Customer Reviews

Notes on a Scandal: What Was She Thinking?: A Novel

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
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In this story with a first-person narrator (Barbara) recounting the scandal her friend (Sheba) has gotten herself into, I disagree with the reviewers who accepted the narrator's point of view at face value. I think Barbara's account of the scandal is deeply unreliable, even when she reports her own messy part in the story. But that's one of the exciting factors in reading this swiftly moving story, trying to figure out what actually happened versus Barbara's narrative of what happened. As for the very open-ended last page, it may be frustrating for those who like their ends all neatly tied up (and it's quite different from the movie), but it does leave the reader wondering whether Barbara really has everything as under control as she thinks she does.

I ordered this book on the basis of its award nomination, having no idea of its subject matter. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, and it won't be for those who like murder mysteries or thrillers - but I liked it from the beginning and by the end, I loved it. Zoe Heller has a real talent for character development, and manages to portray the self-denied loneliness of a sixty-something spinster/schoolteacher in a sensitive and non-condescending manner yet with a good deal of tragic humour as well. I must have completed two-thirds of the book before I realised that the central character wasn't the woman at the heart of the scandal, but her note-maker and grateful friend who tells the story itself. The personalities of both women are artfully and painstakingly developed, along with their working colleagues and families, and for this reason I strongly recommend Notes on a Scandal as an education for other writers on how to tell a story with characters who readers can totally believe in. An astute observation on the trials and tribulations of the lonely, this book deserves its prize nomination and gets my strong recommendation.

"Notes on a Scandal" tells the story of two slightly with completely skewed and slightly perverse world views. One obsessively justifies her love affair with a fifteen year old, and the other chronicles her betrayal of her best friend without realizing its implications. It was very dark, but not totally disturbing. While I certainly cannot empathize with starting an affair with a highschooler, I enjoyed reading about Sheba's twisted mindset, and seeing her from her own point of view. Meanwhile, I actually developed more animosity for the narrator, Barbara, because of her parasitic friendship. At one point she says;

"There are certain people in whom you can detect the seeds of madness--seeds that have remained dormant only because the people in question have lived relatively comfortable, middle-class lives. They function perfectly well in the world, but you can imagine, given a nasty parent, or a prolonged bout of unemployment, how their potential for craziness might have been realised--how their seeds might have sprouted little green shoots of weirdness, or even, with the right sort of antinurture, blossomed into full-blown lunacy."

I love that, because she has no idea she is perfectly defining herself. This book is fantastic; I very much enjoyed it. It is an interesting story well told, in which you're hearing from one voice, but seeing the story in a totally different light. I enjoyed the ending, which differed slightly from the movie. It really left me wondering.

This is simply a delicious book. It looks deep into the human heart, and what it discovers will keep the reader turning its pages. The narrator of the story is Barbara Covett, an unmarried school teacher in her sixties, the type who has never married, is set in her ways and opinions, and lives with her cat, to which she is devoted. She has a waspish, intense personality and is a highly intelligent, no nonsense sort of person who does not suffer fools gladly. She teaches at St. George's comprehensive school in London.

When a married pottery teacher with the improbable name of Bathsheba Hart joins the faculty, Barbara's interest is peaked by this seemingly fey, wispy and elegantly lean woman with a penchant for bohemian style clothing. Sheba (as she likes to be called) is as attractive as Barbara is unattractive. Sheba is also, as all soon discover, an ineffectual teacher unable to maintain discipline in her classroom. Still, with her posh accent, easy and relaxed, pleasant personality, she soon becomes a person of interest to those around her, including some of her students.

In fact, just as Sheba and Barbara start to become friends, Sheba is also embarking upon another relationship, one that is illicit, as it is with one of her students, fifteen year old Steven Connolly. It is, however, through Barbara's eyes that the affair unfolds, and in painting a picture of the events, she is, at the same time, painting a psychological portrait of both herself and Sheba, revealing the obsessive symbiosis that binds this unlikely pair in erstwhile friendship.

The author has created a masterful, exceedingly well-written novel, one that is thematically rich and complex. The author does this with a deft touch, as well as with humor. The characters are vividly drawn and the book is well-plotted, making for an immensely readable novel that the reader will find difficult to put down until the very last page is turned. Bravo!

Zoe Heller's first person narrative is simply the best of its kind. A smooth, richly textured, compelling read. Not since Michael Chabon's 'Wonder Boys' has there been such a highly entertaining and genuinely engrossing literary novel. Heller's command of the English language is unparalleled.

This is definitely one of the best contemporary novels I've read in recent years. The quality of writing is remarkable and the subject matter is truly fascinating (at least to me).

"Notes on a Scandal" depicts a story of an affair between Sheba - a 40-year old married school teacher and her 15-year old student Steven as seen through the eyes of Sheba's elderly fellow teacher Barbara. Zoe Heller offers a fascinating perspective on such a relationship, where the victim (in legal sense) initiates and controls this illicit affair. But the brilliance of this novel is that while this is Sheba's very personal story, it reveals more about Barbara's dark personality than it does about Sheba herself.

In a few words, this is an unforgettable tale of loneliness, dependence, and obsession.

Not recommended to squeamish and those who are looking for a light entertaining read.

I have to say that I loved the movie and that's what spurred me to read the book. Well, the book was better, if that's even possible, as the actors in the movie played the charcaters so well that you started to beleive they were the characters. Anyway, Zoe Heller is an excellent writer and she weaves this fantastic tale that you can't take your eyes off of. I can't wait to read her latest book, The Believers: A Novel, after this one, as it was so good.

I saw the film two weeks ago and learned that it was an adaptation of this novel. The film was so good that I really had to read the book because the book usually has more insight into the characters. But this was not the case with this novel. The novel was good but left you with a feeling of incompleteness. The ending had to many dangling ends. The book did do a better job of defining Sheba than the film did and the novel was really much different in content that to see the film and to read the book are two different experiences. So, if you saw the film, by all means read this book.

Barbara Lovett, the first-person narrator of NOTES ON A SCANDAL, clearly has her own ideas about what constitutes friendship and good advice. In this novel where nobody comes off particularly well, she is someone who portrays herself as a good person, but reveals obsession and mean spirit that boggles the mind. For those who are fans of the film of the same name, this story differs in some respects. Both book and movie are entertaining and taut; they are just somewhat different.

Barbara befriends Sheba Hart, a new teacher at her school. Sheba makes some alarming choices in her personal life, and Barbara "helps" in ways that remind most of us of the adage "with friends like these...." The story gave me a great deal to think about. Even as I laughed at some of the text, I cringed at myself for doing so. The humor is as black as a moonless night and sometimes just as creepy.

Zoe Heller's writing is sharp, to the point and brilliantly acute. I would hate to see her turn that sharpened pen in me, but I love seeing her use it on society in general.

I saw the movie first, unfortunately. It's a great movie, but the book is so much more challenging and subtle, and I had some trouble getting Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett out of my mind when reading. They were great in the film of course, but Heller's characters are both weaker and because of that more interesting. Barbara, the narrator, is more deeply lonely and experiences more conflict in her relationship with Sheba, and the erotic aspects of her feelings are more successfully repressed than in the film. Sheba herself emerges as a victim of a kind of abuse, even at the hands of her 15-year-old lover, who is quite rough in a believably adolescent way. This is a beautifully crafted novel about romantic obsession. It also raises political and philosophical questions about our culture's attitudes about sex. Hard to put down or to stop thinking about after it's finished.