Girls of Slender Means [Paperback]

Muriel Spark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 29, 1975

This is London 1945, when all nice people are poor. Muriel Spark sets us down among the girls of good family but slender means as they fight it out, from their Kensington hostel to the last clothing coupon until this charmingly light-hearted period in their lives descends into horror and tragedy.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

"Spark, as usual, has perfectly plotted and peopled this giddy world of postwar delirium and girls' dormitory life," said LJ's reviewer of this satirical novel (LJ 10/1/63), which follows the low-income female inhabitants of London's May of Teak Club in the summer of 1945. Spark is always worth having.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From The New Yorker

Muriel Spark's novels linger in the mind as brilliant shards, decisive as a smashed glass is decisive. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (May 29, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140024263
• ISBN-13: 978-0140024265
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,779,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

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.

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

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.