Our Spoons Came From Woolworths (Virago Modern Classics)

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Our Spoons Came From Woolworths (Virago Modern Classics)

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 197 ratings · 36 reviews

Marry in haste, repent at leisure. Sophia is twenty-one years old, carries a newt -- Great Warty -- around in her pocket and marries -- in haste -- a young artist called Charles. Swept into bohemian London of the thirties, Sophia is ill-equipped to cope. Poverty, babies (however much loved) and her husband conspire to torment her. Hoping to add some spice to her life, Soph...more

Paperback, 223 pages

Published April 21st 1983 by Virago Press Ltd (first published 1950)

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Our Spoons Came From Woolworths by Barbara Comyns

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Aug 02, 2011 Alun Williams added it

When the green Virago Modern Classics first came out I used to buy one regularly - frequently judging them by the picture on the cover. Many struck me as being dull and worthy. This little novel is one of the few of them that I have kept and re-read several times. It is an excellent book to cheer oneself up with: Sophia, the young mother who tells us part of her life story, (mostly set in 1930s Bohemian London), is an endearing, childlike, and rather foolish heroine with a fondness for newts. He...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

I came to this book because Maggie O'Farrell recommends it in an interview as a good one about motherhood and life with young children, not a very common thing to find (of course, you can only find the time to read it if your children are not quite so young anymore). But it is many more things: a Cinderella story, a depiction of the artistic, Bohemian scene in Soho in the thirties, and mostly, that very unusual thing, a funny book about poverty.
I still feel ambivalent about the poverty issue. It...more I came to this book because Maggie O'Farrell recommends it in an interview as a good one about motherhood and life with young children, not a very common thing to find (of course, you can only find the time to read it if your children are not quite so young anymore). But it is many more things: a Cinderella story, a depiction of the artistic, Bohemian scene in Soho in the thirties, and mostly, that very unusual thing, a funny book about poverty.
I still feel ambivalent about the poverty issue. It feels morally acceptable, OK, to smile with Sophia's way of putting things, because you keep thinking, "it surely will not get very bad, she lives in England after all", but of course it does, and terrible tragedies happen to her as a result of malnutrition and illness. Nowadays in the UK there is awful poverty too, and I endeavour to remember this fact. But you see, Sophia comes from a genteel background. When her parents died her siblings and her had to fend off for themselves but she still views herself in such a way that she describes the other mothers in her hospital ward as "working-class". As a result of her "gentility", Sophia seems unable to handle money properly. She keeps thinking that something will turn up, she never has any savings, and even when she inherits a nice sum it doesn't last so long. But of course, precisely because of her gentility something does turn up in the end, and a Charming Prince at that!
Now I am being cruel. Our Spoons Came From Woolworths is a typical British novel, with a huge preoccupation with social class that may be even unconscious. The clumsy title shows this. Sophia explains that when she married they couldn't afford silver spoons, so they bought them in Woolworth's, a general store that doesn't exist anymore. She doesn't feel entitled to silver spoons, she just takes for granted that they are what she is supposed to have.
You must be wondering, where is the fun in this? Sophia and Charles are two young artists who fall in love and marry "in haste", with very little money. Charles will not take a job, because he is devoted to his art, but doesn't sell many of his paintings. Sophia earns the cash, working in a commercial studio and, when she has children, as an artists' model. Well, the fun is in the way Sophia tells her story. The style is naive, almost childish, -even painfully so: in the syntax, the vocabulary and the comments Sophia makes. A good example would be the couple's surprised reaction to Sophia's first pregnancy.
As a mum, I was very interested in the stories Sophia told about the births of her babies, they are almost a fragment of unusual social history. And the beauty and behaviour of young children are rendered in a perceptive, affectionate way that feels close to home. I will remember for a long time the happiness of little Sandro when he reencountered his broken, old toys.(less)

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Aug 06, 2012 Ali rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My third read for All Virago/all August and so far I am really enjoying reading my lovely green VMC’s and having the chance to get to grips with authors I know less well, or as in the case of Barbara Comyns – not at all. Like the last book I read – Devoted Ladies by Molly Keane – this novel also seems to divide opinion a bit. I can see why. There is much misery and things do seem relentlessly grim for most of the novel. The blurb on the back cover of my VMC edition promises the reader – “a very...more My third read for All Virago/all August and so far I am really enjoying reading my lovely green VMC’s and having the chance to get to grips with authors I know less well, or as in the case of Barbara Comyns – not at all. Like the last book I read – Devoted Ladies by Molly Keane – this novel also seems to divide opinion a bit. I can see why. There is much misery and things do seem relentlessly grim for most of the novel. The blurb on the back cover of my VMC edition promises the reader – “a very happy ending.” I was surprised to see that in the blurb, before I began reading it, it did seem to be a very slight spoiler. However, with so much abject misery around, maybe the reader needs to know things will turn out ok at last. Strangely though, despite the grimness and misery – this isn’t really a depressing book, though there were some pretty dark moments I did actually enjoy it.
The story is told by Sophia, as she relates the story of her marriage to a new friend. In this way the reader knows right away that Sophia will be ok at some stage, and is able to believe in the promise of a happy ending.
Sophia tells her story in a very matter of fact manner; her voice is simple, naïve, at times almost childlike. She is an eccentric narrator, sometimes annoying, I found her rather endearing. At just twenty one she and artist Charles Fairclough decide to marry against Charles’s parent’s advice. Although they have some support from a child hating aunt of Charles.

“She even liked my newts, and sometimes when we went to dinner there I took Great Warty in my pocket; he didn’t mind being carried about, and while I ate dinner I gave him a swim in the water jug. On this visit I had no newts in my pocket…but when Charles told her the plans for our secret marriage that had somehow gone astray, she was most sympathetic and helpful.”

Neither of them has much money, but to begin with they are excited and positive about the future. Sophia has a job, but Charles just paints and sells virtually nothing. After their marriage they are terribly poor. Charles is only really interested in his painting, while Sophia tries her best to become a good wife, to cook and clean and keep their home nice, but she has little experience and is a bit out of her depth. Occasional visits from Charles’s terrifying mother offering advice don’t help much.

“She cleared her throat once or twice, and said something about poor people should eat a lot of herrings, as they were most nutritious, also she had heard poor people eat heaps of sheeps' heads and she went on to ask if I ever cooked them. I said I would rather be dead than cook or eat a sheep's head; I'd seen them in butchers' shops with awful eyes and bits of wool sticking to their skulls. After that helpful hints for the poor were forgotten.”

There is a good deal of humour in this sometimes dark little story, some real laugh out loud moments and Sophia’s naivety is often charming as well as a bit irritating. Her marriage to Charles goes from bad to worse after the birth of their son Sandro, Charles has little interest in the child, and Sophia has to give up work. They meet the art critic Peregrine Narrow at a party, and Sophia who sometimes works as an artist’s model goes to sit for him, they become friends and she is soon having an affair. Poor Sophia is soon to bitterly regret both her hasty marriage and her adultery. Our Spoons Came from Woolworths is the story of a hasty marriage between two people who are not any good for one another. It describes with horrible straightforwardness, the realities of poverty in bohemian London, hunger, unwanted pregnancies, illness and the feeling of being trapped in a dreadful situation from which there appears to be no escape. The ending when it comes is something of a relief for the reader, although there is no great surprise in it. There is certain predictableness in such an ending, but in this case I didn’t really mind. I wanted Sophia to be alright.
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Feb 02, 2012 Georgiana 1792 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: diario-di-pensieri-persi

I miei anni a rincorrere il vento narra la storia di Sophia, dietro la cui identità si cela la stessa Comyns, che, giovanissima e orfana di entrambi i genitori, parte per Londra e già prima di scendere dal treno ha impulsivamente deciso di sposare Charles, un giovane artista che ha appena conosciuto. È una giovane ingenua Sophia, incosciente, avventata, che non sa niente del mondo perché figlia dei suoi tempi: ci troviamo infatti nel primo dopoguerra, in un periodo di crisi economica e in un amb...more I miei anni a rincorrere il vento narra la storia di Sophia, dietro la cui identità si cela la stessa Comyns, che, giovanissima e orfana di entrambi i genitori, parte per Londra e già prima di scendere dal treno ha impulsivamente deciso di sposare Charles, un giovane artista che ha appena conosciuto. È una giovane ingenua Sophia, incosciente, avventata, che non sa niente del mondo perché figlia dei suoi tempi: ci troviamo infatti nel primo dopoguerra, in un periodo di crisi economica e in un ambiente bohemien, dove si prende la vita come viene e si vive alla giornata. È molto bella Sophia: anche se non viene mai detto esplicitamente, gli artisti che le chiedono di posare per loro come modella sono attratti da lei. Sophia e Charles dunque si sposano, nonostante l’avversità dei parenti di lui, e si arrangiano acquistando o raccattando i mobili dagli amici, e il gioielliere, dato il modesto valore delle fedi scelte, non regala loro neanche i cucchiaini d’argento – come d’uso a quei tempi – tanto che la coppia deve acquistarli da Woolsworth (il titolo originale del romanzo è appunto questo, Our spoons came from Woolsworth - I nostri cucchiaini provenivano da Woolsworth).

Se in un primo momento Sophia sembra avventata e incosciente, la nascita del primo figlio (Sandro, come Botticelli) le instilla un po’ di senso di responsabilità. Charles, invece, rimane eternamente indifferente: non avrebbe voluto avere un figlio e, comunque, avrebbe preferito una femmina. A ogni modo, è come se Sandro non fosse affar suo: l’unica cosa che lo interessa è dipingere. E Charles dipinge in maniera maniacale: sfrutta la tela da un lato, se non ha i soldi dipinge anche dall’altro e poi, dopo alcuni giorni, gratta via il primo dipinto e ricomincia un nuovo quadro sopra al primo. Sembra quasi dipingere spinto da un’ossessione, più che per raggiungere un obiettivo.
L’ignoranza di Sophia quando entra in ospedale per partorire fa tenerezza e, nello stesso tempo, ci lascia stupiti: noi figli dell’informazione, che non sappiamo le cose solo se non le vogliamo sapere, restiamo basiti di fronte a questa giovane sola, senza nessuno che la consigli o che le spieghi cosa sta succedendo, tanto meno i medici e il personale dell’ospedale, freddi, sbrigativi e altezzosi, che non si fanno commuovere da niente e da nessuno.

Il libro risulta una continua girandola di situazioni estreme, quasi un elenco ininterrotto dei miseri pasti mangiati, del poco denaro racimolato, di bollette da pagare e di lavori saltuari, perché quando ci si trova in una tale situazione di disagio, si riesce a pensare quasi a senso unico. Tuttavia, la Comyns/Sophia non fa pesare esageratamente le tribolazioni passate: in primo luogo perché ce le descrive guardandole col senno di poi, dopo che la sua vita è cambiata radicalmente; in secondo luogo perché, la stessa incoscienza di Sophia durante l’affannoso percorso a rincorrere il vento la rende distaccata, quasi che gli avvenimenti narrati in prima persona non stessero accadendo a lei. Inoltre, forse a causa della sua gioventù, sembra che il pessimismo non arrivi mai a sfiorarla, neanche quando le tagliano la luce, il telefono o non riesce a prepararsi un pasto caldo.

Lo stile è sempre frizzante e vivace, quasi ironico, nonostante gli argomenti trattati, che ci spingono a riflettere in questo nostro periodo di crisi. Ci fanno pensare quanto siamo viziati dal benessere che abbiamo vissuto finora; e se la crisi economica ci atterrisce, pensiamo a Sophia e alle sue tribolazioni, alla sua ignoranza e alla sua voglia di vivere, nonostante tutto, e riteniamoci molto fortunati.

Recensione completa QUI:
http://www.diariodipensieripersi.com/...
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Mar 13, 2013 Sol Gonzalez rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novela, 2013

Altibajos de humor. En un principio creí que era una novela cómica, pero en cuanto me ví deprimida por la situación que pasaba Sophia y la forma en que narraba sus eventualidades me dí cuenta de que nada puede ser más cómico y trágico que la vida.

Muchas veces quise aventarle una sartén a Charles en la cabeza o gritarle a Shopia que se fuera o que no hiciera lo que hacía. Pero como lo hace una de tus mejores amigas, no puedes hacer más que estar ahí y ser partícipe de su historia.

La novela está...more

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May 05, 2012 Snort rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: the-naive-voice-of-reason

I'm a sucker for the naive, eternally optimistic protagonist in the coming-of-age novel! Sophia walks the tightrope between innocence and worldliness, as she survives through "beastly poverty" and some not very nice men. Whimsical and at times brutal, but never melancholic, this is another book I found myself rationing over the last week. While I was swept away by The Vet's Daughter's strange gothic current, this lesser known gem was more like a delightful babbling brook - but don't look too clo...more

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Feb 20, 2012 Josie Forshaw rated it 3 of 5 stars

What a thoroughly enjoyable read.
I found the writing light hearted and conversational, a difficult feat given the harsh topics the story covers. I found myself truly championing Sophia's pursuit for happiness all through the book.
I was quite disappointed that I couldn't get hold of Barbara Comyns first novel "Sisters by a River" (1947) so that I could read her books in order, but I feel that starting with the 2nd isn't too bad. I do hope to seek more of her books to read in the future.

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Mar 12, 2013 Nieves Batista rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: narrativa-contemporanea

Recomendado por una amiga a la que quiero mucho y de cuyos gustos me fío completamente, en esta ocasión no ha habido suerte.
Me ha puesto muy nerviosa la candidez o ingenuidad de la protagonista. Tanto que en más de una ocasión le hubiera dado de collejas, grrrrrr Y para su primer marido, las collejas se me quedaban cortas.
Tampoco me ha gustado la simplicidad de la narración, me ha parecido desangelada, sin alma.

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Jan 26, 2012 Hol added it

There is no one quite like Barbara Comyns. To me her voice is so enjoyable that the plot seems hardly to matter: this novel details a descent into hideous poverty (and of course an escape from suffering; you can count on her for that) but her style is so unaffected and her observations so offbeat that reading it wasn't a downer at all.

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Oct 05, 2010 Ann-Marie rated it 5 of 5 stars

There's a lot of pain in it, but it's not a particularly sad book, partly because of the unsentimental and unself-conscious way that the narrator, Sophia Fairclough, tells her story, and the quirkiness of it, and the happy ending. (I'm not giving anything away.) I'm now curious to reread A Touch of Mistletoe, which was similar but very sad, if I remember correctly.

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Mar 16, 2013 Victoria rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Brutal, so honest and with a naive style that sometimes makes you want to cry... and even then you just can't stop reading. Great if you feel miserable/living a shitty live, try this :-)

Also, for me this could be the British version of Carver dirty realism, 50 years before, written by a little girl.

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Dec 23, 2008 Sephie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wasn't sure about this when I started it but it turned out to be a really good read. Semi-autobiographical, it is the story of a naive young girl growing up in the bohemian '30s. Written in the first person, it charts the ups and downs of her life and reflects the history and society of the time.

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Apr 26, 2010 Shannon marked it as to-read

Shelves: to-buy

WHY: I liked her novel The Vet's Daughter, which was put out under the same Virago Modern Classics imprint. And I like the title. And it seemed like kismet since I just bought a book called The Brontes Went to Woolworths," published in 1931. Books that mention Woolworths: Collect them all!

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Nov 19, 2010 Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, read-in-2010

O idyllic poverty of the bohemian past! I was not as wowed by this title as I was by Comyns' incredible The Vet's Daughter, but it was still very good. I like her writing best when it's set in some desolate pastoral landscape, and the second half of this book is all isolation: farmland, domesticated foxes and sensible frocks.

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Jan 03, 2011 oriana marked it as to-read

Shelves: to-read-soon

Despite my lukewarm reaction to her essay collection, I will still probably do anything Emily Gould tells me to do. Here is her telling me to read this obscure woman whom I've never heard of: http://www.theawl.com/2010/12/barbara...

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Sep 20, 2012 Paula P rated it 3 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this book, was sad with some funny bits in it, however I wouldn't say rush out and buy it, but its worth a read if you get time!

Its about a married woman's account of living in poverty and the struggles it brings to a family!

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Jun 18, 2011 Debbie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 11, 2012 Luann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Kat, Karen, Lauren, Sarah P,

Shelves: british-ladies, 2012-reads

I gulped this down in one sitting. Narrator has a wonderful voice. Didn't realize till I was half-way through that I'd read this 30 years ago - but it came back fresh and new. A semi-autobiographical novel about the author's first marriage.

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Mar 31, 2012 Alice-Anne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

'Our Spoons Came from Woolworths' - a favourite of mine, published by Virago. I liked this cover design...I don't read Italian. Hopefully it will be re-published in English with this lovely cover.

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Apr 07, 2012 Devil rated it 4 of 5 stars

Funny and quite tragic at times. I enjoyed the style, which seems a bit naif, but the ending section was a little too much like Cinderella. But we should all have a happy ending from time to time.

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May 01, 2010 Liz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

I loved this gem of a novel told in the unique voice of Sophia. Makes me want to discover more women writers represented in the Virago Modern Classics series.

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Jan 12, 2011 Misha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: british, death, motherhood, read-2011, reprint, womens-fic

This was so much bleaker than I expected. A woman living a bohemian life with her artist husband who refuses to work a real job. Unplanned pregnancies and lots of details about poverty. I expected a bit more pluck, so was a little gobsmacked by the grim reality.

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Feb 10, 2010 Margaret rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: virago, british-literature, authors-cd

This 1950 novel (republished by Virago) is the story of a naïve girl who marries and is plunged into a life of poverty. It's funny but sad, full of sensuous details of smell, touch, and taste, and often very distressing (the description of Sophia's first childbirth is simply horrifying). I generally liked it and would read more by Comyns. My problem with it, though, was that I liked Sophia so much that I wanted her to have a happy ending, but the one Comyns provides comes out of nowhere and so f...more

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Dec 22, 2011 Eileen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: britlit, virago

While I liked this very much, I think the sense of plotlessness would probably irritate many people. On the other hand, the plotlessness is set up in parallel to the subject matter in a way that looks effortless & spontaneous, so I think it works very well. The only thing that bothered me was the frame of the narrative, which is pat and easy. The whole story is funny and engaging, maybe even an off-kilter brand of charming. The library doesn't have any more Barbara Comyns and I find that unf...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Myfanwy rated it 5 of 5 stars

All you need to know about this book is this sentence that opens Chapter 32: "There were day-old chicks cheeping away round the boiler; the cat had kittens on the mangle, and it was spring again."

This is the third Comyns' book I've read in just a couple of months. It is certainly my favorite and I am now a rabid fan of her work and can't wait to read more. The only thing I don't 100% love about this book is its title.

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Mar 01, 2012 Missnicola rated it 3 of 5 stars

A short but sweet semi-auto-biographical account of a woman's disasterous first marriage.

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Sep 25, 2011 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: own-and-have-read

Semi-autobiographical & nicely written, I sped through it. At first I was under the impression that the author had captured the attitudes & perceptions of someone living in the 30's, with comments such as "they were foreigners, but I'm quite sure they were of the good kind", until I realised when the book was written & how old the author was. I was a little disappointed in certain aspects, such as how the backstreet abortion was really not gone into in any detail & how the end of...more

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Mar 10, 2010 Rebekah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Interesting, largely autobiographical book by a quirky writer with a unique style.

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Sep 03, 2012 Ailsa Morrison rated it 5 of 5 stars

A cracking book, as heartwarming as it is in parts harrowing.

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Feb 19, 2013 Panda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Barbara Comyns...a wonderful writer. I am addicted.

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About Barbara Comyns

Barbara Comyns Carr was an English author and artist.

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“She cleared her throat once or twice, and said something about poor people should eat a lot of herrings, as they were most nutritious, also she had heard poor people eat heaps of sheeps' heads and she went on to ask if I ever cooked them. I said I would rather be dead than cook or eat a sheep's head; I'd seen them in butchers' shops with awful eyes and bits of wool sticking to their skulls. After that helpful hints for the poor were forgotten.” — 2 people liked it

“Tenía la idea de que, si ejercías un control mental y te decías muy seria: «No tendré hijos», seguramente no vendrían.” — 2 people liked it

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