false <![CDATA[The Girls of Slender Means]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170709257m/69517.jpg 69517 12 "Long ago in 1945 all the nice people in England were poor, allowing for exceptions," begins The Girls of Slender Means Dame Muriel Spark's tragic and rapier-witted portrait of a London ladies' hostel just emerging from the shadow of World War II. Like the May of Teck Club itself--"three times window shattered since 1940 but never directly hit"--its lady inhabitants do their best to act as if the world were back to normal: practicing elocution, and jostling over suitors and a single Schiaparelli gown. The novel's harrowing ending reveals that the girls' giddy literary and amorous peregrinations are hiding some tragically painful war wounds. Chosen by Anthony Burgess as one of the Best Modern Novels in The London Sunday Times Review, The Girls of Slender Means is a taut and eerily perfect novel by an author The New York Times has called "One of this century's finest creators of comic-metaphysical entertainment." 976843 1963 The Girls of Slender Means total:244|5:54|4:100|3:70|2:17|1:3| 244 917 427 25 5 1 false false Tue Mar 25 12:49:37 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 25 12:51:16 -0700 2008 2 1 false false Thu Apr 30 18:47:06 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 30 18:53:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false true Tue May 13 18:05:01 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 14 15:13:41 -0700 2008 The Magus but had more people put it in second place, so its overall ranking was higher. Such are the subtleties and unwritten rules of our elite organization.

UPDATE MAY 25
I finished my first read, which for a Muriel Spark book ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 07 08:22:25 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 16:49:35 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Jul 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 09 10:10:06 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 09 10:10:26 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Wed Jun 17 11:34:27 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 17 11:35:55 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Oct 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Nov 23 17:40:33 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 23 17:41:25 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Aug 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 16:09:20 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 20:00:03 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Mon Mar 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 25 15:40:21 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 25 15:40:21 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Fri May 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 08:33:57 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 08:35:01 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sun Oct 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 00:59:25 -0700 2009 Wed Nov 11 10:53:09 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jan 31 09:21:38 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 31 09:22:49 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Mon Jul 13 08:25:38 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 08:26:01 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Apr 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 18 09:20:47 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 18 09:24:08 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 16 18:34:15 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 22 06:25:58 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Mar 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jan 03 18:00:58 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 12 04:24:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jul 09 18:25:55 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 18:31:50 -0700 2008
I first heard abt Muriel from John Updike's book of literary essay called "Hugging the Shore".

I have read this short novel and "Momento Mori" and "...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 02 09:18:25 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 03 10:09:43 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Mon Jun 09 17:14:19 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 09 17:17:42 -0700 2008
muriel spark makes me want to find all the short novels and novellas in the world and hug them. she reckoned you should never use more words than you need to, and her books are delightfully slim without skimping an inch on style or wit. t...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue May 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 29 05:43:25 -0700 2008 Thu May 29 05:48:39 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=69517