A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon the film adaptation for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and since the synopsis intrigued me, of course I had to read the book before I could see it. This is one of those books that you always see included in ‘best books’ lists and lit class curriculum. I’d managed to go through life so far without reading it, but I found a used copy and so was able to remedy that. It’s the story of Jean Brodie, a single woman in her early forties, who teaches at a private Edinburgh school in the early 1930s. She is singular in her approach to teaching, and to life, and cultivates a select group of girls to be her ‘Brodie set’ while at the same time alienating her fellow teachers and particularly, the school administrators. We know from early on that Brodie was betrayed by one of her own and forced to retire from teaching – what we learn as the book goes along is who, how and why. At a mere 160 pages, Sparks packs a lot into her concise prose, but at times, I did wish for more details. It seems the author purposefully leaves much to the readers’ imaginations, and even in its brevity, would provoke a good deal of discussion for a reading group of classroom. So ultimately, I’m glad I read it, and I think I will hold onto it for a few years, and see if/how my perspective changes once I reach my own ‘prime.’