Barbara Pym is a favorite author and Quartet in Autumn is my favorite of her books.Quartet is the story of middle-aged office workers Norman, Edwin, Marcia and Letty. These people have nothing in common but working together in the same office and acute loneliness. The four are ready for retirement. It is most difficult for Marcia who is eccentric, a hoarder and an old anorexic. She dies alone in sad circumstances. Her death awakens the others, and while they are a passive group, at least Letty seems to be aware of possibilities open to her to make the golden years more pleasant.
I love Pym’s novels-- nothing really happens but she tells a great story with an economy of words and lots of humor. A cup of tea and a comfortable chair go well with Barbara Pym.
~Maggie
Request Quartet in Autumn from the Bangor Public Library
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