The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Oct 14, 2011 M rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, library, read-in-2011

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. She thinks she is Providence ... She thinks she is the God of Calvin, the beginning and the End.

For once, I wished I had attended a lecture on this book before reading it. This slim book has so many books inside... It really is difficult to organize my thoughts about it, and I think I'm not getting everything the book conveys.

The plot doesn't say much. Jean Brodie, a spinster -a woman in her prime- is a schoolteacher in a traditional school in Edinburgh, whose unconventional teaching methods hav She thinks she is Providence ... She thinks she is the God of Calvin, the beginning and the End.

For once, I wished I had attended a lecture on this book before reading it. This slim book has so many books inside... It really is difficult to organize my thoughts about it, and I think I'm not getting everything the book conveys.

The plot doesn't say much. Jean Brodie, a spinster -a woman in her prime- is a schoolteacher in a traditional school in Edinburgh, whose unconventional teaching methods have her under the very close vigilance of the headmistress. She leads a group of six girls from childhood to adulthood, distinctively educated so as to be set apart from the rest of the school as the Brodie set. There is a love triangle: the art and the music teachers love Miss Brodie, whilst she is in love with the art teacher (Mr Lloyd), but sleeps with the music teacher (Mr Lowther).

I am fascinated by Jean Brodie. She is manipulative, fascist, talks in clich茅s and decides the fate of everyone around her. She is also flashy, funny, classy, artsy, romantic and dramatic. And ridiculous. It doesn't matter that she doesn't teach the curriculum, because her girls learn that and many more things. I like how open-minded she made the girls be. But, at the same time, she puts so much of herself in the girls, that they end up all having a Brodie core common to all of them, which is reflected when Lloyd paints them: We'd look like one big Miss Brodie, I suppose. Specially Sandy. Sandy inherits everything, even her manipulative ways and her love interest. In a way, it is very fitting that she is the one who'll end up betraying Miss Brodie, because, in spite of her words, she's been betrayed by Miss Brodie.

I am equally fascinated by Muriel Spark. This novel is subtle and deep, and humorous and witty. It flashes forwards and backwards and key events are announced before they are explained. Forget any kind of linearity. In the hands of any other writer, this novella would have been a mess. She's also capable of distinctly depicting and developing her set of characters in a few words. And the setting was just the ribbon to tie it all up. It was as if I was in Edinburgh again. This novella has a very definite Scottish air about it.

Instant favourite. It has left me wanting more Spark wit.
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Feb 13, 2009 Kecia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1001-books, times_100_best

My favorite book of 2009, so far at least. If you have ever had a teacher like Miss Jean Brodie you will love, love, love this book! My high school french teacher was a Miss Brodie without the manipulative qualities. Madame taught us more about living well than how to congugate verbs. Whenever I see my former classmates we always ask if anyone has heard from Madame. She was the teacher who had the most influence on my young life. I could not read about Miss Brodie without Madame's presence in th ...more

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May 15, 2011 jenn rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2011, 1001

I finally picked this up after learning it was set in Edinburgh. It's a quick read and one of the better books about the high school experience, in spite of being set in the 1930s.

Possibly not for anyone who demands a really likable main character. Miss Brodie is, frankly, kind of an ass, and watching her students outgrow her is both satisfying and shattering. ...more

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Aug 15, 2011 Jayme Pendergraft rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001, 2011, around-the-world-in-80-books

Probably more like 4.5 stars. I really liked the story and also the way in which the story was built. Spark is an excellent story teller and as more and more is revealed, the more I wanted to story to go on. This little book is a gem.

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Mar 01, 2008 Syd rated it it was amazing

This was my first time reading Spark, and I have to confess that I had no idea who she was or what she was about. Now...I am annoyed. I loved her. Now I have to read everything she's ever written, and she wrote a LOT. Annoying. ...more

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