When Barbara Pym wrote "Quartet in Autumn" in 1977 it was one of her very last books. For me it was the first book I've ever read from her and I don't think that I'll read another book of her for a rather long time.
The story takes place in 1970s London. The four protagonists Marcia, Letty, Edwin and Norman work in the same office, but the don't share life together. If you take a closer look at the characters, you notice one big similarity - loneliness.
After having read the book I don't feel related to the characters at all, but also I don't feel touched by the plot. The whole story was so sad and depressing - I really hope that getting in my 60ies in twenty years is a more funfull way of life than the lifes of these four characters. And I don't understand the motives of the author for writing the book. Did she mean to say that it's just terrible to get older or to be old until one turns 60?
The book has about 180 pages, so it was possible to finish it, but I didn't like reading it.