by Muriel Spark
This was a fun book to read and I related to the main character for two main reasons: she's a woman and a writer. Fleur Talbot gets a job working for Sir Quentin who runs an Autobiographical Association. Fleur is part secretary, part editor and also the friend of Sir Quentin's mother, Lady Edwina, a devilish 90-something.
While working with Sir Quentin and a handful of other people in the group, Fleur writes and completes her first novel entitled Warrender Chase. The characters of her book have similarities to the people in the association. Those shared characteristics are less-than-flattering. The group gets wind of the book and the rest of the story includes deception, thievery and Lady Edwina going to the bathroom on the floor at precisely the right moment.
Loitering with Intent is a delight. It is light-hearted and very, very easy reading - just what I've been looking for lately. It also provides what I think is a pretty honest look into the literary starving artist's world. Also, it's important that I be frank: I don't think I'd recommend this book for men.
Other than vocabulary, this is the only note I took out of the book. It's a good one:
"When people say that nothing happens in their life I believe them. But you must understand that everything happens to an artist; time is always redeemed, nothing is lost and wonders never cease." (p. 116)
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