fourth chapter. Lucky for me, I soldiered on: things much improved (even if their characters didn't), and I found myself -- dare I say it -- even enjoying the novel.

I must say I'm proud of myself for even reading another Spark, since my first encounter with La Spark left something to be desired. But I was intrigued by the premise of the novel: a group of senior citizens begin receiving anonymous phone calls reminding them that they must die.

This is not a group of warm, sweet old people -- far from it. These pensioners are catty, scheming, and forever gossiping. They have secrets, hidden pasts, and a bottomless well of greed, and they are not above blackmail and intimidation to meet their desires. (As I said, the lot of them were vile creatures, which the exception of one (for the most part) sweet little biddy named Charmian. Wait -- Charmian?)


Don't squeeze the Charmian!
(I know, I know: GROAN...don't judge me)


These disturbing calls, however, are not the heart of the novel. Instead, the calls merely bring to light issues that had long been buried. In exploring the twilight of these people's lives, Spark comments not only on their individual foibles but also on what it means to live and grow old in modern times. She confronts aging without becoming sentimental; the result is a deft little novel, and one full of sharp wit.

Needless to say: I was pleasantly surprised.

In a nutshell: An intriguing premise, a slow start, a dash of wickedly sly humor, and a host of awful human beings combine to make a pretty good book.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4.5 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: I'm sure you already know . . . personal copy here.





9 comments:

ImageNations said...

precisely...some characters are created to be despised. enjoyed reading your thoughts.

Hannah Stoneham said...

Spark is one of those authors who is on my radar but I haven't explored properly yet - I know that I really should and awful old people aside - this review has motivated me a lot!

thanks for sharing

Hannah

Amanda said...

I need to try something by Spark...probably not this one though.

Bybee said...

Mr. Whipple might fit in with this group of pensioners. Thanks for the review. I want to try this one.

Marie Cloutier said...

Wow, I've never read Muriel Spark but maybe I need to! :-)

Anonymous said...

Thank you! I took "Memento Mori" from library and enjoyed it!

Shelley said...

Your comment about disliking every single character in the book makes me smile because it reminds me of how I feel about the short stories in The New Yorker! Don't know exactly why....

Sarah Joyce said...

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Cheryl said...

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Cheryl