Book Review : Our Spoons Came From Woolworths by Barbara Comyns

I enjoyed this book more and more as I read through it. I think it took me a while to get used to the ‘style’ of the writing – sometimes it’s tragic, sometimes comic, and sometimes downright odd, such as the start of Chapter 9 which begins:

“This book does not seem to be growing very large although I have got to Chapter 9. I think this is partly because there isn’t any conversation.”

Wouldn’t most editors remove this, wouldn’t most authors not write such comments? It’s a bit bonkers.

Set in the early 1930s, the narrator is called Sophia Fairclough, written as a real person who is naive and artless with no affectation (the complete opposite of the main character in The Millstone reviewed late last year), and is surprised when she becomes pregnant shortly after marriage. Her husband, Charles, is an artist and is irresponsible regarding finances. Sophia is attracted to other men but is true to herself. Eventually, her artlessness is admired by another man who is wealthy and makes Sophia happy in the end.