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13 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
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4.1 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Deftly Witty Portrait of Post War London, March 29, 2000

By

Tom O'Leary "Writer" (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Girls of Slender Means (New Directions Classic) (Paperback)

This is one of Muriel Spark's most deftly written novels, right up there with her best: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Comforters. The writing here glimmers with wit and polish. It is as if the smartiest, wittiest, greatest storyteller in your life were telling this to you over the best dinner of your life in a cafe in Nice; you've gone through two bottles of wine, the candles are dying and the staff is dying to go home---but you must hear the story to the end! And when you do, you smile all over. You are thrilled to have been told this devilish tale.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book on London at the end of WWII., January 16, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Girls Slender Meanspa (Mass Market Paperback)

This has got to be one of the best novels ever, and practically anything pertaining to the mid- to late-20th century worth writing about is here. The consistent wit is a usual for Spark, but the warmth and even familiarity she shows for her (and with her) characters is rare. And just because it's not the size of War and Peace doesn't mean it lacks depth, meaning, power or insight into human nature. It has all that, and Dame Spark did it with elegance and style. Read it

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Little Confusing, June 6, 2004

By

twinterste (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Girls of Slender Means (New Directions Classic) (Paperback)

Don't get me wrong this was a good book but I got confused with all the characters. It kind of jumped around from person to person and from the past to the present. It was interesting reading about the stories of each of the girls. It didn't really seem to follow a story line. The story finally began to come together at the great ending then just kind of stopped. Not the best book I've ever read but its worth reading anyway.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Frustrating
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie made such a tremendous impression on me that I thought I might have found a new favourite author. No such luck. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Paula E. David

5.0 out of 5 stars The Girls of Slender Means
"The Girls of Slender Means" is probably not as entertaining as "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", but for some it is Muriel Spark's most brilliant piece of work. Read more

Published on October 22, 2009 by Linette BRUNO

4.0 out of 5 stars When all the nice people were poor, allowing exceptions...What a good story!
There are a number of girls living at the May of Teck (a dormitory style housing for young well bred women) between the time of VE Day in May of 1945 and VJ day in August of 1945... Read more

Published on December 5, 2008 by Delaney

5.0 out of 5 stars AN A-LIST VOICE PERFORMANCE
Nadia May is an A-list voice performer. Her voice, while distinctly feminine, is supple yet strong, rich with some 25 years of audiobook narration experience. Read more

Published on October 12, 2008 by Gail Cooke

4.0 out of 5 stars "Long ago in 1945 all the nice people were poor, allowing for exceptions."
The "Girls of Slender Means" are single young working women, nearly all under the age of thirty, at the May of Teck Club in London. Read more

Published on July 27, 2008 by K. Huff

2.0 out of 5 stars The body has a life of its own.
This small novel has too many characters and too many themes (intelligence work, coupon smuggling, the 'literature' business, religion, sex and love -'Love and money were vital... Read more

Published on September 1, 2004 by Luc REYNAERT

3.0 out of 5 stars a choppy beginning- a magnificent end
there are so many girls at the may of teck club ( group housing for 'the girls of slender means)- with so many third person points of view, that one almost needs a chart to keep... Read more

Published on February 18, 2004 by lady detective

4.0 out of 5 stars Whats Wrong With This Picture?
I enjoyed settling down with this interesting vignette of the lives and times of a group of single women in a hostel in London in the spring of 1945. Read more

Published on December 24, 2002 by Robert Derenthal

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but fragmentary
Muriel Spark recreates a world that has long since vanished in her depiction of the May of Teck club, a residence for young single women . Read more

Published on November 4, 2000 by Stefanie N

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Delightful Spark Novel
THE GIRLS OF SLENDER MEANS evokes the inner workings of a "group" of women as delightfully as THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE. Read more

Published on July 14, 2000

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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
Long ago in 1945 all the nice people in England were poor, allowing for exceptions. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
dormitory girls, clothing coupons, lavatory seat

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
May of Teck Club, Nicholas Farringdon, Charles Morgan, Jack Buchanan, Joanna Childe, Felix Dobell, Lady Julia, The Wreck of the Deutschland, Pauline Fox, Rudi Bittesch, Nancy Riddle, Jane Wright, Dorothy Markham, American Intelligence, Prayer Book, The Sabbath Notebooks, Air Force, Anne Baberton, Bernard Shaw, Huy Throvis-Mew, Miss Harper

Browse Sample Pages:
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