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Title: Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym ISBN: 0-525-48379-9 Publisher: Dutton Books Pub. Date: May, 1988 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.2 (10 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Merest Survival
Comment: Although one of her most acclaimed, QUARTET IN AUTUMN is my least favorite of Barbara Pym's major novels. It is spare and muted in tone, and its humor is very subdued.
QUARTET IN AUTUMN is a study of the courage required of ordinary people when old age begins to take away all that gives life meaning--work, family, friends. It is therefore mainly concerned with questions of survival. Its four main characters are isolated and anonymous London office workers. Some manage to continue to find ways to make their lives possible, but the book is also unsparing about the bleaker alternatives.
The writing in QUARTER IN AUTUMN is disciplined and mature, but it is disquieting because it admits the possibility of only the merest survival.
Rating: 5
Summary: "Aging, slightly mad, and on the threshold of retirement."
Comment: Barbara Pym is a writer I return to year after year, but of all of her novels, "Quartet in Autumn" remains my favourite. It's the poignant tale of 4 people--Letty, Marcia, Norman and Edwin. They all work in minor clerical jobs in the same department in a London business, and they are all destined to retire within a few months of one another. The novel begins a few months prior to retirement and follows each character's life into the so-called Golden Years. In spite of the fact that they've all worked together for many years, the 4 co-workers do not socialize with one another--apart from the occasional work-related event. The relationships between the four remain basically casual observations of one another, the sharing of economy sized coffee cans, and the exchange of banal comments. As retirement looms, the four characters face uncertainty, loneliness, and despair. With empty and bleak retirements ahead of them, they all realize that their lives have "been swept away as if they had never been."
Norman is single and lives in a poky bed-sit. He's morose, and seems to get pleasure from the misfortunes of others. His sole relationship outside of the office is with his deceased sister's husband. Edwin--a widower--is much better off financially, and he owns his own home and has a married daughter. Edwin is obsessed with the clergy, and to him the year is divided into religious events, and the days in-between just mark time until the next religious event scheduled at the numerous churches he attends. When Edwin isn't visiting new churches, he's investigating the background of a variety of vicars. This obsession serves as a guide to his spare time.
Marcia, who is closer to Norman in temperament, has recently had a mastectomy. She lives alone in a horribly neglected house in which she hoards milk bottles, tinned food, and plastic bags. The single highlight of Marcia's life is her secret crush on the surgeon who performed her mastectomy. She looks forward to her recheck appointments with pathetic eagerness.
Letty--a spinster--is the sweetest character of the four. Letty is gentle, ladylike, and she has a forgiving and generous nature. Of the 4 characters, Letty is the true Pym heroine in this novel. Letty lives in a tiny bed-sit in a London suburb, but she plans to retire to the country with childhood chum, Marjorie. Letty's plans to retire to Marjorie's country cottage are subject to the fickle fancies of a local vicar, and soon, Letty's future looks grim indeed.
"Quartet in Autumn" may possibly sound horribly depressing, but I really didn't find it so. The bitter emptiness of the lives of Marcia and Norman are contrasted with the lives of Letty and Edwin. Letty and Edwin find joy and quiet satisfaction in life, and this is something that eludes Marcia and Norman. Ultimately, it seems that life is what you make of it. Old age comes to those who are lucky enough to live that long, and what we make of old age...well that is up to us, but outlook, interests, and concern for others all help. Pym novels never disappoint. Her characters are always interesting, and Pym's gentle, perfect prose leads the reader to a quiet, optimistic conclusion. Pym's relentless view of old age is a bit of a change of pace from her other novels, and I find "Quartet in Autumn" one of the very best books I have ever read on the subject of aging. If you like Jane Austen novels, then chances are that you will also enjoy Barbara Pym. As a writer, Pym deserves far more acclaim that she receives -displacedhuman.
Rating: 4
Summary: A critical look at how we treat the elderly in today's world
Comment: What happens to people as they grow older in a society that does not value the elderly? This is the critical question Barbara Pym addresses in her novel, Quartet in Autumn. She takes us into the lives of four aging co-workers on the brink of retirement; they are no longer of use to anyone and their department will be phased out as soon as they leave the company. Marcia, Letty, Edwin, and Norman are all alone, without friends or relatives to care for them in their later lives. Each of them is terribly lonely, yet they are too stubborn and ashamed to turn to one another for friendship.
The novel is moving, and sometimes downright scary. Indeed, Pym shows us that such a fate could easily belong to anyone in today's society. She makes it readily apparent that the resources and aid available to the elderly are insufficient. Few people truly care what happens to those who are no longer of any great use to the modern world. It is a bleak prospect, and this book serves as an important warning. The book is also hopeful, however. Ultimately the main characters do manage to reach out to one another, and this is heartwarming. It shows us the value in cultivating relationships with others.
I read Quartet in Autumn for a women's studies course, and while it is not particularly exciting or enthralling, it is quite thought-provoking. It's an easy, short read (roughly 200 pages), and uses plain, to-the-point language. Pym really pares it down to the issues at hand and throws in no extraneous fluff. I would recommend this work to just about anyone (regardless of age - it's message is equally important to the old and young alike). It raises awareness of a very important, yet seldom looked at aspect of the social world of today.
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Title: Less Than Angels by Barbara Pym ISBN: 0060805641 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Pub. Date: March, 1982 List Price(USD): $3.50 |
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Title: Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym ISBN: 1559213019 Publisher: Moyer Bell Ltd. Pub. Date: 30 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym ISBN: 0060805943 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Pub. Date: October, 1982 List Price(USD): $3.50 |
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Title: No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym ISBN: 155921306X Publisher: Moyer Bell Ltd. Pub. Date: 01 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym ISBN: 0060805501 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Pub. Date: November, 1981 List Price(USD): $3.95 |
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