{"product_id":"like-a-cat-loves-a-bird-9780691290171","title":"Like a Cat Loves a Bird","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“A deeply stylish, astute, and illuminating portrait of a fascinating writer.”—Francesca Wade, author of \u003ci\u003eGertrude Stein: An Afterlife\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA spiky and delicious new literary portrait of the great twentieth-century British author of beloved novels such as \u003ci\u003eThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Girls of Slender Means\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“She was, if you believe what you read in the papers: a genius, a survivor, a bad mother, a fickle friend, a closeted lesbian, a tyrant, a loner, an eccentric, a recluse, a gossip, and an arch-manipulator. She would politely encourage you not to believe what you read in the papers.”—from \u003ci\u003eLike a Cat Loves a Bird\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMuriel Spark (1918–2006) was one of literature’s great shapeshifters. That mercurial quality is found in her strange, brilliant, cruel novels—with their plots featuring a cast of elderly characters receiving telephone calls from Death, the devil going clubbing in Peckham, and a fascist schoolmistress leading her coterie of girls astray—but it is also true of her as a person. As sly, nimble, and elegant as Spark’s own work, \u003ci\u003eLike a Cat Loves a Bird\u003c\/i\u003e offers a thrilling new perspective on a remarkable life and career that spanned much of the twentieth century.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom Spark’s childhood in Edinburgh to her final years in Tuscany—via South Africa, London, New York, and Rome—James Bailey traces a light-footed journey around the world and through the novelist’s strange and magnificent books. The result is an irresistible story of transformation, wit, and fierce determination—and a passionate case for this vital modern artist.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"James Bailey","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43489189199990,"sku":"9780691290171","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0671\/1374\/6550\/files\/CoreSourceHub_8e8a07a8-44f8-4bc6-85c9-5303601d0e9d.jpg?v=1780867231","url":"https:\/\/ingramacademic.com\/products\/like-a-cat-loves-a-bird-9780691290171","provider":"Ingram Academic \u0026 Professional","version":"1.0","type":"link"}