Book Review: "The Complete Short Stories" by Muriel Spark

I've read some Muriel Spark in my time. It's usually been The Driver's Seat and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. But, honestly I've been looking more into her work and someone suggested I read her short stories. I had been meaning to for a while but to be honest, the more I read the summary of the collection the less interested I became. And this is a lesson in why even if you read the summary, you should still be interested in finding your own perspective on the book. I actually quite enjoyed it. So, let's have a look at what was going on in there...

The story The Executioner follows the aftermath of the death of a poet, who, in a final act of control, leaves behind a manuscript designed to sabotage his literary executor. The plot unravels as the executor grapples with the poet’s instructions, which seem deliberately crafted to cause maximum professional embarrassment. Spark’s characteristic wit and dark humour are on full display as the executor realises he has become ensnared in the dead poet’s posthumous revenge. It's a great story which echoes the dark undertones found in Spark's The Driver's Seat but also has this strangely warped plot. This is perhaps one of the stories I enjoyed the most.

The story Bang-Bang, You're Dead explores the thin boundary between childhood imagination and real violence. A group of expatriate children in Africa play a game of make-believe, yet their mimicry of adult conflicts hints at something far darker lurking beneath their innocent façade. Spark expertly contrasts the colonial setting’s oppressive atmosphere with the carefree cruelty of childhood, leading to an unsettling climax that reinforces her theme of the deceptive nature of innocence. There are a lot of stories that feature the colonial backdrop and there are these shifty characters involved with odd morals. It reminds me of another story in the anthology I enjoyed called The Go-Away Bird. These two stories read with the open mind that Spark is clearly making fun of her white colonisers is something else entirely. It was just great fun to read.

In Miss Pinkerton's Apocalypse, a spinster schoolteacher becomes convinced that she has received a divine warning about an impending apocalypse. As she feverishly tries to spread the message, her obsession grows, and her warnings fall on deaf ears. Spark infuses the story with both humour and tragedy, exploring themes of delusion, loneliness, and the human desire for significance in the grand scheme of things. This really has The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie vibes with the spinster teacher being a bit obsessive and weird. However, it also ends on a weird note that I think you, who likes a strange ambiguous ending to think about, would enjoy.

In The Snobs a wealthy woman looks down upon a couple whom she perceives as socially inferior, only to discover that they have been subtly mocking her all along. The tables turn in a moment of sharp realisation, forcing her to confront her own misplaced arrogance. This brief yet incisive story exemplifies Spark’s ability to skewer social pretensions with biting irony. This is something very alike for Muriel Spark in which her female characters on a journey of self-discovery seem to lack any self-awareness until it is too late. I am a person who says that perhaps I am a main character in a Muriel Spark novel but with a twist of Stephen King. The Snobs is perhaps one of the most Muriel Spark stories I have ever read.

You Should Have Seen the Mess is a satirical story that follows a young woman whose obsession with order and cleanliness causes her to look down upon those around her. Her fixation on hygiene and moral purity blinds her to her own shortcomings, leading to an ironic twist where her pursuit of an ideal life results in a rather squalid fate. Spark’s sharp social commentary highlights the absurdities of rigid perfectionism. I think that this is one of Muriel Spark's most incredible tropes - making fun of the way in which society wants perfection from women and what kind of toll that takes on their health and wellbeing. It's an incredible irony.

All in all, there are many other stories in this anthology which I have enjoyed and many that are witty and strange. I highly recommend this to anyone seeking out new Muriel Spark stories and they've already read the key novels. I would also recommend this to those who are new to Muriel Spark. These short stories are really underrated.