This one's been sitting on my shelf for a couple of months now (which means it's one of the lucky ones-so many books have been sitting on my various bThis one's been sitting on my shelf for a couple of months now (which means it's one of the lucky ones-so many books have been sitting on my various bookshelves for years), and I randomly grabbed it for a long train ride over the weekend because it was slim and I'd heard it was funny. It was, for one thing, easily completed on the train with time to spare, and it was about the most plainly enjoyable thing I've read in some time. Brisk, bright prose with a large dose of hilarity and sinisterly tender moments (the comment about Mary's fate in the first several pages was somehow amusingly fitting at the same time as it was horribly tragic, for instance). Miss Brodie handpicks young girls from her class to become the 'creme de la creme,' and one of the most wonderful things about the novel is how deeply you're drawn in by Miss B even as you're completely repulsed--much as the Brodie set is. Her dabble with fascism is of course a fabulous parallel for Miss Brodie's relationships with the girls; though they're intended to become the very best, the price they would have to pay is by becoming clones of Miss Brodie. As avant-garde as she strikes us on first glance, Miss Brodie is in fact a profoundly conservative figure, as she wishes only to replicate what she already knows or has experienced upon others without thought to how they may think or feel about it.
Nonetheless, you so want to love Miss Brodie that frequently you just do. The girls, in fact, are the vaguely horrible figures of the novel, though of course they're rightfully the heroines. A fascinating way of creating what is largely a character study here. In any case, I feel that I'm only going to spoil things if I go on, so all I can say at this point is that the book is short, sweet, and should be enjoyed by all--in that way, perhaps I'd impose it like Miss Brodie might. A real pleasure, while still managing to be provocative--often without your noticing it. Highly recommended, in short....more
I've been on a mini-genre fiction kick over the past week or so, reading my first Agatha Christie novel & this one in a one-two-punch. I was a King faI've been on a mini-genre fiction kick over the past week or so, reading my first Agatha Christie novel & this one in a one-two-punch. I was a King fanatic in middle school; I remember sneaking a copy of "It" to my Geography class, and later, taking "The Stand" to Civics. I read a number of his more famous novels and maybe half of the Dark Tower series, which I eventually gave up on. Then I forgot about poor Stephen & left his worlds of terror behind.
Then last week I went into a thrift store that was selling paperbacks three for a dollar, grabbed this and a few other books, and devoured this in a whirlwind of bus rides between New York and Boston for NYC Pride.
Needless to say, I think it's fair to realize why I grew out of King; he's a passable prose stylist at best, and often his writing made me gag--I felt I'd seen more nuanced style in undergraduate writing workshops. The story itself is entertaining enough, though the characters more often felt like cardboard cutouts--but I guess I forgive that inasmuch as they didn't really need to be all that fleshed out--they were props for a good scary story, and worked in the context. I'd forgotten how much disgust I tend to feel towards King's writing of female characters, as Wendy, for example, essentially vacillates between being a whiny damsel-in-distress to being a stereotypical primal mother. Jack's descent into insanity makes sense and is frightening, though I never really found myself rooting for him in the first place. Danny's possibly the least drawn character of the family, and often I found his dialogue entirely unreasonable--even if he is supposed to be wise for his years per 'the shining.' Hallorann is a really likable character, but King certainly has no hesitancy about capitalizing on the troubling wise-old-black-man figure in order to toss him into the storyline.
This review's coming out more vitriolic than intended--I suppose the bottom line for me is that it was a fun, pretty scary read. Ultimately, though, I'd love to laugh in King's face for his evidently disparaging comments towards Kubrick's film adaptation--I find the film to be much more subtle, intense, and generally well-done than the book could have dreamed. Unless you've got a real hankering for an easy, mostly enjoyable (though often problematic) beach or nighttime read, I'd direct you to Kubrick's version....more
