by Muriel Spark
First published 1970
Lise, an ordinary office worker, abruptly abandons her routine and boards a plane to an unknown destination. As she settles between two men, one delighted, the other disturbed, her transformation into a girlish persona unsettles those around her. This unnerving journey into the recesses of human nature confronts the reader with unsettling questions about identity, desire, and the fragility of the self.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Italy
107 pages · Paperback · New Directions