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Gill's Reviews > The Hothouse by the East River
The Hothouse by the East River
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'The Hothouse by the East River' by Muriel Spark
3 stars/6 out of 10
This novel is set in New York in the 1970s. Paul and Elsa are a middle aged, well off couple. Much of the opening sections relates to their need of and time with analysts.
The main sign at this stage that the novel is not going to proceed in a usual fashion, is when Paul notices something strange about Elsa's shadow. As the story proceeds, there are links to World War 2 and espionage, and a several unusual characters are introduced. There are many conflicting versions amongst the characters about what has or hasn't happened in the past/what is or isn't happening in the present.
I found this a confusing book, but I think it is probably meant to be confusing. There are things that become clearer by the end of the novel, but I'm not adding detail here because it will detract from reading the earlier sections of the book.
My favourite part was the part with the silkworms.
I found this shortish book quite interesting to read as an example of a surreal novel. I don't know how typical it is of Muriel Spark's work, and will look into this further.
Thank you to Open Road Literary Fiction and to NetGalley for an ARC.
by
'The Hothouse by the East River' by Muriel Spark
3 stars/6 out of 10
This novel is set in New York in the 1970s. Paul and Elsa are a middle aged, well off couple. Much of the opening sections relates to their need of and time with analysts.
The main sign at this stage that the novel is not going to proceed in a usual fashion, is when Paul notices something strange about Elsa's shadow. As the story proceeds, there are links to World War 2 and espionage, and a several unusual characters are introduced. There are many conflicting versions amongst the characters about what has or hasn't happened in the past/what is or isn't happening in the present.
I found this a confusing book, but I think it is probably meant to be confusing. There are things that become clearer by the end of the novel, but I'm not adding detail here because it will detract from reading the earlier sections of the book.
My favourite part was the part with the silkworms.
I found this shortish book quite interesting to read as an example of a surreal novel. I don't know how typical it is of Muriel Spark's work, and will look into this further.
Thank you to Open Road Literary Fiction and to NetGalley for an ARC.
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