"How wonderful to be an artist and a woman in the twentieth century," Fleur Talbot rejoices. Loitering about London, circa 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 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? "A delicious conundrum," as The New Statesman described Loitering with Intent.
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. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
About the Author
Muriel Spark was born in Edinburgh and lived in Africa before settling in Great Britain. She wrote critical biographies of literary figures of the nineteenth century then turned to fiction writing after winning the Observer short-story competition in 1951. Her book, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, was adapted for stage and film.
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