I struggle to believe I didn't even know who Muriel Spark was until about a year ago (in case anyone needed further proof of how far behind I am in terms of English Literature 101!).
Like the other books by Muriel Spark that I have had the pleasure to read, The Girls of Slender Means is witty, accessible and deep. The fact that the lives of the main characters remind me of my years as a student on a tight budget makes the book even more endearing to me.
As usual, one of the big strengths for me is the way in which Spark paints the lives of common people with an ironic (and at times slightly surreal) take. Because of the size of her books and the themes covered, Spark very much reminds me of Beryl Bainbridge.
The book also achieved something seemingly impossible: it made me like (at least the fictional) West London!
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