The Ballad of Peckham Rye (1960)

British foolery. Quick read with a few giggles. Otherwise, pointless narrative and unimpressive writing. ( )

The Ballad of Peckham Rye is the story of how a man, Dougal Douglas, turns a blue collar town upside down. When Dougal Douglas is hired as an "Art Man" for the firm of Meadows, Meade & Grinley, he starts doing research on the town of Peckham and its people. Several times Dougal claims to be a devil and Spark leaves it up to the reader to decide if he truly has supernatural origins or if he is simply a con-man stirring up trouble. It was an interesting look at a working class community in mid-twentieth century London. Sparks takes a satirical look at classes within a class, morals, and relationships. It was an interesting book that I think I would have appreciated more if I was more familiar with the place and time that was being satirized. The characters were all flawed, which was the point of the story, and not really likable but they were believable. I will definitely read more by Muriel Spark. ( )

I did not understand this book, at all. Even "wickedly farcical fables" should have some string of logic to them, I would hope. I also don't understand the cover for the audiobook I listened to. Maybe it is to represent the loud fashion of the era the book is set in, which I believe to be 1960 London, when Spark wrote it, making it, at the time, a contemporary novel. I had to resort to the Wikipedia article to make sense out of the story. According to Wikipedia, "The text draws upon the supernatural, as well as issues of Irish and Scottish migrancy and offers a critique of the sterile and unremarkable nature of the lives of the Peckham working class." Ooookkkkkaaayyyy.... I got snippets of the working class bit and if Dougal is to represent the issues that an Irish or Scottish migrant to England faced, that makes sense. The whole devil/shape-shifter aspect of Dougal's character is probably supposed to lend a fable-like quality to the story but it is so subtle that Dougal just really comes across as a human annoyance to a segment of Peckham's population. Spark lets her razor sharp wit flow into characters - all flawed souls - as is her norm, but Dougal tends to overshadow Spark's gift for exposing the human condition of her characters to examination. The end result is a rather strange story that my mind is still trying to make heads or tails of.

Not one of Spark's better stories, IMO. ( )

When Dougal Douglas (or Douglas Dougal) moves to Peckham to work for the firm of Meadows, Meade & Grindley, he begins an inquiry into the private lives and morals of the members of the firm and starts a wave of chaos and devilry that ripples through the town.

Those familiar with Muriel Spark may find themselves taken aback at the style of this short novel; though it has the brusque, clear sentences that Spark so favors, it also tends to repeat itself, showing new glimpses of the same conversations or circumstances. What remains the same, however, is Spark's estimable ability to create characters who are realistic and complex, defying easy analysis. Dougal Douglas, with his off-beat mannerisms and wicked instigations, is hard to dislike, but not one to like either. Like the townspeople, the reader finds themselves more curious and intrigued than anything, and eager to see what happens next.

A witty, quick, and thoroughly wicked romp, The Ballad of Peckham Rye is one of Spark's classics. ( )

Another wry (pun intended) novel by the witty, observant Muriel Spark. It centers on Dougal Douglas, a young Scotsman newly arrived in Peckham Rye. Dougal has his fingers in many pies, spying for more than one master, chatting up whatever available young woman happens to be around, and warning everyone that he has "a fatal flaw" (which seems to change with the occasion). In the meantime, Dougal is writing a kind of moral history of Peckham, based on his observations of and interactions with his neighbors, friends, and coworkers.

Spark was an impeccable observer of English society, always writing with affection and tongue in cheek. While I enjoyed this novel, I didn't think it compared favorably to her others that I have read, including 'Memento Mori,' 'A Far Cry from Kensington,' and 'The Girls of Slender Means.' ( )