The Girls of Slender Means

If you have never read anything of Muriel Spark's before, then drop everything you are doing (including reading this lovely blog) and run to your local bookstore. Although, if your 'local bookstore' is anything like mine, it is Barnes & Noble and will most likely not have anything of Muriel Spark's whatsoever. Maybe you've noticed as well — Barnes & Noble is filled to the gills with the likes of Dan Brown and that other Sparks author, I think his name is Nicholas, but that is about it. So if you actually want to read something decent you may have to go elsewhere... I know we are all supposed to support our local 'Brick and Mortar Stores', as they are now called, but I do most of my book shopping from Amazon. But in my defense, what else am I to do? At any rate, this isn't really the issue at hand.

The Girls of Slender Means takes place in London in 1945 — just after World War II has ended. It follows the lives of several young women who live in the May of Teck Club, which is essentially a dormitory, or hostel, that existed for the 'Pecuniary Convenience and Social Protection of Ladies of Slender Means below the age of Thirty Years, who are obliged to reside apart from their Families in order to follow an Occupation in London.' (Although there are 3 'spinsters' who seemingly moved in while they were young and neglected to ever move out.)

The book begins, 'Long ago in 1945 all the nice people in England were poor, allowing for exceptions.' Food was rationed, soap was rationed, clothing could only be purchased with official 'clothing coupons', which were also rationed. Despite this, the occupants did their absolute best to carry on as though everything were normal: they counted calories (except for Jane, who needed to 'feed her brain' because she worked in the 'world of books'); they rubbed soap or butter on their limbs in order to slip through the tiny bathroom window that would lead to the roof; they bartered for the shared use of a single Schiaparelli gown (except for Jane, who could not fit into said gown).

Many suitors graced the doorway of the May of Teck Club and would almost always hear part of the Joanna's lessons on elocution that were being given to various ladies, including the cook. One of these suitors was Nicholas Farringdon, who was charmed (if not enraptured) by the whole club. It was Nicholas who claimed the ladies were 'a community held together by the graceful attributes of common poverty,' and that '[p]overty differs vastly from want.' If ever there was a book to romanticise feeling poor, this is it.

The beautiful Selena, who would often meet Nicholas on the roof, was enrolled in a 'Poise Course'. She was required to recite two sentences every morning and every night, and these sentences float through the pages of the book, along with the poetry from the elocution lessons. 'Poise is the perfect balance, an equanimity of body and mind, complete composure whatever the social scene. Elegant dress, immaculate grooming, and perfect deportment all contribute to the attainment of self-confidence.' The ladies of the May of Teck Club were somewhat in awe of this statement and once the book comes to an end, it becomes evident how much this recitation seems to sum a few of them up. In fact, it would seem that if one actually pays attention while reading The Girls of Slender Means, this recitation (along with Joanna's poetry) sets up the tragic ending of the novel quite beautifully.

The Girls of Slender Means, like the 4 or 5 other books of Spark's that I have read, is magnificent. Her writing is a true craft, and her novels are immaculately well-constructed. And by this, I do not mean that they are tidy, like a John Grisham or something. Rather, after reading one of her books, I always feel like I should read literary criticism to point out everything that I managed to miss. Because she is funny, it is easy to read over her true intent.

Muriel Spark was a convert to the Catholic Church (as am I) and her books are steeped in Catholicism. However, if you did not know this about her, you would probably not pick up on it. She handles her faith in the same beautiful and irreverent fashion as she handles everything else — whether it be soaping up in order to slide through the window to sleep with a man who is eventually martyred, or the same man discussing sex with the 3 'spinsters' who still reside in the May of Teck Club.

And this is just one of the many reasons why it is impossible for me not to adore Muriel Spark. Not to mention the fact that she always makes me want to move to London ... or Edinburgh ... I'm not that picky, really.