Quartet in Autumn is a 1977 novel by Barbara Pym. A perfectly ordinary story about perfectly ordinary people. Wouldn't you think it might be a bit boring? But no, it's not at all. It's fascinating, and I'll keep this one on the shelf for re-reading later on.
from the back of the book:
Quartet in Autumn is the first of Barbara Pym's later novels and is considered by many to be her masterpiece. It was written during a time when the author had lost hope of ever being published again, and is drawn from Pym's own confrontation with mortality, but is leavened by her dry wit. This softly compelling story of human dignity in the midst of hopelessness presents s with four elderly single people who work in the same office. When the two women retire, this act threatens the lives of all four. Out of tragicomic themes of old age, Barbara Pym has written a tale of almost musical perfection.Kirkus Reviews closes by saying, "Pym never loses respect for these put-upon people--more unlucky than unhappy--and, as a result, neither do we. Terribly brisk, but very affecting."
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I love these kinds of tales. A good novel about ordinary people, that takes a very skilled and mature writer. It´s on my wishlist at amazon right now. (Gosh, that list is several pages long! I still have the third of the Last Policeman novels to read! Aaaagh!)
ReplyDeleteI've read that 3rd Last Policeman book. I think the 1st book is the strongest, but I always think that about trilogies lol
DeleteRead this some time ago. It might be worth a re-read. I like Pym's writing.
ReplyDeleteDarla
This is the only book by her I've read. I should look for more by her.
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