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A Far Cry from Kensington

Muriel Spark

Start date: February 9, 2018

Finish date: March 15, 2018

Discussion: Buddy Reads

Why we're reading this: A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark is one of our buddy reads for February 2018
[close] A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark is one of our buddy reads for February 2018

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What Members Thought

Sep 25, 2018 Hugh rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mm2019, read-2018, modern-lit

Reading three more Muriel Spark novels has been the highlight of the Mookse Madness list for me, and I will definitely be reading more. I really enjoyed Loitering with Intent, and if anything this one, published seven years later, is even better. The setting is similar but is also a few years later, in the mid 1950s. Once again, it is entertaining and often very funny, but also very clever and sometimes profound.

As in Loitering with Intent, writing and the publishing industry are central. The na ...more

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Feb 09, 2018 Nigeyb rated it it was amazing

This the third book I have read by Muriel Spark and, in common with the other two, she yet again consistently manages to make the everyday extraordinary and to add intrigue and mystery to the mundane. Black humour and dark twists abound in this evocative slice of mid 1950s London life, which primarily takes place in a Kensington rooming house, and the world of book and magazine publishing.

Mrs Hawkins, a young widow whose husband was killed in WW2, works as an editor in 1950s London, and she is This the third book I have read by Muriel Spark and, in common with the other two, she yet again consistently manages to make the everyday extraordinary and to add intrigue and mystery to the mundane. Black humour and dark twists abound in this evocative slice of mid 1950s London life, which primarily takes place in a Kensington rooming house, and the world of book and magazine publishing.

Mrs Hawkins, a young widow whose husband was killed in WW2, works as an editor in 1950s London, and she is our narrator and guide who is looking back on her time in Kensington decades later. She is one of the residents of the rooming house which is also home to an eclectic bunch of characters who include Wanda, a Polish dressmaker.

Wanda receives a threatening and disconcerting anonymous letter which is the cue for a slew of quirky character studies and relationships. Despite the droll humour and easy readability there is a lot to ponder and enjoy, not least the character of Mrs Hawkins, who is wholly committed to telling the truth. Despite being hunted throughout the book, Mrs Hawkins remains resolute and resilient, and also actively prospers through her ongoing self reinvention.

There's so much to enjoy in A Far Cry from Kensington: the hopes and challenges of Londoners in the decade following the end of WW2; the bizarre world of publishing; drinks at Grosvenor House; life lessons from our narrator; the subtle relationships between housemates, lovers, enemies and colleagues; credible work relationships; well observed characters; a fraudulent boss; pseudo-science; a truly monstrous villain; and much more.

I feel this review barely scratches the surface. I could happily go straight back to the beginning of this book and read it all over again. I hope I have said enough to convince you to try it. It's very enjoyable, entertaining, original and thought provoking. I remain committed to reading all of Muriel Spark's work.

5/5

Coincidentally I have just listened to a recent episode of A Good Read on BBC Radio 4 with Stephen Fry and Alan Davies, and presenter Harriett Gilbert, and one of the books under discussion is A Far Cry from Kensington which they were all very positive about. Listen here (or on podcast)...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09plx4w ...more

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Feb 12, 2018 Pamela rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: guardian-1000-read

This is a crazy, sparkling, wickedly amusing novel. Mrs Hawkins, the narrator, looks back 30 years to the time she spent living in a shared house in Kensington and working in the publishing industry. A fellow lodger, Wanda Podolak, receives an anonymous letter. At the same time, Mrs Hawkins tells the odious writer, Hector Bartlett, that he is a pisseur de copie and loses her job. Looking back, Mrs Hawkins examines the connections between these events and the consequences for those involved.

Thr ...more

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Dec 31, 2022 Brian E Reynolds rated it liked it · review of another edition

This is a semiautobiographical novel based on Sparks’ own more youthful experiences in the publishing world, if being 29-years old while looking much older can be described as youthful. The novel is narrated by the Sparks-influenced character who is a war widow who married prior to really knowing her husband so his death was not that hard on her. Yet she goes by his name, and is called Mrs. Hawkins rather than by her first name, be it now.
Mrs. Hawkins in writing from the present-day mid-80 remi This is a semiautobiographical novel based on Sparks’ own more youthful experiences in the publishing world, if being 29-years old while looking much older can be described as youthful. The novel is narrated by the Sparks-influenced character who is a war widow who married prior to really knowing her husband so his death was not that hard on her. Yet she goes by his name, and is called Mrs. Hawkins rather than by her first name, be it now.
Mrs. Hawkins in writing from the present-day mid-80 reminiscing about those experiences of 30 years before. She lives in a furnished room in a Kensington ‘rooming house,” whose residents and owner named Milly serve as a source for much of the drama, and humor, of the story.’ Mrs. Hawkins ends up working at various publishing houses during the book. Her job moves are caused by both her confidently self-righteous personality and her relationship with author Emma Loy and her sycophant author-wannabe friend/lover/stalker Hector Bartlett. This triangular relationship also serves as the source for much of the book’s dramatic tension and its satire.
All of my GR friends who have read this book have rated it as 5-stars, finding it a “glorious ride” with “sophisticated” humor; “sly and clever,” “terribly funny;” and “original and thought provoking.” I did enjoy it, but thought it lacked that much humor and cleverness.
I never laughed while reading this. I did smile at times, but the smiles were not numerous enough for me to consider the book a humorous one. A related factor was my relationship with Sparks’ character creations: I didn’t identify with the narrator and was not especially fond of the book’s “charming, unique or simply odd” collection of characters. Unique and odd they were, but I was never charmed by them. I found the characters, including the narrator, to be more on the annoying side than charming.
I rate this book as between 3 and 4 stars. Sparks books are intelligently written and she has a flowing, easy to read yet not simple style. I do expect to read more of her books. This was a decent and interesting novel that just turned out to be neither as humorous nor as charming as I anticipated. Thus, I will round my rating down to 3 stars.
...more

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Jun 13, 2020 Blaine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Nothing profound, but a wonderful picture of 1950's London, the Kensington rooming house and work at a small publishing house. The narrator voice of Mrs. Hawkins is great company, and the multi-threaded plot is cleverly done. The writing is full of life and humour, and I've put several other Spark novels on my list. ...more

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Jan 03, 2023 Ruth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: furrowed-middlebrow-and-friends

I wasn't too sure about this one when I started it, but it turned out to be fascinating. It had an interesting cast of characters, including the narrator Mrs Hawkins. There were also several mysteries to unravel - what was going on with the Polish dressmaker Wanda, why was the narrator telling the story from Italy, and why was she quite so vitriolic about Hector Bartlett. All was (mostly) resolved. ...more

1 like · Like · see review