Published in
Feb 19, 2021
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BOOKS I READ: The Public Image (1968) by Muriel Spark. Annabel Christopher, a movie star living in Rome, nurtures her English Tiger-Lady public image. Her husband’s suicide, if not properly contextualized, is poised to mar her public image, permanently, if his suicide notes get out.
The dark energy lurking in Spark’s book recalls the public gaze that props up today’s influencers of the social media age, and the outrage that sinks them.
Tidbit: after reading the book, I learned that Johnny Lydon/Rotten named Public Image Ltd, his band after the Sex Pistols, after Spark’s book.
NB: trying out Medium’s shortform posts to chain my recent reads. Follow the chain; go to previous book:
