Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym

Sometimes you come across a piece of writing that is so subtle and understated that you almost absorb what’s going on by osmosis. This marvelous novel is like that. I loved Barbara Pym’s Excellent Women and Quartet offers more of the same quiet observation of ordinary human lives. It’s the story of four ordinary single people, two men, Norman and Edwin, and two women, Letty and Marcia, who work together in unspecified clerical jobs, live alone and struggle with a deep loneliness. They are all nearing retirement age and when the two women retire they must adjust to this new landscape. Letty has to find a new home when her plans to join an old friend in the country fall through; Marcia has to find a new way of living when her normal workday routine has disappeared. Despite the bleakness of the setting and the drabness of these people’s lives, Quartet is frequently full of black comedy. I’ve read this described as ‘tender’ comedy, and yes, Pym is both understanding and forgiving; at the same time however she is a keen and humorous observer of the ludicrousies of these mundane lives. It’s a book for reading very, very carefully, watching for the wry smile on Pym’s face as she makes some small and easily overlooked observation.