Friday, April 20, 2018

The 1977 Club: Quartet in Autumn

My final book for The 1977 club hosted by Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblins was Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym.  This is the fourth title of Pym’s that I have read.  I didn’t quite love it as much as Excellent Women and Less than Angels, but I highly enjoyed it nonetheless and was really glad for the excuse to read another book by her.

Quartet in Autumn is about four work colleagues in their mid to early sixties in London in the mid 1970s.  All four are solitary but not necessarily lonely.  They are: Letty, who has plans to retire to the country with her widowed friend Marjorie; Marcia who lives alone in a rather neglected row house after the death of her mother and the cat Snowy many years earlier; Edwin, a widower whose chief hobby is attending Anglican services in various different London neighborhoods and Norman, a rather grumpy fellow who likes complaining to the local council about cars that have been parked too long on his street.

Of course I have quite a few more Pym titles to read, but in many ways this book was typical Pym with its sly humor and sharp if sometimes sad observations.  Is "Pymsian" a term like Dickensian?  These four co-workers only have the slimmest connection to each other, but because their lives and orbits are so narrow, when Marcia and Letty retire, this change affects them all in subtle ways none could have anticipated.  There is a very bittersweet tinge to this novel and yet, without giving anything away, then ending is, if not hopeful, at least open-ended.  



10 comments:

  1. I agree. This isn't Pym's best novel, but it's still an enjoyable read. But then I really like B. Pym. :)

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    1. Thanks for the comment Lark! I suspect Excellent Women will continue to be my absolute favorite, but who knows? I still have 9 more Pym titles to read (and I want to re-read Some Tame Gazelle). :D

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  2. "Pymsian" -- not all names would work so well! Even if not your favorite, it sounds like a good book. When you finish all the Pym titles, I wonder which will be your favorite. :)

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    1. Thanks for the comment jenclair! I am looking forward to reading the rest of her catalog and finding out which title will reign supreme!

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  3. I've just reviewed this for 1977 Club too. Despite the sadness, I think I actually liked it better than Excellent Women and Less Than Angels (the only other two Pym novels I've read). I'm looking forward to working through the rest of her books.

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    1. Thanks for the comment Helen! I will go read your review post haste!. I can see where this title would appeal over EW and/or LTA. It is fairly different in tone and subject matter.

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  4. I think Pymsian is definitely a word--having only read a couple, I know exactly what you mean. There is an autumnal tone to Pym, which makes this a perfect title for her to select.

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    1. Thanks for the comment Jane! Yes, there is an autumnal tone to Pym's books which also makes the original cover designs with their lovely patterns and rich colors so perfect.

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  5. oh yes, Pymsian should be a word. If any a synposis sounded Pymsian, yours for this book would fit. :)

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    1. Thanks for the comment Care! Pymsian it is! :D

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