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Loitering with Intent

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Loitering with Intent

By: Muriel Spark
Narrated by: Nadia May
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About this listen

 "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?

©1981 Copyright Administration, Ltd. (P)2002 Blackstone Audiobooks Women

Critic Reviews

"I read this book in a delirium of delight. In Loitering with Intent, Miss Spark returns to the early flawless form of Memento Mori and The Comforters....Robust and full-bodied, a wise and mature work, and a brilliantly mischievous one." (The New York Times Book Review)

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Quirky characters, plenty of humour, good plot, well read . Sad to end it. will look for other books written by Muriel Sparks

ripping good yarn

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At times very funny. The plot is not as interesting as the moments of wry humour created by a very dry narrator. Worth the listen.

An interesting novel with a memorable narrative voice

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I've often come across high praise for Spark, and this is the first time I've tried one of her books. Perhaps it was a poor choice, but I am too underwhelmed to try any others.
I've read a lot of 19th and 20th century novels. Sparks doesn't strike me as being amongst the best.
The writing is ordinary, dull. The story and plotting are obvious and uninteresting.
The wit or comedy is extremely stale, it hasn't aged well.

A different era, doesn't land for this contemporary reader

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