The driver's seat

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Muriel Spark: The driver's seat (1984, Wideview/Perigee Book)

117 pages

English language

Published Sept. 9, 1984 by Wideview/Perigee Book.

ISBN:
978-0-399-50928-5
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OCLC Number:
9557303

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4 stars (3 reviews)

The Driver's Seat is a novella by Muriel Spark. Published in 1970, it was advertised as "a metaphysical shocker". It is indeed in the psychological thriller genre, dealing with themes of alienation, isolation and loss of spiritual values. It was filmed in 1974 starring Elizabeth Taylor and featuring Andy Warhol. In the U.S the film was renamed Identikit. Spark described it as one of her favourite novels. The Driver's Seat was, on 26 March 2010, one of six novels to be nominated for “Lost Man Booker Prize” of 1970, "a contest delayed by 40 years because a reshuffling of the fledgeling competition’s rules that year disqualified nearly a year’s worth of high-quality fiction from consideration."In 2015, it was adapted for the stage for the first time by Laurie Sansom for a National Theatre of Scotland production which premiered at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh.

7 editions

Review of "The driver's seat" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

 You know how some jazz can make you feel like you've taken drugs even though you may have never taken drugs in your life? This short [a:Muriel Spark|13093|Muriel Spark|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1342563799p2/13093.jpg] novel made me think of that. It made me feel like I was on an acid trip or that I was losing my mind. Not in an awful way that would lead me to recommend against reading this, though.
 It's trippy without being made up of awful "experimental" language or anything. Spark also wrote [b:The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie|517188|The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie|Muriel Spark|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1696970356l/517188.SY75.jpg|6132856], which I read a few years ago and most know from the 1969 movie that starred Maggie Smith. As much as I liked that book, I found this one more memorable.

Subjects

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  • Italy -- Fiction