Quartet in Autumn
Recommended by Lauren Mechling, and 1 others. See all reviewsShortlisted for the 1977 Booker Prize
This is the story of four people in late middle-age - Edwin, Norman, Letty and Marcia - whose chief point of contact is that they work in the same office and they suffer the same problem - loneliness. Lovingly, poignantly, satirically and with much humour, Pym conducts us through their small lives and the facade they erect to defend themselves against the outside world. There is nevertheless an obstinate optimism in her characters, allowing them in their different ways to win through to a kind of hope. Barbara Pym's sensitive wit and... more
This is the story of four people in late middle-age - Edwin, Norman, Letty and Marcia - whose chief point of contact is that they work in the same office and they suffer the same problem - loneliness. Lovingly, poignantly, satirically and with much humour, Pym conducts us through their small lives and the facade they erect to defend themselves against the outside world. There is nevertheless an obstinate optimism in her characters, allowing them in their different ways to win through to a kind of hope. Barbara Pym's sensitive wit and... more
Reviews and Recommendations
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Lauren Mechling So many people who work in the world of literature, and who love humorous, poignant writing, still haven’t gotten to Barbara Pym yet. But that’s part of the beauty of her—she was so overlooked and so marginalized, and that’s why she’s able to write about that kind of character (Source)