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Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of The Ballad of Peckham Rye. There must be many ballads about brides abandoned at the altar but none of them could be quite as strange as The Ballad of Peckham Rye.
And that's pretty much all I have to say about the story part of this book. If you're interested in what Muriel Spark can do with such an age-old theme, you can read this short book for yourself 'There was I,' sang out an old man in the public bar, 'waiting at the church, waiting at the church. If you're interested in what Muriel Spark can do with such an age-old theme, you can read this short book for yourself.
I do have a few thoughts about another aspect of this book however. While reading some of Spark's other novels, I'd realised what a fine observer of people's behavior and movements she was, and I began to look forward to her descriptions of characters almost as much as to the stories they found themselves in. While reading this story, spotting such descriptions became my main focus. The old man in the quote above is a good example. After he'd sung the line about waiting at the church, and been reproved by his wife and the barmaid, each in her own fashion, he took a draught of his bitter with a tremble of the elbow and a turn of the wrist.
It's such quick sketches I love to come across. They make the words on the page rise up and form themselves into a picture. Spark's descriptions are often remarkable for their efficiency too. Her characters may babble and blather, and her Peckham people more than most, but Spark can describe their body language with the fewest of words. In a scene where a woman in a Peckham grocer's shop offers a torrent of advice to a new-comer called Dougal, the grocer looked away from the woman with closed eyes and opened them again to address Dougal.
Those closed eyes are just so eloquent. Dougal himself is a character capable of an entire dictionary of body language. Soon after arriving in Peckham, he goes for an informal interview, and while the interviewer paces the floor, droning on about his company, Dougal sat like a monkey-puzzle tree, only moving his eyes to follow Mr Druce Dougal changed his shape and became a professor.
He leaned one elbow over the back of his chair and reflected kindly on Mr Druce Dougal leaned forward and became a television interviewer. Mr Druce stopped walking and looked at him in wonder. We see how bored he is. Nothing needs to be added. Then there's an episode in a Peckham dance hall which could be straight out of a David Attenborough nature documentary. The girls had prepared themselves with diligence, and as they spoke together, they did not smile nor attend to each other's words Most of the men looked as if they had not properly woken from a deep sleep, but glided as if dragged, and with half-closed lids, towards their chosen partner.
This approach found favour with the girls. The actual invitation to dance was mostly delivered by gesture; a scarcely noticeable flick of the man's head towards the dance floor. Whereupon the girl, with an outstretched movement of surrender, would swim into the hands of the summoning partner.
After reading this book, I came across the following paragraph in Muriel Spark's autobiography, Curriculum Vitae : I was fascinated from the earliest age I can remember by how people arranged themselves. Her characters and how they 'arrange themselves' is one of the chief things I will carry away from my long rambling ballade with Muriel Spark.
View all 41 comments. Dec 19, Violet wells rated it really liked it. Muriel Sparks playfully takes on the Mephistopheles' theme. A devilish, sexually attractive young man who enjoys getting people to feel the bumps on his forehead where his horns were surgically removed creates mayhem in a small working-class community in Peckham, south London.
It begins with a groom at the altar telling the priest no, he will not accept the bride as his lawful wedded wife. The narrative then jumps backwards to provide explanations how he arrived at this maverick decision. This Muriel Sparks playfully takes on the Mephistopheles' theme.
This is probably her most bonkers novel. I suspect she had a lot of fun writing it, sped through it but didn't perhaps spend much effort thinking it through. Superficially, it's quite enjoyable but it lacked depth for me. It doesn't ultimately add up to much. That said, there are plenty of fabulous observations and as usual I was impressed by how effortlessly and trenchantly Sparks takes command of her subjects.
As writing it's often terrific; as a novel though a bit lame. View all 8 comments. After a few of her lesser known novels I've read between then and now, I find myself back in her literary arms once again. Not quite as tight a grip here as previous reads, but all the nuts and bolts that became Spark's forte are ever present in The Ballad of Peckham Rye; through the plot itself, it's characters, and a few shocking scenes towards the end that seemed to jump out of thin air - in this case murderous hysteria.
Lots of blubbering here too. Enough to overwater the house plants even - Dougal's words not mine. And speaking of Dougal Douglas, the satanic central figure and man of mystery who rolls up into this small London suburb with an agenda that's not the easiest to spot - the devil trying to wreak havoc? And in the end, it all boiled down to a little blackmailing by a year-old to really give the novel a devilish kick up the backside. Again, one of reasons that I love Spark so much, is that it's not just any central character that is the memorable one.
There are a few here that stood out just as much, if not more. There is also a character called Beauty, who is A mouthy little thing was she. Some of the confrontational scenes, say, in the pub for example, were just so funny. Quirky, farcical, and darkly comic, it sure was entertaining. But, for me, seeing as the bar was raised higher in other novels, It isn't one of her absolute greats.
When I crossed that finish line last year, I knew I'd found my literary Goddess. View all 4 comments. The Ballard of Peckham Rye? Not so far really, even if it is north of the river and the main character has contacts in Kensington and Chelsea - the territory of those girls of slender means. Eventually Dougal Douglas, or Douglas Dougal, ends up in a Franciscan monastery, but he doesn't make as much of a success of it as Sandy in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, or maybe he does view spoiler [ there is a family with the surname Crewe, but none of them seem to The Ballard of Peckham Rye?
Eventually Dougal Douglas, or Douglas Dougal, ends up in a Franciscan monastery, but he doesn't make as much of a success of it as Sandy in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, or maybe he does view spoiler [ there is a family with the surname Crewe, but none of them seem to be Abbesses hide spoiler ]. There are shades of The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner , Dougal Douglas may not be the devil but want about Douglas Dougal he certainly likes to give the impression that he might be somewhat acquainted with that gentleman, and he is in an infeasible number of different places or perhaps roles all at the same time, ghost writer, expert on industrial absenteeism, alleged police informer and archaeologist.
Does he stir up south London lives, or is it simply that the social strictures inhibiting the sexuality of the characters circa are a pressure cooker with a failing gasket - it was just a question of time maybe in any case before the lid hits the ceiling? Then again with his Richard III shoulders which render him unfit for National Service perhaps he was scheming all along? A different review could be written looking at this book as an inversion of an industrial novel and poking fun at the two cultures idea, introducing "the Arts Man" makes him money, but his various concurrent employers pay a high cost for his good fortune.
We see in passing a retreat from the open plan office - because the managers did not like everybody being able to see them to that space being divided by glass offices, seeing and observation and surveillance are constant in this novel and is in strict counterpoint to the sexual frustration of many of the characters understandably. View all 10 comments. Sep 21, Teresa rated it liked it. Would these things have happened anyway? Maybe not; but maybe so, as Spark is clear in her belief that evil is always afoot, that as we see through the character of the gray-haired, pontificating Nelly we must be vigilant against lies and deceit.
Are the forthright characters the ones who dislike the charlatan, who see through him? Not necessarily. Jan 24, Paul rated it really liked it Shelves: english-novels. Quirky and rather brief novel which I rather enjoyed. It is part fable with a spot of magic realism, a dash of humour, some nice twists and clever observations of life in the early s.
He gets a job in a local textile firm; Meadows, Meade and Grindley, as an "arts man", someone who will observe the workforce and learn how to motivate them.
The early days of Human Resources. He has an odd and disturbing effect on those he Quirky and rather brief novel which I rather enjoyed. He has an odd and disturbing effect on those he meets, disturbing equilibriums.
Dougal has one shoulder higher than the other and has a bump on either side of his head, under his hair; he tells people that they were horns that he has had removed.
Dougal is a shadowy figure, pan like, causing mischief, playing on foibles. The rest of the characters are well drawn with sharp social satire; from the young thugs, the disillusioned members of the typing pool, the failing to cope director to the ambitious young women. An unusual social satire with some snappy dialogue and delicious come uppances; a sharp dissection of British life in the early sixties. A little slight but satisfying. View 2 comments. Queneau and this short novel induces in this reader a state of toe-tingling rapture.
Nov 03, Chrissie rated it did not like it Shelves: classics , mystery , read , audible-uk , england , returned , disliked. All I can say is that this totally confused me. Sure, I understand what happened, but I have no idea what the book is saying. A man wreaks havoc in the lives of many. Without humor, or if it was there it went over my head! Spark's lines said nothing to me; I usually find them so clever. This is the first book by Muriel Spark that has totally failed me.
Muriel Spark on good form as characters show weakness, judgement, envy and concern with class, love, work and loneliness all thrown in. Post-war Peckham is alive with employment and opportunity - and gossip - at the factories and shops. The opportunity for some is limited through social standing, but for others commercial pressures and a background in research offer our central character Dougal Douglas chances and influence.
As Dougal gets to know Peckham, its companies and people the story unfold Muriel Spark on good form as characters show weakness, judgement, envy and concern with class, love, work and loneliness all thrown in. As Dougal gets to know Peckham, its companies and people the story unfolds. Can he help some; can he offer others new beginnings, and why do some people dislike him? Muriel Sparks sharp eye prose brings a enjoyable yet waspish story together over pages.
My edition is one of the lovely Spark Centenary edition published by Polygon in to mark her birth. Sep 02, Scot rated it really liked it. I appreciated how much Spark was able to convey about daily life, aspirations, class restrictions, postwar capitalism, and universal human frailty when so much of the book was basically brief dialogue exchanges.
He is, in a word, fascinating, interchangeably entertaining and cruel. The way tone builds in this novel is one of its chief strengths. The author manipulated my emotion in a masterful way, starting lightly then building, and as I drew nearer the ending I increasingly admired both the style and the complexity of the message. In the end, ambiguities remain, and so they should.
In this regard, art mirrors life. Oct 11, Judy rated it liked it Shelves: 20th-century-fiction , books-from As usual, Muriel Spark was enough over my head that I finished this highly comic novel and was not quite sure what I had just read. Peckham Rye is a small town outside London and the setting for all kinds of poking fun at members of the English lower middle class.
These characters dwell amongst their stodgy British habits but carry on in quite a modern style for the times. Lots of illicit sex going on, gossip and rumor of course. When Dougal Douglas comes to town and insinuates himself into two ri As usual, Muriel Spark was enough over my head that I finished this highly comic novel and was not quite sure what I had just read.
When Dougal Douglas comes to town and insinuates himself into two rival companies as a "human research" man, ostensibly to improve productivity and thereby profits, he upsets many fixed conditions. He is quite the con man, hardly ever shows up at work, has the business owners completely fooled and messes with various relationships in the town.
If I were to give the novel my own title, it might be "Sympathy for the Devil. Though each character is an archetype, or at least a type, they have at the same time a unique humanness. Muriel Spark has taken the mannered, upper class English novel and turned it on its head.
Dougal Douglas does his human research, looking for the fatal flaw in each subject. Thus does the author release the fatal flaw concept from its association with heros and grants the condition to everyman. It begins with the aftermath of a failed wedding, blamed on a certain Dougal Douglas. He is rather an agent of chaos, employed as a creative consultant of sorts to a textile firm. He is also ghost-writing an autobiography, then takes on a similar consultancy role at a rival firm.
A mysterious character, his general aim seems to be making money while stirring up the repressed emotions of those around him. Motifs that recur include people crying with their heads in their arms after a short chat with him and frequent discussion of his sexuality and likeability.
There is a sense of violence and conflict, as well as a total absence of affection, in all romances and marriages depicted. His claims to have been born with horns, dancing with a bin lid, and conversations with Humphrey all season the tale. Spark is excellent at showing the hysteria and despair lying just below the surface of workplace interactions. It would be over simplistic to describe Douglas as anti-capitalist, but I do enjoy his effectiveness at bringing a company down from the inside using nothing but dialogue.
The convention that we go to work every morning and do our jobs is shown to be brittle and dependent upon an emotional equilibrium that can easily be disrupted. I did not make much of the denouement, which seems deliberately downplayed. Much like daily life, it is the offhand comments and snide little details that make the book enjoyable.
May 16, Will Ansbacher rated it liked it. Into this community comes the Trickster character of Dougal Douglas or Douglas Dougal depending on where he works , an arts graduate from Edinburgh.
With a dubious position at a textile factory that enables him not to do any actual work, he smoothly insinuates himself into local society. Is he a Confessor, a Devil or both?
There are also some piercingly clever vignettes, including what is probably the most arid and loveless affair ever penned - between the unhappily married Mr Druse, factory manager, and Merle the supervisor of his typing pool. And of course, being Muriel Spark, there is an unexpected murder. View 1 comment. Feb 01, Jessica rated it liked it Shelves: literary-fiction , sparkdom. A wickedly funny and odd little book, hard to know how to read it.
A clue is in the title: The Ballad The character of Dougal Douglas or Douglas Dougal, is the quintessential "stranger who comes to town" and leaves many maimed in his wake. Is he the devil incarnate? Is Dame Muriel Spark a devilishly good writer, always surprising, nudging her characters and the reader off balance? Yes, indeed. View all 14 comments. Jul 01, David rated it it was ok Shelves: big-white-square. I don't like Muriel Spark. She's not really on my side.
I feel that she hates us all for the dreadful time we're having fair enough but she is convinced that it's our fault. And so she sneers at us and it isn't very attractive.
A couple of the best sneers: "She said, 'I feel as if I've been twenty years married instead of two hours. The drama of the novel--which most properly lies in the brilliant accuracy of Spark's spoofing--reaches its peak when Douglas is blackmailed by Dixie's year-old stepbrother and the rumors of Douglas's identity is he a spy? Witty and quite perfect in its construction, this light and mock-folkloric novel is the work of an inspired satirist.
Apple Books Preview. Publisher Description. More Books by Muriel Spark. Memento Mori. The Driver's Seat. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. The Takeover.
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