Blog this item

Notes on a Scandal

What Was She Thinking?: A Novel

By Zoe Heller

(57)

| Paperback | 9780312426095

Like Notes on a Scandal?
Join aNobii to see if your friends read it, and discover similar books!

Book Description

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize and now a major motion picture from Fox Searchlight starring Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench

Schoolteacher Barbara Covett has led a solitary life until Sheba Hart, the new art teacher at St. George's, befriends her. But even as their relationship develops, so Continue

Critics

Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller

Barbara has been teaching at St George's for several years, and in spite of her caustic words on the institution, it is very much the focus of her lonely life. When newcomer, Sheba joins them, she forms a strong bond with her, and becomes part of She ... (read full critics)

thebookbag published on Sat, 13 Aug 2011

'Notes on a Scandal' by Zoe Heller

This is a cracking read. I devoured this book in one sitting and loved every minute of it. Essentially it's two intertwined stories about two very different relationships: the secret and scandalous love affair between a teacher, Sheba, and her 15-yea ... (read full critics)

readingmatters published on Mon, 27 Sep 2010

See all critics

8 Reviews

1 person find this helpful

A STORY OF MORBID FRIENDSHIP

Two teachers become friends at school, where they both teach. One, Barbara, is in her sixties and a very experienced teacher, but a lonely spinster. The other, Sheba, is a younger married woman, who ends up in an affair with one of her fifteen-year old students. At a certain point, the affair is dis ... (continue)

Two teachers become friends at school, where they both teach. One, Barbara, is in her sixties and a very experienced teacher, but a lonely spinster. The other, Sheba, is a younger married woman, who ends up in an affair with one of her fifteen-year old students. At a certain point, the affair is discovered and a scandal breaks out. The two women find themselves inextricably linked in what appears to be a morbid and possessive friendship.
The description of the psychological side of the two characters is remarkably well described. The plot is interesting. It is not a masterpiece, but a good book and I would recommend it.

Is this helpful?

Halfcrash said on Jun 11, 2008 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

A very good description of the thoughts of a desperately lonely aged woman. You may sympathize her for her loneliness but her behavior makes it kinda impossible to love her.

Is this helpful?

Oldwave said on Jul 12, 2007 | Add your feedback

"We are bound by the secrets we share."

Notes on a Scandal Quotes
Notes on a Scandal Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller
3,747 ratings, 3.57 average rating, 583 reviews
buy a copy
See if your friends have read Notes on a Scandal.
sign up »
Notes on a Scandal Quotes (showing 1-11 of 11)
"Being alone is not the most awful thing in the world ... (continue)

Notes on a Scandal Quotes
Notes on a Scandal Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller
3,747 ratings, 3.57 average rating, 583 reviews
buy a copy
See if your friends have read Notes on a Scandal.
sign up »
Notes on a Scandal Quotes (showing 1-11 of 11)
"Being alone is not the most awful thing in the world. You visit your museums and cultivate your interests and remind yourself how lucky you are not to be one of those spindly Sudanese children with flies beading their mouths. You make out To Do lists - reorganise linen cupboard, learn two sonnets. You dole out little treats to yourself - slices of ice-cream cake, concerts at Wigmore Hall. And then, every once in a while, you wake up and gaze out of the window at another bloody daybreak, and think, I cannot do this anymore. I cannot pull myself together again and spend the next fifteen hours of wakefulness fending off the fact of my own misery.
People like Sheba think that they know what it's like to be lonely. They cast their minds back to the time they broke up with a boyfriend in 1975 and endured a whole month before meeting someone new. Or the week they spent in a Bavarian steel town when they were fifteen years old, visiting their greasy-haired German pen pal and discovering that her hand-writing was the best thing about her. But about the drip drip of long-haul, no-end-in-sight solitude, they know nothing. They don't know what it is to construct an entire weekend around a visit to the laundrette. Or to sit in a darkened flat on Halloween night, because you can't bear to expose your bleak evening to a crowd of jeering trick-or-treaters. Or to have the librarian smile pityingly and say, ‘Goodness, you're a quick reader!’ when you bring back seven books, read from cover to cover, a week after taking them out. They don't know what it is to be so chronically untouched that the accidental brush of a bus conductor's hand on your shoulder sends a jolt of longing straight to your groin. I have sat on park benches and trains and schoolroom chairs, feeling the great store of unused, objectless love sitting in my belly like a stone until I was sure I would cry out and fall, flailing, to the ground. About all of this, Sheba and her like have no clue."
Extract from the book.

Is this helpful?

Claire*VivaLaVida. said on Aug 12, 2011 | Add your feedback

Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller

It is never a good idea to watch the film version before reading the book, however I felt in this case this was an exception. The 2006 film starred Judy Dench, one of my favourite actresses, and Cate Blanchett, who both fit remarkably well with the characters described in the book.
The story is pro ... (continue)

It is never a good idea to watch the film version before reading the book, however I felt in this case this was an exception. The 2006 film starred Judy Dench, one of my favourite actresses, and Cate Blanchett, who both fit remarkably well with the characters described in the book.
The story is probably very well known by now and it describes the relationship between two teachers: the sixty-something, single Barbara Covett and the forty-something pretty and naïve Sheba Hart, who has an affair with one of her pupils that is subsequently exposed.
The story is narrated by Barbara in the form of a recollection and diary, and it manages to give Sheba's point of view throughout their friendship remarkably well. Through Barbara, who comes across as manipulative, selfish and haughty, as well as painfully lonely, we learn of the trials and tribulations in Sheba's mind which have led to the affair and its consequences.
I was astounded at how deeply and clearly the author communicated the complexity of both characters and their motivations: Barbara's excruciating solitude and Sheba's lack of assertiveness which leads to terrible consequences. I felt outraged at Barbara's behaviour and at the same time extremely sorry for her loneliness, and found myself debating whether it would explain, if not justify, her actions.
Barbara is painfully critical of anything and anyone which doesn't conform to her own sky-high standards, but this is her own justification for being alone. She doesn't seem to have any friends except for Sheba, and we are told of a previous friendship that ended up badly. Indeed, we can see why: Barbara sees friendships as exclusive, all-encompassing and overwhelming, not leaving anything for the other person to choose for herself without risking the scorn of Barbara herself if the choice is not to her liking.
I also felt outraged at Sheba's behaviour, who felt to me like she was letting her life and her actions being led by chance and by anyone who expressed an interest in her or what she was doing; at the same time I couldn't help but feel sorry for her and what was happening to her, which indeed was more than sufficient punishment for just lack of assertiveness.
Although there aren't many twists and turns in the plot because of the nature of the story, the narration is extremely absorbing and the rhythm comparable to a psychological thriller. I would recommend this book wholeheartedly as one of the best novels I've read in the last few years.

Is this helpful?

Ilaria Meliconi said on Mar 14, 2011 | Add your feedback

Disturbing madness.

I started reading this book with a sense of annoyance. And during the two days it took me to finish it, it grew turning into an even stronger annoyance or better a mix of disgust and anger. The story is really good though. It's a diary. The diary of an old spinster with a control-freak syndrome and ... (continue)

I started reading this book with a sense of annoyance. And during the two days it took me to finish it, it grew turning into an even stronger annoyance or better a mix of disgust and anger. The story is really good though. It's a diary. The diary of an old spinster with a control-freak syndrome and a sick and ambiguous view of friendship, who writes about her female thrityfive-year-old colleague starting a relationship with a seventeen-year-old pupil. It's not as simple as that though. The book enters the two characters' psychology slowly uncovering their perversion and weakness. In the end the reader struggles to identify the craziest one between these two women. At first I found it easier to sympathize with the younger one, the one leading a "boring" family life and seeking for some "fun" or, better, a jump back in time to feel young again. But when she starts behaving like a stupid teenager endangering not only her life but also her family's stability, I began loathing her for her naivety and carelessness. On the other hand, though I shortly sympathized with the older character's loneliness, I couldn't help feeling disgusted and annoyed by her attitude. When the illegal relationship is discovered, the troubles start. Families are destroyed, newspapers are disgustingly profiting of the situation, people reproachfully point their fingers and the public eye is shocked! The old spinster manipulates the young sinner into thinking that she is her only remaining friend. Even when the latter realizes she's been lied to and manipulated, her loneliness and grief will not pull her away from this unhealthy friendship/relationship. In short it's the story of two really insane women written so good that you feel addicted to it till the last page.

Is this helpful?

Katia Guido said on Oct 17, 2010 | Add your feedback

What a skilful use of the first person narrator!
The story would be quite unremarkable, if it wasn't told in Barbara's peculiar voice.
A very impressive first novel.

Is this helpful?

Ficie said on Jul 5, 2010 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback