The Comforters
Overview
Commentary
A writer named Caroline Rose is persecuted by a "typing ghost" who is writing a story about her, even as she composes her own novel. Meanwhile, her fiancé, Lawrence Manders, discovers that his elderly grandmother has been involved in diamond-smuggling (with a bizarre crew that sent messages via carrier pigeon). THE COMFORTERS, Muriel Spark's first novel, was highly acclaimed in 1957, when it was published. Like several of her works, the act of writing--and, in particular, of writing this particular book--is part of the plot
Publisher's Notes
Delicious for its wit and poise, The Comforters (1957) was a stunning debut. With her now signature air of easy, sunny eeriness, Spark lights up the darkest things-blackmail, drownings, breakdowns, human evil.
Reviews
"Here is a brilliant first novel gaily dedicated to the proposition that things are not always what they seem....Eccentric as this story is and wildly as the author has to snap and unsnap her slippery links, the book should not be dismissed as an amusing (and occasionally spine-chilling) modern gothic....THE COMFORTERS, in fact, has two prime qualities. It is both enjoyable and memorable. Trend-watchers are advised to note the name of Muriel Spark. Before very long they may be able to boast that they read her when."
Aileen Pippett
"Miss Spark writes clearly and imagines powerfully....The whole thing is genuinely sinister and genuinely funny....[I]t is certainly a very fine first novel."
"...[P]rose as fine and shiny as a summer day."
Martha S. Bacon
"This is a complicated, subtle and, to me at least, an intensely interesting first novel....[A]t a time when 'experimental' writing has quite justly fallen into disrepute, her book is highly exhilarating."
Evelyn Waugh
Full Details
| Author | |
| Format | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9780811212854 |
| List Price | $12.95 |
| Publisher | |
| Publication Date | 09/01/1994 |
| Fiction/Non-Fiction | |
| Release Status | In Print |
| Series | |
| Language | |
| Edition | Reprint |
| Measurements | Weight: 0.55 Pounds |
| Height: 8 Inches |
| Length: 5.25 Inches |
| Thickness: 0.75 Inches |
Inc. For personal non-commercial use only. All rights reserved.
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