Sinossi
Jane, quarantenne, è un'accademica dal viso struccato e dall'abbigliamento dimesso, più adatto a un pollaio che a essere mostrato in pubblico. Casalinga incapace, non se la cava troppo bene neanche nelle sue funzioni di moglie di un ecclesiastico, preferendo agli incontri con i fedeli i romanzi o le ricerche su oscuri poeti. Prudence è al contrario un fiore di serra dedito a vezzeggiarsi. Bella, neanche trentenne, schizzinosa, vestita in modo squisito, ha un appartamento così elegante che un marito potrebbe sembrarvi fuori posto. Ha pure l'abitudine di preferire relazioni insoddisfacenti: l'ultima infatuazione è per il suo orribile capo, che neanche si accorge della sua presenza. L'amicizia tra le due donne risale a quando Jane era tornata per un paio di anni a Oxford a insegnare, e Prudence era sua allieva. Jane si sente in dovere di cercare un marito a Prudence e, nonostante numerosi episodi fallimentari, non demorde.
- ISBN: 8898713096
- Casa Editrice: astoria
- Pagine: 240
- Data di uscita: 22-04-2015
Recensioni
Another hilarious and satirical look at Barbara Pym’s world. It reminds me so much of Wodehouse, dated and quaint yet somehow a world I wish we could all still inhabit. Where a relationship was broken by a letter, where a meal out with a man caused serious gossip for villagers, where a woman’s unmar Leggi tutto
This is the first book I've read by Pym and on that basis alone, I will say she is in the tradition of Jane Austen (the main character's Emma Woodhouse comment acknowledges this), Trollope (whom the character Jane is a reader of) and even Gaskell's Cranford . While reading, I also couldn't help but c Leggi tutto
What a delight! My second Barbara Pym, and I have decided to read one of her books at least once a year. She is a breath of fresh air. This story could be seen as just a light romp with some very amusing company. It was that. We have Jane, a bluestocking turned vicar’s wife. “I should have liked the k Leggi tutto
The bio of Pym on the back of my copy of Jane and Prudence accuses her of writing primarily about "Anglican spinsters." The phrase itself seems like it's from another age, and so does Pym's novel about middle class British women making their way through the immediate postwar years. Pym's women are i Leggi tutto
I am thankful my first Barbara Pym book was Excellent Women because I loved it! I loved the story and the protagonist’s sharp wit, and the narrator, Jayne Entwistle. When I started Jane and Prudence , I expected the humor and engaging characters as I found in Excellent Women . Sadly, I did not lik Leggi tutto
Thank goodness for Barbara Pym. She is another comfort read. That world of High Church vs. Low Church... and somewhere in between, church decorating, anthropology, delicious food descriptions, and the cynical observations of the relationships between men and women. Always a pleasure to dive into a P Leggi tutto
Pym writes loneliness, the urban/modern condition, and humanity’s oft mistaken attempts at communication and companionship very well. Given that her characters are generally overlooked middle-aged people clinging quietly but desperately to a pretense of gentility, one might assume her stories are un Leggi tutto
Once I accepted that Pym world is the Waspy-ist of Wasplands circa the 1950's, where the only conceivable 'others' are Catholics, I settled in and had a fabulous time. I didn't read the publisher's description, so somehow I had it in my head that Jane and Prudence were both Elizabeth Bennett types.
Another goodie by Ms. Pym! I do like this type of book, its not action packed but rather focuses on the characters. It's like a slice of life about 10 years post WWII in England. It's full of people you know and situations you've encountered, from the coworkers, friends, lovers and spouses. We've al Leggi tutto
Sigh... on one hand I didn't want this to end and on the other hand, I couldn't put it down! I am so glad to have met Barbara Pym! I shall be reading more of her books! Gentle, delightful, witty, lovely! Written in the 1950's about life in a British village in the 1950's-- about a friendship between Leggi tutto
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