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Not to Disturb

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In this brutally satiric little novella, the "downstairs" servants of the aristocratic Klopstocks, living in Switzerland, know they will not be spending another day with the Klopstocks--at least not a day in which the Klopstocks are alive. The Baron and the Baroness will be meeting in the library that evening with Victor Passerat, someone with whom the Baroness is passionately in love but who is himself passionately in love with the Baron. Posting a "Not to Disturb" sign on the door, the triangle of lovers meets, determined to settle their issues, but these can be settled only one way--with gunshots. Convinced that death will be the result of the meeting, the servants are already referring to the Klopstocks in the past tense, and they have planned every aspect of their evening so that nothing will interrupt the flow of the expected crime.

Though the Klopstocks are "obsessed with sex," the "downstairs" inhabitants, are also not immune from this allegation, however more circumspect they may be. Heloise, the pregnant maid, has had so many lovers, she has no idea who is the father of her baby. Lister wants to marry his aunt; Sister Barton, the nursemaid for the Klopstocks' mentally challenged son, wants to marry her charge, though he throws dangerous tantrums, destroys furnishings, and has to be kept in the attic. They will all, however, be able to do what they want after the Klopstocks are dead. They have separately signed contracts to give their stories to various news outlets for large fees, and they have numbered accounts in the Swiss Trust Corporate, which will make them wealthy beyond their dreams.

Scottish author Muriel Spark is wicked in her satire of the aristocracy's sexual dalliances, their "appropriate" marriages permitting affairs with whomever they choose and as often as they choose. But she aims her mockery beyond them. She also satirizes the desire of witnesses to events to land big contracts (those from English language venues are the most prized), and the eagerness of the media to grant them--even when the "witnesses" have yet to witness anything at all. Several of the servants pose for photos in advance of the crime. Later interviews lead the well-prepared servants to expound with literary quotations borrowed from famous authors.

With vivid and hilariously dark dialogue, the novella becomes as much a riotous farce as it is a comedy of manners with the roles reversed. Spark keeps the actions and the interactions moving non-stop, her use of absurdity, suggestion, and gallows humor at their peak, and the one-liners coming fast and furiously. Spark's novella is word-perfect, her sense of irony honed to stiletto sharpness. Out of print in the US since its first publication in 1971, NOT TO DISTURB has just been released in a new edition, which will be celebrated by Spark's long-time fans and those newcomers who will joyously discover Spark for the first time. Mary Whipple

Imagine a manor house near Geneva. Locked behind their library doors are the Baron and Baroness and their secretary. Meanwhile, downstairs, the servants wait, planning for what they already know will be a tragedy. For their employers, that is. For them it will bring a very big fortune.

Weird enough?

"They haunt the house," says Lister, "like insubstantial bodies, while still alive. I think we have a long wait in front of us." He takes his place at the head of the table. "He said on no account to disturb them. Not to be disturbed, Lister." You should have seen the look on her face. My mind floats about, catching at phantoms and I think of the look on her face. I am bound to ventilate this impression or I won't digest my supper."

Two words: creepy and creepier.

A strange, dark book with a gothic influence. Recommended for those who don't mind feeling discomfort, and uncertainty in their fiction.