Memento Mori by Muriel Spark - Book Group discussion thread

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Jun 2018
10:12am, 2 Jun 2018
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Diogenes
I liked it more than you, I gave it a 7, but if it had been my first Spark I might not have gone back for more.

I disagree about the characters, I thought they were mostly well-drawn and neatly differentiated. It was also refreshing to read about older characters not presented in a patronising or romanticised manner. They are all aging in a haphazard, oblivious way, as are we all, until the telephone calls start.

I found it quite funny, the angry poet, Mrs Pettigrew’s stocking tops, Godfrey’s feeble infidelities. I also liked the ending. Many novels give a summary of the lives of characters once the book ends, this one tells us how they all die, which is always interesting.

In summary, I liked it because it was different and didn’t go where I expected.
Jun 2018
10:34am, 2 Jun 2018
103,352 posts
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GregP
I liked the final sentence of the second paragraph very much. Nice writing Diode.
Jun 2018
10:41am, 2 Jun 2018
103,353 posts
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GregP
Possibly my second favourite use of the word 'haphazard' of all time. Although still a long way behind the one in 'BC:AD' by the peerless U.A. Fanthorpe.


This was the moment when Before
Turned into After, and the future's
Uninvented timekeepers presented arms.

This was the moment when nothing
Happened. Only dull peace
Sprawled boringly over the earth.

This was the moment when even energetic Romans
Could find nothing better to do
Than counting heads in remote provinces.

And this was the moment
When a few farm workers and three
Members of an obscure Persian sect
Walked haphazard by starlight straight
Into the kingdom of heaven.
Jun 2018
6:57pm, 9 Jun 2018
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Lorraine
Gave it a 4 but I definitely won’t be rushing to read it ever again.
Jun 2018
1:07pm, 16 Jun 2018
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westmoors
With an elderly relative with dementia and not in the best of health at present, when I started to read this I very nearly put it straight down again, but I didn't.

Found it very easy to read, but was very disappointed in the ending. It seemed very rushed to me as if the author had got bored and just wanted to finish. Not sure what I was expecting as I didn't expect the hoax caller to be revealed.

Overall, I didn't dislike it, but I didn't really like it either. Giving it a 5.

I will now go back and read the other comments.
Jun 2018
11:56pm, 28 Jun 2018
15,835 posts
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Columba
Oh McG, and others who didn't like it, I'm sorry you didn't like it! I loved it. I had read it before, but a long time ago, and remembered very little (apart from the stocking-tops). I quickly recognised (as did McG) that I was going to get lost without listing the characters and their relationships to one another, and accordingly did so, and went back at the end and skimmed through again to tie up any loose ends.

The mystery of who was making the telephone calls is (IMHO) a red herring. It clearly isn't what we might understand as an Actual Person (or the police would have been able to trace the calls, especially the trunk calls. Either it is Death Himself (or herself, - Inspector Mortimer hears a female voice) or it simply symbolises a reminder - unwelcome in most cases - to all these Old People that they should be taking the Long View of themselves.

I thought the characterisation was excellent, but it's done in very understated ways. For example in the first few pages Dame Lettie keeps correcting Charmian (in terms which can only have been brusque) while Mrs. Anthony placidly accepts Charmian's mistakes. A guide to their characters, throughout. Godfrey surreptitiously pockets two cakes (at Lisa Brooke's funeral) and later wonders why he did so since he could buy himself all the cakes he wants; and he spends a long time, with a lot of satisfaction, splitting matches along their length so that he has twice as many. It is not stated that he is mean in little ways; it is demonstrated.

She has a wonderful way of conveying a great deal of information in a very few words. For example, at the beginning of the chapter where Henry Mortimer has everyone round to discuss the telephone calls they've been receiving, Mrs. Mortimer is mentally going through the jobs in the garden that need doing, including spraying the pears "No, Henry must not spray the pears for he might over-reach and strain himself". 15 pages later, after all the arguments and misunderstandings and contradictions not to mention the tea (silver teapot and "well-spread table" the visitors have gone and the Mortimers are relaxing, and Henry says "I think I'll go and spray the pears" but his wife succeeds in diverting his attention.

At the beginning of Chapter 5 we have: Mrs. Anthony knew instinctively that Mrs. Pettigrew was a kindly woman. Mrs. Anthony was wrong.

A theme which surfaces from time to time: how people manage to do things and then disown them. Godfrey mentally refers to himself as "one" - "Why does one do these things?" when it's something he feels slightly ashamed of. Mrs. Pettigrew receives one of the phone calls but instantly puts it out of her mind as though it had never been. She has had a face-lift, but so far disregards the fact that she makes snide remarks about other people who have had face-lifts. There's also a wonderful, succinct comment about Mrs. Pettigrew being annoyed with herself for "descending" to Mrs. Anthony's level in arguing with her: These thoughts overwhelmed Mrs. Pettigrew with that sense of having done a foolish thing against one's interests which in some people stands for guilt.
Jun 2018
12:07am, 29 Jun 2018
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Columba
Thought I'd better post when the going was good.

Any negatives? - Unsure why Mr. and Mrs. Jack Rose and Miss Lottinville suddenly appear at the Mortimers' discussion/ tea-party, when they play no other part in the story. Also (I think McG said this) Matthew O'Brien turning up at the end seemed a bit abrupt and unannounced. But actually he has been mentioned earlier, but I didn't realise this until I was re-reading: he is one of the Old People whom Alec is studying and keeping notes on.

And, horror of horrors: p 117: "... comprised mainly of elderly women". Comprised of? Muriel, what were you thinking?
Jul 2018
10:18pm, 24 Jul 2018
23,976 posts
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LindsD
Finished this a few days ago but haven't had the time or energy to review. I don't have it now either, but wanted to make a commitment so I will do it. I haven't read back but I gave it a 7.
Jul 2018
11:39am, 25 Jul 2018
16,045 posts
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Columba
Hoping you find a modicum of time, Linds, to tell us what you thought / felt.
Jul 2018
11:59am, 25 Jul 2018
104,635 posts
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GregP
Yes Linds, do tell.

MrsP also refuses to be drawn into detail. She rather damned it with faint praise.

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