I broke my rule of waiting a ‘decent’ time (a very Pymish term!) before reading the same author again, in this case I read Barbara Pym’s exceptional “Excellent Women” not long before Quartet. This may have been a factor, but also the bleakness of the lives that form the core of this novel, that made this much less enjoyable. There is scant nobility in this bleakness, and the characters, if anything, embrace it. The tale is in 70’s London, in the tiny universe of an office staffed by two men and two women. They are an odd bunch, boring empty people incapable of the tiniest impact on other people or the world. Or on even their office in fact- once they have all retired it will be shut down and nobody, including the Quartet, seems to know its purpose- it just is. They will all retire and continue to do nothing of interest beyond perhaps eating some tinned food, or getting crazy and going to a library, only to be disappointed by it except for perhaps taking offence at the librarian's hairstyle. The only character that elicited any sympathy was Lettie, but Lettie is far from an excellent woman, too timid and boring; she was a bright spark only in contrast to the other three. The writing is of course wonderful, warm and witty despite the cast of characters, and the evocation of 70’s Britain and post-colonial implosion very well done- but it’s not great fun. ( )

Pym's darkest novel, or perhaps "bleakest" is a better way of putting it. It's also, perhaps, her best. And this is odd because Quartet is rather unlike anything else Pym wrote. It has her needle-sharp accurate character portraits, her dry wit, her evocation of drab lives dully lived, but also its characters - deliberately - lack the sparkle that even her most grayest of characters cling to elsewhere. Written only a few years before her death, this is the kind of a novel only an older person can write, with its reflections on life, purpose, and meaninglessness. Thankfully, we can always sense the wry Pymian hand of the narrator behind the empty lives.

It's fantastic. It's probably the one Pym to read if you're not going to read any others (even though you won't get a sense of her high comedy canon!). And even at 32, I find myself wondering which of these sexagenarians I will be in retirement.

Grimly wonderful. ( )

A look at 4 unmarried people of retirement age in the 1970s, 2 men and 2 women who work together (before the women retire). As I am approaching this age myself, I found some aspects of this a little daunting but I take heart in the fact that I am not like Marcia!! ( )

A novel with no defined plot about 4 older people, working in a London office together, examining a brief slice of their lives as they near retirement. Pym's observations are insightful and witty and sad, her understanding of human nature in relation to gender is impressive. Throughly enjoyed....

A good summation of the novel:“Four people on the verge of retirement, each one of us living alone, and without any close relative near – that’s us.” Barbara Pym ( )

Set in London, this is a quiet book about two men and two women who work together. They do not know each other well personally but have worked in the same office for years. The two women retire. When one of the retired women appears to be declining, the others try to help, but it is difficult not to intrude on her privacy. It is a beautifully written character study about aging. Each takes a different approach. These characters feel so authentic and the situations true to life. It is melancholy but leaves the reader with a sense of optimism that something positive will come out of the sadness. I loved it. ( )