Slacks for Ella Funt

When this came out a few years ago, the title made me assume that it was just another chic-lit thing. When the movie based on it came out, they used the book’s subtitle, Notes on a Scandal, as the movie title. It’s a much better title and a shame they didn’t use it as the title for the book, which deserves the better title. Heller’s novel is excellent, with a creepiness that reminds me of early Ian McEwan. The narrator, Barbara, is a stereotypical spinster school teacher, complete with aging cat. When Sheba, a young, attractive teacher arrives at the school, Barbara wants her friendship. When Sheba has an affair with a teenage student, Barbara seizes the opportunity to become part of and eventually control all of Sheba’s life.

As a fictional invention, Barbara is one of the most interesting unreliable narrators I’ve encountered. A nasty, bitter person, she describes most of the other characters with contempt, so that it’s not always clear what they’re really like. Furthermore, her description of herself is often completely opposite from how the outside world clearly sees her. Despite her pitifulness, she’s egomaniacal, with no understanding of how she is perceived.