A brilliant and singularly gruesome achievement.

This funny and macabre book has delighted me as much as any novel that I have read since the war.

Acidly funny: a marvelously crafted, tautly written novel.

Her best, I think, is Memento Mori, which is chillingly brilliant.

Spark’s greatest achievement.

A jewel of a book.

There is a Waugh-like brilliance to Memento Mori, in the easy economical narrative, the continuous invention producing a series of surprises, the well-cut dialogue, the controlled tone. This last is the most remarkable of Miss Spark’s achievements. Nothing is forced, least of all the humor.