3.0
The Hothouse by the East River
ByPublisher Description
In 1970s New York, Paul and Elsa are like many other well-off middle-aged couples, worrying over their apartment and psychoanalyst bills by day, and meeting friends at restaurants by night. But this is not an ordinary couple with ordinary neuroses, as becomes clear when Paul convinces himself that Elsa's shadow always points in the wrong direction. As Paul and Elsa's involvement in World War II espionage begins to surface, the glitz and glamor of their lives is revealed to be nothing more than illusion.
is a delirious satire of superficial urban life in the shadow of one of modern history's great horrors.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Muriel Spark including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author's archive at the National Library of Scotland.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Hothouse by the East River Reviews
3.0
“Are we in hell? Is anything real? What was the point? Truly don’t have the answer to any of these questions and I don’t think Muriel knows either 😭🤨”
“Muriel Spark is my favourite author and this might now be my favourite book by her - which is saying a lot because several of her books are absolutely incredible. As a result, this is now in my top 3 favourite books of all time. The first quarter of the book felt slow but then suddenly it picked up and just kept going before descending into insanity in the most perfect way. I feel obligated to note that many of Muriel Spark's books, especially her 70s works, are satirical in nature and should not be taken too seriously.”
“Difficult to describe. A group of English intelligence officials assigned to watching German POW’s during WWII, 1944 to be exact, reunite in New York City. That is all I can tell you. Just when I was about to DNF this novella, it took a comical turn and that propelled me to the conclusion”
“3/5 makes it seem meh but the dialogue has such a cleverness and rhythm i’ve been craving, but also the story didn’t do much for me, but then again, maybe modern media’s frequent use of plot twists and unreliable narrators makes the book seem meh to me when it could’ve been very different for its time. can’t really be bothered to check though. but i am willing to read more Muriel Spark”
About Muriel Spark
Muriel Spark (1918–2006) was a prolific Scottish novelist, short story writer, and poet whose darkly comedic voice made her one of the most distinctive writers of the twentieth century. Spark grew up in Edinburgh and worked as a department store secretary, writer for trade magazines, and literary editor before publishing her first novel in 1957.
(1961), considered her masterpiece, was made into a stage play, a TV series, and a film. Spark became a Dame of the British Empire in 1993.
Other books by Muriel Spark
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