The Girls Of Slender Means

"Long ago in 1945 all the nice people in England were poor, allowing for exceptions...at least that was the general axiom, the best of the rich being poor in spirit."So begins Muriel Spark's 'The Girls of Slender Means', a story focusing on the young ladies who reside at the May of Teck Club in London, a club which has been set up for "the pecuniary convenience and social protection of Ladies of Slender Means below the age of thirty." Among the girls living at the club we meet Jane, a rather overweight young woman who works for a publisher and who explains to anyone who will listen that her appetite is large because she needs the fuel for her "brain work". Then there is Joanna, the daughter of a country vicar, who gives elocution lessons and whose dulcet tones can be heard echoing along the corridors, and there is the beautiful Selina, who intends to do her best to ignore the deprivations of the war and to enjoy herself whilst she can. In fact most of the ladies at the May of Teck Club do their best to enjoy themselves, such as going out dancing and taking turns to wear a beautiful Schiaparelli dress given to one of the girls by a rich relative, and trying to avoid the rules of the club (which, of course, means no men in their rooms and no coming home late at night) - rules that are circumvented by the more slender of the girls, who manage to slip through the tiny bathroom window and onto the roof, where at least one of them escapes to sleep with a lover. There is more, of course, but this is a very slim novel so I shall reveal nothing further in order to avoid spoiling the story for those who have yet to read it.Set in a tired and bomb-damaged London at the end of the Second World War, and presented to the reader in the form of a series of short, non-chronological scenes, this lucid and wittily written novel is a strange little story that although has its amusing aspects to it, is also one that gives the reader a mounting sense of unease and an unsettling feeling that something is about to happen that is not amusing at all - which, of course, is just what does happen - but again, to discuss this further would mean revealing spoilers, so I shall say no more other than to comment that I listened to the audio version which is deftly narrated by the talented Juliet Stevenson.4 Stars.

Any reader who has already been bitten with the Muriel Spark bug but has not got around to this story should embrace it eagerly. I’d call it one of her best (I have never yet read a bad one by her), but it probably needs some appreciation on the reader’s part of the atmosphere of England immediately after the war. Myself, I am not quite old enough to recall 1945 with any clarity, but come to that Dickens is before my time too. A little historical background goes a long way, and novelists of the calibre of Dickens or Spark will do the rest for us.Dame Muriel is very good at first pages, and the first page here is as good as any, easing the reader into the general scene and the particular atmosphere of middle-class young women improvising their lives in a house of multiple occupancy that has itself seen better days. The cast is fairly large for a short novel, but the effect created is of a kind of kaleidoscope, with the vivacious young things, plus a few who are not so young, flashing in and out of the narrative. There may or may not be a central character, and if there is it is presumably Jane, the first character named. One does not go to Muriel Spark for moral lessons, but this time she stays neutral – they do what they do because that is who they are. Conspicuously absent are the real rotters we find in some of her other novels, such as Patrick Seton or Father Socket in The Bachelors.One or two other standard Spark personae are given a rest this time. There are no Catholics for instance, unless one counts the young missionary, which I don’t. There are no Scots either, only one middle-aged spinster with a Scottish name. In particular there is a complete absence of the irrational, such as Mrs Hogg in The Comforters disappearing when alone because she has no private life. The author does not even tease us this time with inconclusive hints like the vague suggestions of a diabolic theme in The Ballad of Peckham Rye, much less go totally overboard into irrationality as she does in The Hothouse by the East River.The time-perspective flits around a bit, and that is certainly a Spark mannerism. However what I find very special here is the way the story bursts into abrupt action towards the end. It would be wrong to be specific about that in a review, and wrong in a different way because of the totally chance coincidence between my reading this book and a ghastly recent tragedy in London. The colours of the Spark kaleidoscope flare up threateningly, but the author stays in control, and there is maybe even a touch of rather uncharacteristic humanity this time.So, do I ‘recommend’ this novel? To tell the truth, I don’t know. I think it is rather marvellous, as I usually find Muriel Spark, but she may or may not be your cup of tea.

A lovely story brilliantly told.

This charming novella very much seems like The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie's older, darker, more experienced sister. This book set in the tail end of the second world war, follows a group of young men staying at a hostel in London for young poor girls who work in the city.As with other Muriel Spark's the humour is sharp, the characters well formed and the dialogue instantly quotable and charming, however for some reason I don't really know why I didn't enjoy this book as much as The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.This book starts as we follow individual women and seperate plots but weaves together to create a mystery. As this book is very easy to read in that it has short chapters and even though it skips back and forth in time it is very easy to keep up.

I enjoyed this rather a lot, though most of my book group was pretty negative, and very judgmental. It’s only my second Novel by this author, and I enjoy the quirkiness. To me, the criticisms, mostly it seemed on allegedly feminist grounds, ignored the period the book was set in and the many sly digs made by the author. It’s a slender work, quick and easy to read, and worth it.

This is a classic novel, and enjoyable, but quite a slender work, too. The story is told well, but for the early pages especially there isn't much to it. However, there's a twist in the narrative, and it brings the book to life. Perhaps it is a book of its time and probably ground-breaking in describing the freer life of young women just after World War II.On the other hand, maybe it is admirable as a novella with sparse language to portray the life of women trying to live liberated lives twenty years before the sexual revolution of the 1960s?if taken on these terms, it is a little polished piece.