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We follow Edwin, Letty, Marcia and Norman, four office workers who are approaching retirement age, before and after Letty and Marcia actually retire.

There were some laugh out loud moments such as the lunch the four of them have together after Letty and Marcia retire, but on this reading, as I realise I am now older than the four characters even if not retired, I find myself taking it a bit personally.

#sunshinewellness

Darkly funny book about two women and two men, loosely linked by working together at a non-descript London office building, all single, and all facing the dilemmas and quiet dread of a looming retirement, that symbolic start to “old age.”

“… Letty did not fancy herself in the role of gooseberry.”

Love finding new-to-me idioms. Who is it that shares “things that scratch my brain”? 😊
#Aug2025 Book73 #AsheCoNCReading Challenge category season

📸 View of the beer steins from lunch other day.

#CharacterCharm #elderly @Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

"Ageing, slightly mad and on the threshold of retirement, it was an uneasy combination and it was no wonder that people shied away from her or made only the most perfunctory remarks” ?

There has not been enough hammock time this summer, but today I finally got a bit with Gandalf for company. I found this book an interesting examination of character and commentary on aging alone, but it was a rather slow and melancholy read for me. I was glad that it ended with a bit of hopefulness.

#Reading1001 #TBRTakedown June 2024
#1001books #HammockReading

I read a few more pages of Quartet in Autumn today while filling the overhead bin (upper right photo) and found this unfamiliar word. Apparently, Marcia is having a tin of sardines originally for the cat.

pilchard: a small, edible, commercially valuable marine fish of the herring family

#WeirdWords #WeirdWordWednesday #BooksOnTheFarm

Four colleagues; Edwin, Norman, Letty and Marcia, in their 60s is planning their retirement. During the novel some of them will retire. They live alone and don‘t have much family.

There was a melancholy to this novel. But it still had Pym‘s great way of describing characters and scenes.

#BookSpin December
#1977 #192025
7th book for #WinterReadathon and #Adventathon

Letty went apologetically to the telephone. Of course there was really no suitable time to ring people in the evening now that television had been invented, for with the choice of three programmes one of them was certain to be the one somebody was watching.

“That day the four of them went to the library, though at different times. The library assistant, if he had noticed them at all, would have seen them as people who belonged together in some way.”

What a great start.

📕 Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
🖊 Quammen, David
📺 The Queen‘s Gambit
🎤 Queen
🎶 Queen of Everything - Haley Bonar

#ManicMonday #LetterQ
@CBee

I don't have many choices for #LetterQ in the #alphabetgame, so this is an easy winner.

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I very much enjoyed this exploration of potential in unpromising relationships. The four colleagues linked only by sharing offices and meaningless work are all dreading retirement but are reluctant to engage with each other. Pym is brilliant at describing unease in a period of social change and the passive aggression of the unhappy. The transformation as a result of unexpected generosity means this sad novel is ultimately redemptive.

This is the first Pym I have read. it‘s a book I picked up in Oxfam. The opening chapter tells you so much of the four ageing workers and the misery of 1970s London. I am immediately struck by the economy of the writing and I am looking forward to the rest of the reading experience

Barbara Pym is one of those authors that I've always been meaning to get to. So when my friend said let's do this book as a buddy-read, I jumped on it! But I don't think this was the book for me. I found it too sad and disheartening. I gather this one book was published several years after her first few books were published. It wasn't quite the tone I was expecting.

Set in 1970s London, we have 4 co-workers, 2 men & 2 women, with the women nearing retirement. All are alone & lonely. This novel is about coping & boundaries & while none would call the others their friend, the others frequently appear in their thoughts. It‘s messy. It‘s insular. Slowly as we get to know each, they form a community of sorts. It‘s an odd little novel. It‘s too sad to be charming, but it‘s good. I will re-read it. 4.5/5

I do love a Pym. 😍 This one is more bittersweet than Excellent Women but I loved it. Four people in one office, approaching retirement are not quite “friends” but what does bind them together?
I love that Pym shows us a variety of older people, some lonely, some busy and purposeful - she gives everyone in this book dignity and importance, even if the world they live in is increasingly dismissive. It‘s a nostalgia trip to be back in the 70s here.

Barbara Pym is my comfort read. I love her prose so much: sharp and funny, yet somehow warm. This is my fourth Pym book and I‘m enjoying it immensely.

I had too much wine last night, so it‘s #ManicMonday on a Tuesday for me. 😬

📖 Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
🖊 Daniel Quinn
🎥 Quills
📺 Queer as Folk (the US version) 🔥
🎤 Queen
🎶 Queen Bee by Johnny Flynn 🐝

#screamathonphotochallenge #autumnleaves

One of the really good #1001books I have read. A quiet, beautiful story. 🧡

Meh

A very quiet read, sometimes sad and often witty. Beautifully written, and the characters are all so different and well-developed. My first Pym, but I definitely plan to read more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#1001books

Day 19 - #autumnal #31bookpics

Story about people who work together in an office and they are getting ready to retire. It was a little sad in some parts but it did end on a good note. The characters are unique and very interesting and I found Pym to be very insightful. I enjoyed her writing very much and I look forward to reading some of her other books. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys classic literature with subtle humor.

This modern classic is perfect for #autumn—not just in reference to the season of the year, but to the season of life. As ever, Pym‘s reflections are astute and her wit is sharp in this poignant tale of four lonely coworkers on the eve of retirement. I‘m reading this now and savoring it, as one does.

#LitsyClassics

Was reading Les Mis and keeping up with the news, but the patriarchy that is our reality AND Victor Hugo‘s subtle misogyny got to be too much for me. Moving on to a beautiful, comforting book written by a woman and a generous glass of wine.

Real question: How are there any female Republicans anymore? Why?!

The quartet is composed of four aging clerks that share an office: Edwin, Letty, Marcia, and Norman. It begins shortly before the Letty and Marcia are asked to retire, showing first the routine of their lives and the changes retirement brings. Pym depicts their shabby and disconnected lives and how, despite best efforts, easy it is to fall through the social/safety net for some and how others adapt to change. The writing is economical and solid.

‘Quartet in Autumn‘ is one of Pym‘s more memorable novels because of its theme of growing old & the loneliness & isolation that can occur with ageing. But what makes this heavy theme bearable is Pym‘s incredible ability to add humour & lightness to even the most bleak of topics. I found this novel intelligent, moving & incredibly relevant with our social & political issues we face today.

My full review is on the blog (link in comments).

It‘s been a blustery day today, high winds screaming through the eaves, and curtains flapping with each gust. This evening, I‘m tucked up with a Barbara Pym, and a cup of mulberry tea. I‘ll be posting a final review on my blog later this week. Every six months I participate in the linked club. This month, it‘s literature from the year 1977. If you‘d like to participate do check out the link below:

http://www.stuckinabook.com/the-next-club-is/

1. The trees & leaves, the darkening of the world, apple-things, pumpkin-things, spice-things, Halloween, plaid, flannel, tea, autumn scents and colors, thick socks, light scarves... 😁
2. Winter. Preferably in front of a fireplace, with snow outside
3. The not-too-distant-future
4. I'm trying to spend less... 😬
5. Castles, haunted houses, etc
6. Work, baby, social obligations, sleep
7. I keep track.. it's >1000 at this point. 😳
#LitsyQuestions

#fallintobooks day 22: #fallreads
I decided to go with books with "autumn" titles for this one. None of which I've read though I've certainly enjoyed books by these authors.
Have you read any of these autumn books?

The last of my Barbara Pym haul arrived today. I decided to replace 4 tattered copies I already owned and found some lovely editions online. #BookMail

English novelist Pym portrays, somewhat unhurriedly, but with sharp observations on character, four co-workers on the verge of retirement. At the end I was feeling all "I don't want to be one of those lonely people out there when I'm old". I'll definitely be on the lookout for her other novels-- this was one of her last ones. Read for year 1977 of #birthdaychallenge

"Marcia had always appreciated the drama of an ambulance and even wanted to ride in one, but when the time came she was hardly in a position to realise that she was at last achieving this unusual ambition ". ? Almost done with my 1977 book for my #birthdaychallenge ?.