This is a moderated subreddit. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage in-depth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. If you're looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our Weekly Recommendation Thread, Suggested Reading page, or ask in r/suggestmeabook.
How much of Barbara‘s version of events do you trust? Obviously at the end Sheba discovers her manuscript and confronts her, with a ton of anger but also incredulity. She basically says Barbara is delusional, jealous and insane.
And while I definitely think Barbara has hang ups and jealousies that would obviously colour her version of events, I’m still inclined to accept most of what she’s saying is accurate. Sheba is shown to be quite childish and delusional herself. Plus I feel like people like Barbara, who have very empty lives of their own, do actually tend to be quite shrewd and accurate observers of the goings on around them.
But of course both of those impressions have been formed off the back of what Barbara has written. Oh the joys of the unreliable narrator! I’m curious to hear the opinions of others who have read the book. Is Barbara a weird bitter woman spinning a tale, is Sheba just in denial, or do you think the ‘truth’ lies somewhere in between?
Sort by:
Best
Open comment sort options
Best
Top
New
Controversial
Old
Q&A
![r/100yearsago - [July 7, 1920] Warren G. Harding gives his first speech as Republican candidate for president, from his front porch to a crowd of Marion, Ohio residents. He says “government needs a return to normality, rather than a one-man government ruled by a super man.”](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/OUtPa5CpNBqXIBpy1P47G2GxXqvN5rCfsEn5ShE7riw.jpg)
I could definitely see it. The scene that never made any sense to me was when that teacher Brian showed up at Barbara's to ask her if she thought he had a chance with Sheba. Why would he do that, knowing that Sheba was a married mother of two? Why would he ask Barbara? Yes, she and Sheba were friends, but nobody else at the school wanted anything to do with Barbara. It just seems unlikely, so it would be plausible that Barbara was an unreliable narrator. Barbara would want to be seen as the gatekeeper to Sheba's relationships.
I’d always found that bizarre too given that she’s married, and he and Barbara have never really spoken before this. That’s a really good point, I’d never thought that this could be Barbara completely twisting the story around.
That's a good question! Having finished the book, I thought that, despite not believing Barbara's every word, the core of the story was true. And I thought Sheba deserved to end up in Barbara's claws for the abuse she'd done. The movie adaptation makes Barbara the main villain, though, and portrays Sheba as a victim despite not denying the abuse. I was puzzled by that.
This is my feeling too. And yessss, I hated the movie for this exact reason. It’s a shame cus it was excellent casting, but why did they make Barbara such a one note OTT villain! I also felt the male characters in the story all get very flattering portrayals too which annoyed me.
The husband (forgot this character's name) didn't deserve to be portrayed by Bill Nighy. And they were doing the "evil lesbian" trope. I feel like the movie adaptation today would be very different lol but I also think it'd generate discourse (derogatory), so I don't know if I want it)
In the movie, at the scene where Sheba confronts Barbara, Sheba blames Barb for putting her in prison and taking her family from her.
And when IMDB message boards were around, many people saw Barb as the villian.
But Barbara wasn't the one screwing a student. If Barbara had done was she was supposed to do by reporting this immediately... how would the consequences for Sheba be any different?
Sheba had an affair with an underage student. Every consequence of that is of her own making. So how did Barbara become the bad guy? Because Sheba was using Barbara to keep her secret as much as Barbara was using her. There are no victims here.
Yes, it's like they thought abusing a minor isn't that big of a deal.
I think Judi Dench played Barbara so well, people felt that hatred strongly for the character. Plus barb was blackmailing Sheba with what she knew. That didn't help.