An Unsuitable Attachment

Barbara Pym writes of such restrained, easily embarrassed but never willing to show it people. Ianthe's almost hardly there love story enthralled and everyone else was five parts funny and one part tender. ( )

I've read this book but am planning to re-read it so I'll edit my review then.

An Unsuitable Attachment is Barbara Pym at her best, with all the elements that make one of her novels so good. Set in the parish of St. Basil’s in London (although it feels small village-ish), this is a romantic comedy about a vicar and his wife, her sister, an anthropologist, and a “gentlewoman.” The book is punctuated by a lovely springtime trip the characters take to Rome.

This novel is vintage Pym: “genteel” ladies and spinsters, and a gentle romantic comedy set in a parish community. It’s funny and sharp, and the characters are very much in Barbara Pym’s style. Ianthe Broome is one of the independent “excellent women” that Pym writes so well about; Rupert Stonebird is an anthropologist whose single status makes him a victim for the matchmaking ladies of the parish (but the reader has a sneaking suspicion that he’s a bit of a cad). Even Faustina, Sophia Ainger’s cat, is a character unto herself (although I felt her emotional dependence on the cat was a little disturbing sometimes). The romance aspect of the book takes a back seat to the characters, which is just as well considering that the characters are so strong.

I loved the fact that this novel was set, albeit briefly, in Rome; some of the comments that some of the narrow-minded characters make are hysterical (since Pym has a habit of mercilessly poking fun at people). An Unsuitable Attachment is classic Barbara Pym, and probably one of my favorites by her. ( )

Outside of bodily harm, I could not be forced to decide which Barbara Pym novel is my favorite. At this point, I haven’t read them all – and finding them in the great Northwest Territory is harder than you think. I’ve done okay but I may have to force myself upon the dictates of online shopping to obtain the rest, but I will – I will not quaver in my quest to finish every last novel she wrote.
Again my undying gratitude to Library Thing and the Barbara Pym group there, I will continue on in my endeavors but I “chart the course with (some) regret.” Once I’ve read them all, well I’ll read them again – yes of course I’ll read them again and find something new but…alas.
An unsuitable Attachment, this novel is a novel of relationships, that wouldn’t appear to be well, good ideas – and what is so fine about the novel, it makes no judgment either way. After “things,” are settle the author leaves us to think what we might. Will older and younger persevere? Was the relationship forged for her house and “nice things?” Will he finally get her attention without making her cry? All the awful clucking and raised eyebrows were given full vent, marriage, like the stork persevered and everyone went home nodding or shaking their heads.
No sage thoughts, really just wonderful surprises, shocks and out right laughter.
And getting us there was Ms Pym’s genius and oh (I know I know I’ve said this before) that it took me so long to find her! She epitomizes what I envy in a writer, especially a woman – her point is made that often there are no answers to life’s questions but that does not mean that women need buckle to convention. Independence is a viable way of life, a pleasant, peaceful, way of life that loneliness need not intrude upon. ( )

This was a most satisfying read, full of what Barbara Pym does best: satirizing the public and private lives of England's "excellent women." Sophia Ainger is a vicar's wife in a parish in a somewhat dodgy part of London. When she's not supporting her husband's work, she's arranging suitors for her younger sister Penelope. There's a comforting predictability to church work:
Ianthe Broom, Daisy Pettigrew, Sister Dew, and one or two others whose names she could never remember, now sat down round the table and began to discuss the final arrangements for the bazaar, which had always been exactly the same and always would be, except that from one year to another a pint more or less of milk might be ordered for the teas. (p. 53)

Sophia is also slightly obsessed with her cat, Faustina, who is always in the background engaging in typical feline behavior:
Her tone was a little agitated for she had also just seen Faustina mount the refreshment table and pick her way delicately among the dishes of cakes and savouries, sniffing the air, ready to pause and pounce when she came upon something that took her fancy. (p. 60)

Sophia finds sympathetic company in Daisy Pettigrew and her brother Edwin, who run a cattery. But when conversation lags or gets awkward, Sophia fills the gap by comparing Faustina to various humans, or wondering aloud what Faustina is doing at that moment. This never seems to help matters, but it made for amusing reading.

Then there's Ianthe Broom, a 30-something unmarried daughter of a curate. She works in a library and recently moved into the parish. Most consider her past her prime, but Sophia is concerned about her competing with Penelope for male attention. Ianthe is oblivious to all of this; she's not looking for a mate, and values her independence. She is both surprised and flattered when a male colleague begins paying attention to her. But is he suitable? Or will others judge her?

A church-sponsored trip to Rome puts everyone out of their element. This heightens anxieties, but new experiences also offer opportunities for self-discovery. Ianthe and Penelope both return to England with a better understanding of what they want from life and their relationships.

Pym's world is familiar to anyone who has ever been involved in church committees, and she simultaneously respects and pokes fun at this slice of society. Sophia's "crazy cat lady" personality made me laugh out loud on several occasions. And so, for that matter, did Faustina (especially since I had a cat in my lap most of the time when I was reading this book)!

I've read most of Barbara Pym's books, and enjoyed them all. An Unsuitable Attachment is now one of my favorites. ( )