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What Members Thought
Wrenchingly bleak and somehow triumphant all the same, and so exquisitely written that this shocking tale of willful self-destruction takes on a patina of a comedy of manners. It's a mix that won't be to everyone's taste but I loved it. So evidently did Muriel Spark--The Driver's Seat was Spark's favorite novel of hers.
...more
Oct 02, 2015
Lise Petrauskas
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
20th-century-fiction
I really hope my parents weren't naming me after this Lise.
How can a book be so readable and incomprehensible at the same time? I have a lot of friends who love this, and I am intrigued by it, but I feel the way I do when I don't get a joke. Like, wait, what just happened. (view spoiler) ...more
How can a book be so readable and incomprehensible at the same time? I have a lot of friends who love this, and I am intrigued by it, but I feel the way I do when I don't get a joke. Like, wait, what just happened. (view spoiler) ...more
To quote George W. Bush after hearing the inauguration speech of Donald J. Trump, "That was some weird shit." But unlike the pile of crap unloaded by Trump, this was an entertainingly weird story about a woman who....well.....the less said the better - the less you know going in the more you'll like it. I watched the 1974 movie with Elizabeth Taylor (streaming on Amazon Prime). It has a 70's Italian psychedelic quality, enhanced by the horrible quality of the film - it both looked and sounded ve
...more
It is difficult to write critically about a book that is intentionally absurd. Since a book can really be anything, how does one get a handle on why one book works well and another doesn't? More conventional books are easier to tear apart. But in the context of having read Kafka, Beckett, and Queneau, Spark's book doesn't feel as substantial, moving, entertaining, audacious, poignant, uncanny, or evocative of deep emotions--fears, anxieties, perverse attractions, etc. It gives more of an endurin
...more
This novella deserves extra points for originality. I could have used greater insight into the inner life of the protagonist. This is one story that can not be easily summarized without giving away spoilers.
Terrific writing. The story and style pulls one in. I didn't want to put it down once I started and when I had to, I hurriedly went back to it as soon as possible to read more.
But what a strange story! Lots of innuendos, so many questions, not many answers.
Lise seems to be a woman at some kind of crossroads. Throughout she tells tales, seeks to be noticed, looks to hide her identity, seeks a path......or does she? Is she just mentally unstable? What's going on?
A very well told story. A very i ...more
But what a strange story! Lots of innuendos, so many questions, not many answers.
Lise seems to be a woman at some kind of crossroads. Throughout she tells tales, seeks to be noticed, looks to hide her identity, seeks a path......or does she? Is she just mentally unstable? What's going on?
A very well told story. A very i ...more
This book was a real "slice of the 60's", if you'll pardon the expression, right down to the primary color fashion choices and that airplane snack: a salami-lettuce-olive sandwich served with potato salad rolled up inside a slab of boiled ham, and a pickled "something". Also the profusion of men with grabby hands whenever a woman's thigh is in range. The good old days, amirite?
I really don't want to say too much about this one, but suffice it to say, I listen to true crime podcasts and appreciat ...more
I really don't want to say too much about this one, but suffice it to say, I listen to true crime podcasts and appreciat ...more
Lise says several times in this novella that "the one I’m looking for will recognize me right away for the woman I am, have no fear of that." I'm very happy to report that I do not understand Lise. I do not want to recognize her or be recognized by her.
This is a perfect little story that Spark was perfectly stingy with. As readers, we are not permitted into the heads of any of the characters. We see only their actions and their appearances, so we're left guessing as to their motivations. And it ...more
This is a perfect little story that Spark was perfectly stingy with. As readers, we are not permitted into the heads of any of the characters. We see only their actions and their appearances, so we're left guessing as to their motivations. And it ...more
Well that was weird.
This is a very engaging story of a woman who is having an identity crisis, and goes on a vacation to try and find her a boyfriend (whom she knows she will recognize once she meets him). It is a really readable story and hard to put down, really action packed, but although the story is fairly straightforward, really understanding it is quite a bit more difficult. Her behavior is very erratic, and we are not sure if she is merely eccentric, or having a mental health breakdown.
A frantic fever dream of a novella. The initial foreshadowing is a gut-punch, and then all the subsequent insanity seems like it could be due to an unreliable narrator, but just who is driving this car anyway.
A fun little puzzle that clicks everything into place at the very end. "Ohhh, that makes sense now," you will say as you close the book. "That's pretty messed up."
...more
Lise, the protagonist of this dark and puzzling novella, is unpredictable and possibly even mentally ill. One day she buys some clashing clothes and takes a holiday to an unnamed destination. On the plane she meets two men, one an apparently respectable businessman who tries to avoid her, the other an eccentric called Bill who makes continued attempts to start a relationship of some kind. The reader learns Lise’s tragic fate early on - the book deals with how events unfold towards it, and raise
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Nov 10, 2020
Lori
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
z-reviewed,
z-read-2020,
zy-text,
fiction,
literature,
britain,
roundtable,
little-literary-novel,
pre-2000
Interesting look at a seriously disturbed woman's last day. Times have changed, (view spoiler) so I think it comes out darker than it was originally intended.
...more
Oct 03, 2015
Lauren
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
the-novel-2015,
1001
Oct 06, 2015
Pat
marked it as to-read
Oct 11, 2015
Jennifer
marked it as to-read
Jun 06, 2021
Susan
marked it as to-read
