Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #382675 in Books
• Published on: 1994-08-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Synopsis
Brought together by their shared office life, faded Letty, small, wiry Norman, eccentric Marcia and devout Edwin, are an unlikely group of friends, but nevertheless find themselves drawn to discuss their different dreams and plans for the future. This book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

Customer Reviews

Old age and reduced circumstances
Letty, Marcia, Norman and Edwin all work together in an office dealing with unspecified paperwork. Marcia has had a major operation and she and Letty are about to retire, leaving Norman and Edwin working. The style of writing is subtle and understated and the characters mildly eccentric -Marcia keeps well washed empty milk bottles in her garden shed. All four will be changed irrevocably by the end of the book.
The story deals with issues we must all face at some point in our lives. Loneliness, independence, being used and using. The minor characters are well realised - Mrs Pope - who Letty lodges with; Father G the priest with whom Edwin is friends; Marjorie who would like Letty to live with her if there are no better alternatives; and Janice - the social worker - who visits Marcia with the best of intentions.
Four people growing old and dealing with life's slings and arrows in the only way they know how. Of the four Letty is perhaps the most likeable, striving as she does to keep the peace, realising by the end of the book that Marjorie is not the best friend she could have and finding the courage to make her own choices. All four will stay in your mind long after you have finished reading. I shall definitely be looking for more books by Barbara Pym. If you like Anita Brookner you will enjoy this - Barbara Pym has the same acute eye for all the facets of everyday life.

A lovely book
Beautifully observed, restrained and unsensational, a lovely book of life and change. A fine modern classic.

Quartet in Autumn
A bittersweet novel about growing older in an England which seems to have almost entirely vanished. Miss Pym's characters are often sad, sometimes eccentric, but always engaging. Anyone who likes gentle humour and nostalgia will like this book.