Book description
Driven mad by an office job, Lise flies south on holiday - in search of passionate adventure and sex. In this metaphysical shocker, infinity and eternity attend Lise's last terrible day in the unnamed southern city that is her final destination.
Why read it?
4 authors picked The Driver's Seat as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
The Scottish author Muriel Spark’s specialty was short, mordant, corrosive novels, the best known being, of course, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. This one, published in 1970, was among her most striking.
A repressed woman’s vacation during the free-loving sixties turns out to be a date with death she may have initiated: the question lingers after you finish.
It became a flawed yet fascinating 1974 film with Elizabeth Taylor at her most—literally and figuratively—exposed.
From Laurence's list on novellas that transcend time.
Is there a madder moment of madness in all of literature than that of The Driver’s Seat’s protagonist Lise?
A firecracker of a novel (most editions come in under one hundred pages of breakneck-speed story), and yet a whole firework display of literary techniques (most startlingly a third chapter opening prolepsis – flashforward – to the suicidally-invited murder of Lise). It’s the technique itself that is the star. Is this satire, parody, comedy? Can comedy be so dark?
Spark noted both that this book was an existential ‘whydunnit?’ without feeling the need to provide us with anything so simplistic…
From Iain's list on Scottish reads about moments of madness.
The Driver's Seat is one of the most powerful and tightly-wound books I've ever read about being alone in a strange city, unraveling both within and without at the same time. The fever pitch that grows throughout this short text is unmatched in my reading—it strikes a tone entirely unto itself.
From David's list on being a drifter or solitary wanderer at large.
If you love The Driver's Seat...
These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
For good reason, Spark herself claimed the novel a personal favorite. Set in Northern Europe, Driver’s Seat is a fascinating portrayal of a woman gone mad. Adapted into a movie directed by Giuseppe Griffi, the film stars Elizabeth Taylor and Andy Warhol, a movie I highly recommend after the book is read. This cult classic may have been written in the late ‘60s, but it superbly touches on issues relevant today. Everything from travel, fashion, sexual opportunity, trendy diets, religion, and personal freedom, Spark brilliantly lures readers into a world of isolation despite all the luxury amenities people had access…
From Anthony's list on the terrors of nihilism.
If you love The Driver's Seat...
These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
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