Paperback, 302 pages
English language
Published Oct. 30, 2007 by Moyer Bell.
Catherine Oliphant writes for women’s magazines and lives comfortably with anthropologist Tom Mallow—although she’s starting to wonder if they’ll ever get married. Then Tom drops his bombshell: He’s leaving her for a nineteen-year-old student.
Though stunned by Tom’s betrayal, Catherine quickly becomes fascinated by another anthropologist, Alaric Lydgate, a reclusive eccentric recently returned from Africa. As Catherine starts to weigh her options, she must figure out who she is and what she really wants.
With a lively cast of characters and a witty look at the insular world of academia, this novel from the much-loved author of Excellent Women and other modern classics is filled with poignant, playful observations about the traits that separate us from our anthropological forebears—far fewer than we may imagine.
I think I’m in love with Barbara Pym? V funny if you’re tuned into her slyness about anthropologists and gender roles and white London suburbs.
I came across Barbara Pym via the wonderful Backlisted podcast (www.backlisted.fm/episodes/109-barbara-pym-excellent-women). They were so incredibly enthusiastic about her, that I thought I just had to try a one of her books. Unfortunately, that probably meant that my expectations had been built up rather too high. The book was nice, amusing in places and generally an enjoyable read, but epithets like 'brilliant' are too much. The book pokes fun at scientists, anthropologists in this case, with their otherworldly attitudes and obsession with the details of their possibly pointless studies, which was quite fun. It was also nice to see how the book makes a point of the fact the rituals of everyday life in suburban England are so comparable to the 'exotic' rituals in Africa studied by the anthropologists, and it to modern readers it is comes across as being even rather anti-racist in a contemporary sort of way. …
I came across Barbara Pym via the wonderful Backlisted podcast (www.backlisted.fm/episodes/109-barbara-pym-excellent-women). They were so incredibly enthusiastic about her, that I thought I just had to try a one of her books. Unfortunately, that probably meant that my expectations had been built up rather too high. The book was nice, amusing in places and generally an enjoyable read, but epithets like 'brilliant' are too much. The book pokes fun at scientists, anthropologists in this case, with their otherworldly attitudes and obsession with the details of their possibly pointless studies, which was quite fun. It was also nice to see how the book makes a point of the fact the rituals of everyday life in suburban England are so comparable to the 'exotic' rituals in Africa studied by the anthropologists, and it to modern readers it is comes across as being even rather anti-racist in a contemporary sort of way. It is very literary, with countless allusions, but I'm not sure that really is a very positive thing. All in all, a pleasant read, and if the author hadn't been hyped up quite so much in the podcast, I might have enjoyed it more.
