Jane and Prudence

Title: Jane and Prudence

Author: Barbara Pym

Publication date: 1953

Book's setting: The early 1950's

Random facts: Barbara Pym was close friends with Julian Amery, a member of Parliament, which may have been inspiration for the character in Jane and Prudence with the same job.

Plot summary: Jane and Prudence went to Oxford together years ago and have remained good friends ever since. The only difference is that Jane is 40 and married with a grown-up daughter while Prudence is 29 and single. Prudence seems to be doomed to a string of faulty love affairs and Jane just wants to see her settled. The problem is that Prudence is determined to be in love with her married boss. Jane and her husband Nicholas move to a new country village to take over a dying parish and Prudence comes to stay... reluctantly. But in this little town she meets Fabian, the mysterious and romantic widow who can't quite seem to get over his dead wife. Can Prudence woo him? And does she even want to?

Favorite aspects: I just love Jane and Nicholas. They're both so well educated and brilliant but they're living like poor country folk, holding together dying parish, dressing badly, and being dull. Yet I don't pity them, I admire them. Instead I pity Prudence, whose existence is so chic and empty and lifeless. I'm a bit of a ~city girl~ at heart who tends to scrunch up my nose at the idea of ~country life~ but Pym portrayed Jane's world as so lovely! I want to go to the Spinning Wheel for a lunch of fried eggs and potatoes! Also Jane and Prudence is chock full of nonstop giggles, so that counts for something.

Least favorite aspects: I didn't like Prudence. All the other characters were likable and interesting, but Prudence was just annoying. Maybe her string of admirers just got exhausting after a while. I think she was a bit too good for her co-worker and as ridiculous as Fabian was, it's better they didn't get too far. Pym usually writes hosts of charming and adorable characters... even highly flawed ones... but Prudence grated on my nerves.

Other works it reminded me of: Other things by Barbara Pym; books by Rosamund Pilcher.

Sadie's merciless break-down: Hey look. I read another Barbara Pym novel! How seemingly predictable at this point. But when you find an author you like, you just want to run with it... until you run out of books. The funnest thing about reading multiple works by the same author is finding the similarities between novels and trying to determine that one thing that makes an author's work distinctive. Last year I whipped through a dozen Diana Wynne Jones books in a month and read everything the library had by Edith Wharton. I think 2011 will be a year of Barbara Pym. I hope you all don't mind because her books shall continue to crop up.
I have nothing else to say mainly because a new episode of Chuck airs in seven minutes and I want to make tea before it starts. Fin.

Recommendation rate: If you enjoy British romance comedy then obviously you should read it.

Less than Angels

Title: Less than Angels

Author: Barbara Pym

Publication date: 1955

Book's setting: The 1950's

Random facts: Pym worked for a while at the African Institute of London, and a lot of this book was based on her experiences there.

Plot summary: Let me start by introducing you to some of the characters. We can start with three young archeology students- Deirdre, Mark, and Digby. Then there is Tom. He's working on his thesis and is supposedly very brilliant, but Digby and Mark doubt this sometimes. Catherine is his partner. She writes stories and keeps house for Tom. Then there are a few linguists and some worried mothers and aunts. And a brother and an awful fiance. And a flame from the past. Oh yeah, and your token crazy Frenchman. Who is in love with who? Where is the grant money going? Will Tom ever finish his thesis? Who's going to Africa? And how will Tom eat without Catherine? For a romance, this is high-adventure.

Favorite aspects: The characters, obviously. The way their lives are knit together. Pym's foreshadowing. The way you get a little peak into everyone's head. Her hilarious plot and witty asides. She has lots of foils, which is one of those literary things that I love. Catherine and Deirdre play well off each other. I don't want to give anything away, but my favorite thing about this book, and I think the aspect of it that reflects best on Pym's abilities as an author, are the two twists in the end. They're insane and jaw dropping and come out of nowhere. And both of them, once you get over your initial horror, deflate. And you realize that everyone's better off this way anyway. Less than Angels is a spectacularly planned novel.

Least favorite aspects: It was too short. Um.

Other works it reminded me of: Leave it to Psmith by PG Wodehouse; Cotillion by Georgette Heyer.

Sadie's merciless break-down: It surprises me sometimes, the books I'm drawn to. On the surface Less than Angels isn't much more than an amusing British romance. Frivolous and fun. And yet I can hardly find a fault with it. It might be the coolest thing I've read in ages. Pym is a master, she's got the POWER that Wodehouse had thirty years before. She's been called a modern Jane Austen, but that's hardly an accurate comparison. Austen is dry and rude. Pym is simply hysterical. She has the magic touch that makes this novel simply better than you'd think by reading a synopsis or looking at the dingy cover of the copy the BPL sent me. I have only read two of her books, but I've already decided that Barbara Pym is not nearly as well known as she should be. Can someone reprint her novels with candy-colored covers and put them on a perky display in Barnes and Nobles? I think that's where they should be, not in the Main Branch Library's storage. I'm so thankful that I have a mom who read a lot and shares it all with me.
I normally don't like reading quotes out of context, but I want you to get an idea of the flavor of Less than Angels. This is found on the first page- it's been a while since something got to me so quickly. "She poured herself another cup of tea which had become dark and stewed, as she preferred it. She felt no guilt, sitting idly at her table in the window, watching the sun streaming through the amethyst and gold stained-glass borders, while everyone around her gulped and hurried to catch trains home, for she earned her living writing stories and articles for women's magazine and had to draw her inspiration from everyday life, though life itself was sometimes too strong and raw and must be made palatable by fancy, as tough meat may be made tender by mincing. "

Recommendation rate: READ IT. THAT'S ALL.

No Fond Return of Love

Title: No Fond Return of Love

Author: Barbara Pym

Publication date: 1961

Book's setting: The 1950's

Random facts: Pym gave herself a cameo in the book the way some movie directors put themselves in their films.

Plot summary: Dulcie and Viola are middle-aged woman in the publishing buisness. They run into the handsome, recently-divorced Aylwin Forbes at a convention for editors and publishers. Dulcie is fascinated by him and decides to gather as much information on him as possible, leading her to his former mother-in-law and further. At the same time Laurel, Dulcie's teenage niece, moves into Dulcie's spare bedroom and takes her own interest in the mysterious older man. Aylwin is oblivious to the woman on his tail, but they manage to circle closer to him. Will Lauren forget all about the next-door neighbor? Which pastor really is Aylwin's brother? How bad are poor Viola's circumstances? And above all, who will Aylwin chose? (<-- that sounds like a legit blurb right there. I am getting good at this.)

Favorite aspects: The characters. There is something so wonderful about the classic British comedy ensemble cast- the wacky old ladies and questionable pastors and dramatic foreigners and good-hearted young boys. Pym does this with ease, and even the most insignificant characters make you guffaw a couple of times. No Fond Return of Love is what the title says. It's every angle of unrequited love stuffed into one story about a couple of really brilliant, lonely souls.

Least favorite aspects: I don't really know. It wasn't a perfect book obviously (there are very few of those), but it did what it set out to do well and with ease. Laurel was a bit grating and that bothered me, even though it was her character at fault and not Pym's writing. Pym has a good handle on her characters, and I really can't think of much to criticize or point out. Well, now that I think about it, it was a bit stupid. Personally I love stupid. You, however, might not love stupid books, in which case you should just veer out of Barbra Pym's way altogether.

Other works it reminded me of: An Unwilling Guest by Grace Livingston Hill; The Mating Season by PG Wodehouse.

Sadie's merciless break-down: So imagine this. (Changes are you don't have to imagine very hard.) You meet a guy and you really like him and he doesn't really notice you. You don't see him again. You find his Facebook, you look at his pictures. You find his ex's Tumblr. You see him at a party and he doesn't remember your name. There is no fond return of love. This book captures the hysteria of internet-stalking your clueless crush... but from before the internet was around. Your jaw will drop at the lengths that Dulcie and Viola go to. Without giving too much away, I can say that my favorite part about this book is how it ends before the real romance starts. It's focused on the illogical passion you can have for someone before you really know them. The mutual, mature romance that begins to grow at the end of the book is left up to your imagination.
Okay, confession time. I'm an internet stalker. This books appealed to my innermost creeper. If you have an innermost creeper than it will appeal to you too.

Recommendation rate: If you like general hysteria then you should read it.