#13 Notes on a Scandal, by Zoe Heller

 



Booker Prize: Shortlisted 2003

Plot Time and Place: Present day England

Opening sentence:  "The other night, at dinner, Sheba talked about the first time that she and the Connolly boy kissed."

Plot summary: The narrator, Barbara Covett, is telling us this story with a clear aim in mind: she is in the middle of a national scandal and, without confiding her plans to the woman on whose actions this scandal has turned, plans to publish this account for the public eye later.

Barbara is a History teacher. She is a lonely old woman and very judgemental. Her co-worker, Sheba, is a 40-something-year-old Pottery teacher who is having an affair with a 16-year-old male student.  

Review:  Very good psychological portrait of the inner life and motivations of a lonely and unhappy person. In the end you don't know if you hate the villain or feel sorry for her. 

Rating:  4/5

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