Customer Reviews
second reading even better than the first - By: Tru, 02 Jun 2006 
This slim novel contains a simple yet mesmerising story. I picked it back off my shelf after reading Muriel Sparks obituary - what an amazing life & writer. I remember loving this book the first time round - how you get to explore 1950's london with the 'looks can be deceiving' Mrs Hawkins, you find your self in the parks & old pre-renovated buildings surrounded by well spun characters. Mrs Hawkins is a wise & wry voice within, she can see right through the pretense & ever so nicely puts bad behaviour in its place - she is your classic reason for never judging a book by its cover. On finishing this beloved book for the second time (8 years after the first) I posted it to my friend in Australia, a writer who will once again walk the streets of London in Sparks evocative little piece of perfection.
No half portions here - read in full - By: Amanda Richards, 11 Jul 2004 
This is one of those books that cannot described in a nutshell. If you had to hazard a guess at a description, you'd have to place it firmly in the comedy/ tragedy/ drama/ mystery/ romance section, or simply file it under Spark: Muriel in the Classics section.
Narrated by the once round & central character, Agnes Hawkins (a.k.a. Mrs. Hawkins or Nancy), the story revolves around her experiences as a young widow living in furnished rooms in a semi-detached building in South Kensington. She colorfully describes her neighbors & acquaintances, & gives us tantalizing glimpses into their little secret worlds, in which she is a trustee & confidante.
Despite the mysterious black boxes & the lurking threat of enemies, known & unknown, our heroine manages to keep her head above water, remains a pillar of strength & finds true love among the rubble. Thanks to her diet plan (freely given to the reader as a bonus for purchasing the book), she gains new self-respect, & reinvents herself in a new country, a far cry from her humble beginnings.
A simple classic by an inspired writer.
^AR
One of Spark's best novels - witty, dark, totally credible - By: siobhan.rhodes@enterpriseig.com, 08 Mar 2001 Muriel Spark's prose is colourful & precise, & in 'A Far Cry From Kensington', she marries an engaging plot with a razor-sharp observational style. The utterly credible character of Mrs. Hawkins guides us through Milly's boarding house with a refreshingly high degree of common sense, enabling the reader to become utterly embroiled in the mystery of Wanda's persecutor. The dialogue is so highly charged that you may find yourself re-reading chapters again & again, just in case you have missed a vital clue to the identity of the blackmailer.
