Aiding and Abetting: A Novel

there are some uproarious jokes in this novel, but they are few and far between. the rest is a furious but empty chase, for money and protection which has the merit of speed alone. it begins and then it is over. the main characters are motivated by selfishness and greed. there is nothing likable here. and as a meditation on faith, the aptness of false-healers, idiot lying priests, and medicine-magic, the novel is disgusting and shallow.

I have long been a fan of Muriel Spark's, truly enjoying her humor and style. I liked her autobiography as well. But this book is a great disappointment. The characters are shallow: in particular, Dr. Wolf is cardboard and scarcely believable. There is a certain sense of haste: events are barely sketched, and it is all quickly brought to a conclusion, without going into any detail. A very thin book indeed, which would probably have received much less attention if the author did not have such a reputation.

I enjoyed the unusual mysteries of this book. It reminded me more of PG Wodehouse style of writing than some of Muriel Spark's other works, in that it is a bit farcical and mostly fun in spite of the gruesome killing. It also gives an interesting picture of the collapsing aristocracy in the mid-20th century. Overall it was a fun read for wit and unusual themes and fun ironies.

Aiding and Abetting represents my first introduction to Spark's work outside of film, and it will definitely not be the last, at least as long as I can afford to add her titles to my personal library. Dr. Hildegard Wolf is one of the most unique protagonists in modern fiction. Her entanglement with the possible Lord Lucan, based on the real life case, and the possible imposter Walker, though derivative, is actually a study of social pretence, and how the web of our inter-connecting selves can make getting at the truth of the self not only elusive, but nearly impossible, even with skillful back stories offering the reader hints and insinuations. Even when it comes to who we love, as with the supporting character Jean-Pierre, who seems devoted to the Hildegard in her current incarnation, there are some uneasy shadings surrounding the authenticity of that attachment.The novel's end carries a bit of the good fun fantastical that has a long tradition in the history of English letters, but allowing for that little twist, Spark's work is a brilliant study that rivals the like of Waugh or Forster.

I am a big Muriel Spark fan and I know her characters can be a bit quirky and the conversation a little surreal. That said, this was TOO much that way. It came off as stilted. The main characters were shallow and (as I saw noted in other reviews) the book was somewhat repetitive. I did stick with it to the end, but only because it was pretty short and didn't take much time. I am a Brit and was a teenager at the time of this crime, so I do remember it and also remember the "upper class" entitlement thing that was in its last throes in the 70s. Still - just a so-so read and not up to this author's usual standard.

This was a very quick read and very enjoyable. Made my plane ride fly bye. Pun partially intended. Well written and structured, it never loses your interest at any point. I definitely recommend this book to just about anyone.

This book by Ms. Muriel Spark, "Aiding And Abetting", deals with a crime committed in 1974 and a perpetrator that is known, but still unaccounted for. The crime itself is true and the book is a study of what might have or could have happened in the last 27 years. It is entirely possible that the criminal could read this book, as he would be only 66 years old at the time of publication.Having no prior knowledge with the event it was difficult to be absorbed in the actual crime. For those who remember it I would imagine the experience of reading this book would be all the more interesting. I enjoyed it, but had I been acquainted with the event before, I believe I would have enjoyed it more. I imagine that many of the players in the book represented real or referred to persons presumed to be involved, but again not knowing the original players and their involvement this aspect was not readily apparent. The Author also chose to run a parallel story about another criminal, which seemed to make the events even more improbable. This is a very brief book and the number of characters was a bit overwhelming.What is very clear is the condemnation the Author continually points out about the supposed privileged persons of England, and their absurd sense of their self and their place in the world. This is not tabloid nonsense rather a very biting commentary on how this man most likely was able to flee the scene, and how to this day he is seen as something other than a person who should be hung until quite dead. Even the next generation who affects being appalled at their previous generation's behavior really is in search of an interview with the criminal and not an arrest. Ms. Spark takes this to every level of the upper classes and involves the Church as well. These persons who act as though they live in the 18th Century is morbidly demonstrated by their suggesting the lower classes are likely to bleed more than their aristocratic counterparts.The suggested story is brought to an end that is a bit too neat and predictable. It is a sort of, turnabout is fair play, event and was not as satisfying as I wished it were. The book is well written by a woman who is in the 9th decade of her life and is still producing quality work far above most contemporary writers.

This is the first Spark novel that I have read, and it may well be the last, even though there are numerous Spark novels at my local library, and I can read them all without...

The chase for Lord Lucan was beyond unbelievable. It seems like everywhere they turned, Lucky appeared as if the story took place in the confines of Bermuda ...

Summary: Not a thriller, but a social comedy that skewers the English class system while examining the face of evil.

The high-brow farce of "Aiding and Abetting" revolves around two drawn-from-real-life criminals who both have "blood on their hands."

this comes from someone who knew nothing of the legend of lord lucan.. but still.. from the opening of the story i was intrigued by it.

Muriel Spark's novels have always been fabulous and Aiding and Abetting is certainly no exception. It is a fictional account of an actual murder suspect from Great Britain in the...

A mystery filled with wit, and based on the famous Lord Lucan case (a murderer who escaped, and to this day, no one knows if he's alive or dead).

I truly enjoyed this novella, with its tropes of double identity adding up to a delicious comedy. I also want to praise the writing (I cannot fathom how the commentator just below...