Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
105 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Our Spoons Came from Woolworths (Virago modern classics)
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

Our Spoons Came from Woolworths (Virago modern classics) (Paperback)

by Barbara Comyns (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £6.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.00 (22%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 5 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Saturday, July 11? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
24 new from £0.01 81 used from £0.01
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover (New e.) Order it used
Paperback (New Ed) Order it used
Unknown Binding Order it used

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Sisters by a River (Virago modern classics) by Barbara Comyns

Our Spoons Came from Woolworths (Virago modern classics) + Sisters by a River (Virago modern classics)
Price For Both: £12.98

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Sisters by a River (Virago modern classics)

Sisters by a River (Virago modern classics)

by Barbara Comyns
3.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £5.99
Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead (Virago Modern Classics)

Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead (Virago Modern Classics)

by Barbara Comyns
5.0 out of 5 stars (1) 
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House

by Kate Summerscale
3.1 out of 5 stars (177)  £3.99
D-Day: The Battle for Normandy

D-Day: The Battle for Normandy

by Antony Beevor
4.2 out of 5 stars (64)  £12.49
When Will There be Good News?

When Will There be Good News?

by Kate Atkinson
3.7 out of 5 stars (99)  £3.86
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Virago Press Ltd; New edition edition (21 April 1983)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0860683532
  • ISBN-13: 978-0860683537
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.6 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 124,816 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review
'The characters seem to exist in a perpetual Mad Hatter's tea-party' KATE SAUNDERS 'This is a marvellous writer' GRAHAM GREENE 'All of her books read as if she wrote them effortlessly' URSULA HOLDEN

GRAHAM GREENE
'This is a marvellous writer'

See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, 21 Feb 2003
By kate bradbury (London, England) - See all my reviews
I have read this book a number of times since I was a teenager and just reread it in one delightful sitting yesterday. Comyns has a fantastic voice, and its hard to believe that the book isn't biographical. Set in Bohemian London in the Thirties, Sophia is a young woman married to artist Charles. The book sees her through poverty, pregnancy, and infedility though at all times is touching, humourous and historically interesting. One of the things I've always liked best about this book is the fact that is unchallenging and easy to read but is a genuinely excellent piece of English literature. I have read little of her other works, but what I have read I've also deeply enjoyed.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An offbeat masterpiece, 22 Feb 2004
By Dr. Kenneth W. Douglas "drkennydouglas" (Glasgow) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
If you're unfamiliar with Barbara Comyns' unique style, then this would be a good place to start. It is the (apparently semi-autobiographical) tale of the breakdown of an ill-starred marriage; and though the usual features of Comyns' novels are all here (a loveable, childlike first-person narrator; occasional touches of the macabre; a strange sense of things taking place at a certain slant to everyday reality), the book also has the intensity of personal experience. In place of the usual disclaimer about characters and events being purely fictitious, any resemblances being purely coincidental, etc., Comyns places a disarming little superscription: "The only things that are true in this story are the wedding and Chapters 10, 11 and 12 and the poverty."

Sophia, at the age of twenty-one, elopes with penniless young artist Charles to live the Bohemian life in London. She is an innocent abroad, who carries pet newt Great Warty about in her pocket and is ill-prepared for the real hardships of poverty and motherhood. An affair with an elderly art critic just makes the situation worse, and Sophia has to undergo a harrowing personal tragedy before ultimately finding unexpected happiness at the end of the book.

The seamless juxtapposition of the tragic and the macabre with lovingly drawn scenes from everyday life is completely typical of Comyns' writing, but reaches a new intensity in this novel, which as a result is extremely and unexpectedly moving. Comyns was a real Great British Eccentric, and coming across her work for the first time is an utter delight for the reader. If you haven't encountered her before, then do buy this book: I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful novel, 10 Jan 2007
This is a really excellent novel about the doomed marriage of a young aspiring artist in the "bohemia" of 1930s London. It is told from the point of view of the central character (a girl of unusual intelligence and wit who the reader will come to adore) and despite its subject matter, it is totally non dreary. It is a funny, pithy human and critical piece about a girl growing up. It is so short that it could be read in an afternoon, definately highly recommended.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful Whimsy
When the green Virago Modern Classics first came out I used to buy one regularly - frequently judging them by the picture on the cover. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Alun Williams

1.0 out of 5 stars Is it true?
A simple straightforward book that you can read while you are at the doctor or at the post-office waiting with underground or background noise ripping off your attention... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Acquafortis

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointingly ordinary
I bought this book on the recommendation of reviews on Amazon, but was highly disappointed. It is the story of a young lady who marries a painter; then comes a baby, an affair, an... Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2007 by Catfish

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

More From Barbara Comyns

Who Was Changed...

Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead

At the beginning of June the river floods, ducks swim through the... Read more

 

Train Hard...Play Hard

Nike, Gola, Converse, and more
Gear up with up to 60% off athletic and outdoor shoes.

›Shop now

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4.5 out of 5 stars (72)£3.86
 Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
4.1 out of 5 stars (458)£6.49
 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4.1 out of 5 stars (162)£3.99
 The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
4.2 out of 5 stars (80)£3.86

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates