Reading the 20th Century discussion

Welcome to our January 2023 group read...



Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym

Quartet in Autumn was shortlisted for the 1977 Booker Prize and is a very modest 194 pages


The blurb...

Set in 1970s London, it’s about Edwin, Norman, Letty and Marcia who work in the same office and suffer the same problem - loneliness. Lovingly and with delightful humour, Pym conducts us through their day-to-day existence: their preoccupations, their irritations, their judgements, and - perhaps most keenly felt - their worries about having somehow missed out on life as post-war Britain shifted around them.

Deliciously, blackly funny and full of obstinate optimism, Quartet in Autumn shows Barbara Pym's sensitive artistry at its most sparkling. A classic from one of Britain's most loved and highly acclaimed novelists, its world is both extraordinary and familiar, revealing the eccentricities of everyday life.



Rave reviews...

An exquisite, even magnificent work of art ― The Observer
Barbara Pym has a sharp eye for the exact nuances of social behaviour ― The Times
The wit and style of a twentieth century Jane Austen ― Harpers & Queen
Very funny and keenly observant of the ridiculous as well as the pathetic in humanity ― Financial Times
A spare masterpiece of loneliness in retirement ― Telegraph
Quartet in Autumn is immeasurably her finest work of fiction ― Evening Standard
An alert miniaturist ... her novels have a distinctive flavour, as instantly recognisable as lapsang tea ― Daily Telegraph
No novelist brings more telling observation or more gentle pleasure ― Jilly Cooper

I've already started this and I'm thoroughly enjoying it


Barbara Pym's deceptively simple writing is a delight, as is her wonderful characterisation. Shades of Anita Brookner - which is a massive compliment in my world

A quarter through. A charming read. So much great 1970s period detail, and the four workmates are really convincing in their ordinariness.

Looking forward to it

Quick question: what on earth does a bob of wispy hair, bald on top look like on a man? Did men have bobs in 70’s? I guess any longish hair curled under is a bob? But bald over long hair curled under?
I love this book so far.

I did not know Pym was writing into the 1970’s! I though she wrote in the 40’s and early 50’s.

A bob of wispy hair, I assume, means a small amount, rather than the hairstyle. Perhaps a wisp which is combed over but which tends to blow away? Thankfully these have died out, but were definitely around in the 1970's!

I intend to start this after I have finished Fremlin.

Bobs were quite common amongst men and boys in the early 70s. When I was a kid, and before I took control, my mother would just cut my fringe and the back and sides. So never thinned it. The result? A bob. Dreadful. And no, I don't want to share any photos. Fortunately Punk Rock came along in 1976 and I started hacking at it myself.

Susan, my sense is that Pym is not describing the notorious comb over - most famously sported by Bobby Charlton in the 70s

I'm about halfway through this now and still really enjoying it. I suspect many here will feel the same way. I'm not suggesting it's any kind of masterpiece but it is a beautiful study of disappointing and ordinary lives, plus a splendid evocation of London office life in the 70s.

The leaving do, seen from various perspectives, is wonderful

I read this one a couple of years ago and enjoyed it. Probably won't reread but will follow the discussion. I still haven't read anything else by Pym but I should.

I forgot that Celia Fremlin’s Prisoner’s Base is the Dec. book so I’ll read that this weekend then get back to Pym.

I think I can picture the bald bob. I think of bobs as a cut that is shoulder length or shorter, straight and even, no layering or feathering. So I guess bald on top with grey whispy hair that starts just above the ear and hangs down to not quite the shoulder. Interesting look, I’m sure.

I love books about aging and dying, like this one and Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (one of all time favorite books,) and the bittersweet, darkly funny Feeding Time, so Im glad this was chosen for a group read.

I was also reminded of Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont - there is no higher praise

I’m eager for you to read The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, Nigeyb. It’s so good. The characters in the boarding house are well drawn and Judith Hearne is a tragic figure. In my estimation it is as good as Mrs Palfrey and I love Mrs Palfrey.

Thanks Wndy, I appreciate your top tip - noted.

WndyJW wrote: "I’m eager for you to read The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, Nigeyb. It’s so good."

I just requested a buddy read of this over in the Buddy Read thread.

I have started this now. I haven't read Barbara Pym before and wonder how typical this is as I see, from the preface, she wrote this late in her career. I thought she was all vicars and spinsters and perhaps this does have similiarities but of an older kind. I think Pym's comments on those who have been married, or have older children, and who are still alone and lonely is quite perceptive. It's rather more depressing than I am in the mood for, but having given up on Undine Spragg, I feel I should finish this one.

There's a sly humour at work Susan, although it's far from laugh out loud funny. I finished it last night and, ultimately, found it strangely optimistic despite some dark moments.

As others have observed there's a clear link between Barbara Pym and Elizabeth Taylor, so if you enjoyed Mrs Palfrey, for example, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one too.

Susan wrote: "I have started this now. I haven't read Barbara Pym before and wonder how typical this is as I see, from the preface, she wrote this late in her career. I thought she was all vicars and spinsters a..."

This one does have a more melancholic feel to her earlier books. It was written later on in her career and she had been rejected by her publishers back in the 60's and had had nothing published since then, until this one came out. (Lots of Pym fans are still cross with Jonothan Cape over this). She had kept writting and revising her books and sending them into various publishers, with no joy. Perhaps this lead to a slightly more bitter novel, though this is the one put forward for the Booker Prize. I think this one and Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor were put forward the same year, and led to the infamous comment by Saul Bellow about hearing the tinkle of teacups.

Thanks Tania - all new to me and v interesting


I'd rather listen to the tinkle of teacups than whatever sounds emit from a Saul Bellow novel

Me too! Well said, Nigeyb.

😀 Me too.

Review here...


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

4/5

Terrific book. I really enjoyed the characterisation, the period details the taut writing and most of all, the sly humour.

Who else is reading?

I just downloaded the kindle version and hope to get started soon.

Oh dear, this wasn't for me at all - I couldn't even get through the first chapter for the dreariness! I'm pretty sure I've tried Pym before, seduced by the description of her as a modern Jane Austen...um, not for me, she's not.

Glad to see others are taking great enjoyment from this.

Oh no. sorry to read that RC


After the highs of Ripley's Game too 🤩

Surprisingly not dreary. But perhaps, RC, you're too young! 😉

I hadn't read Pym before but I must admit that I wasn't enthused. I am pleased I read it, I didn't dislike it, but I found it depressing and perhaps read it at the wrong time.

Hang on, just absorbed the bit about not getting through the first chapter


I can't remember how it ebbs and flows but certainly recall it gets better as it goes along. Shades of Elizabeth Taylor for my money

Ben wrote:

"Surprisingly not dreary. But perhaps, RC, you're too young! 😉"

There is that Ben 🤠. These young pups eh? Wait til you're in your dotage RC, you'll have a whole other perspective

Hahaha, having turned 40 this year, I'm thrilled to be designated too young!

But I loved Mrs Palfrey and didn't really see any stylistic comparisons between Taylor and Pym. But yes, I did abandon Pym very fast, just didn't like it from the first sentence I'm afraid. Think I'm with Susan on this one. (I'm going straight onto The Boy Who Followed Ripley)

The similarities for me are not stylistic however they both embrace a sly humour, keen observations, astute characterisations, human idiosyncracies, and, best of all, a convincing portrait of old age

I received a beautiful Picador paperback of this book for Christmas and am looking forward to starting it soon.

I just finished the book and liked it more than I thought I would. I guess you can say the story and characters grew on me.

I must admit though, we got off to a rocky start. But that may have something to do with seeing the word "elderly" used to describe people not much older than me. Ahem.

Yes, good point Debra


I'm poised to turn 61 and hadn't considered the characters would be a similar age to me!

Glad you enjoyed it

My mother fell and was in the hospital a few years ago. She told me that she could hear the nurses talking about her and using a derogatory term, I thought, knowing my beloved mother, that they were using the common slur for assertive women, also used to describe a female dog, and was ready to jump to her defense. They were describing her as elderly. She was 80. I guess we’re never ready to embrace that designation.

We’re nowhere near elderly Debra: 60 is the new 40!

I'm not reading this but I turned 72 this year. When I was in my mid-50s I read a book that described a woman as elderly. Only at the end of the book did I discover that I was older than this "elderly" woman.

Haha, not as bad as those books where women who reached 25 without 'catching' a husband were regarded as old spinsters!

I was quite shocked recently when someone told me the reason why retirement age was set at 65 was because life expectancy was 67. 67!

Nigeyb, that makes us the same age. Wendy, I'm with your mother. The e-word is dreadful.

On a more serious note---I didn't know anything about Barbara Pym when I started this book, and wondered if she was a young woman when she wrote it (which would explain her "elderly" depiction). However, I learned that Pym was in her 60s at the time, and she was motivated by her own breast cancer diagnosis. Tragically, her cancer returned, and she died at the age of 66, three years after her book was published.

Learning this deepened my respect and appreciation of this book, and made me feel especially sympathetic to her character, Marcia. I wonder how much of Marcia's feelings (or the other characters, for that matter), reflected her own at the time.

Note: I hit "post" before seeing the next two comments. It's surprising to see what counts as "old" in some books!

Debra wrote:


"Pym was in her 60s at the time, and she was motivated by her own breast cancer diagnosis. Tragically, her cancer returned, and she died at the age of 66, three years after her book was published.

Learning this deepened my respect and appreciation of this book, and made me feel especially sympathetic to her character, Marcia. I wonder how much of Marcia's feelings (or the other characters, for that matter), reflected her own at the time."

Thanks Debra

I didn't know anything of that background information which, as you suggest, sheds a new light on the narrative, and some of the characters

It also makes me admire the book even more. Despite dealing with mortality and retirement, it also contains humour and optimism.

I turned 61 in October and I understand now why my 84 yr old mother so often says that she just can’t believe that she is as old as she is. My mum is still a sharp, vibrant redhead who gets more done in a day than most do in a week.
My dad said that times speeds up the older we get, but once we hit 40 time seems to go at the speed of light and he’s right! I clearly remember how I felt turning 40 and that was 21 year ago!

I love books about time, memory, and growing old. Books like this one and Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, Muriel Sparks’ Memento Mori, and Feeding Time.

I loved it! I love these character studies of normal people living unremarkable lives. I’ve seen it called Pym’s masterpiece, but I think I enjoyed Excellent Women even more than this one.

Marcia was an odd bird and I liked the support they all carefully provided for each other.

This is my kind of comfort read. I knew nothing awful or creepy or tragic would happen, and I knew I would get to know the cast of characters.

Splendid news Wndy. I concur with all your comments. Though perhaps there was a little bit of tragedy?

I found it a wonderfully humane portrayal of real lives, more comic than tragic. I always expected Barbara Pym to be dreary and I was so surprised that it wasn't.

And it was the best portrayal of retirement I've read. (Not that mine is anything like theirs, of course. My drawers are much less organised.)

WndyJW wrote: "I loved it! I love these character studies of normal people living unremarkable lives. I’ve seen it called Pym’s masterpiece, but I think I enjoyed Excellent Women even more than this..."

In my opinion, Excellent Women is her best. It has a more upbeat feel to it, I loved this one, but it had a much more melancholic feel to it than previous works.

Ben wrote:


"....it was the best portrayal of retirement I've read. (Not that mine is anything like theirs, of course. My drawers are much less organised.)"

And how's your milk bottle collection?


Tania wrote:

"In my opinion, Excellent Women is her best. It has a more upbeat feel to it, I loved this one, but it had a much more melancholic feel to it than previous works"

Thanks Tania

I have a copy of Excellent Women and now look forward to reading it more than ever

Nigeyb wrote: "Splendid news Wndy. I concur with all your comments. Though perhaps there was a little bit of tragedy?"

Well, yes a bit tragic, but not a slaughter of innocents type of tragedy. A lot of contemporary fiction is about women gone mad by the demands of mothering, abuse of children by other children, domestic violence, climate crisis, animal abuse, all important topics, but not the stuff of a comfort read.

I thought this was a slow burner of a character study. While I realize that there aren't dynamic events in such character studies, I still found most of the book to be uninteresting. I only got involved sometime after the mid-way point when these quirky characters finally grew on me enough to get interested in what happens to them.
I did finish the book having enjoyed a pleasant feeling of wistful melancholy, though, and that upgraded the story for me. It was a book that I'm glad I read and helps me feel happier to be married here in my retirement years.
I find myself humming "Eleanor Rigby" right now.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thanks Brian


Delighted that the book grew on you

Great review. I share your feelings about the characters. They do grow on you after awhile.

Eleanor Rigby is the perfect song for that book!
I love books like Quartet in Autumn because I know going in that it will be a very quiet, low-key story. It feels like Fargo, the Frances McDormand movie, to me. It’s more about the quirkiness of normal human beings living banal boring lives, than it is about action, mystery or profound truths.