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great book I loved it is that enough characters? no, obviously not, two more words needed...oh, that's enough

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perfect

Love Barbara Pym's novels. The narration was absolutely perfect. I will be looking to download some more of these. very enjoyable

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Blessings in a clouded glass

Perhaps more subtle and less overtly humorous than much of Pym’s work, this is a very impressive novel. It may be her best work.

The blessings in the glass may not be apparent at first, but seek your own truth with an open heart and the glass will clear. That is one meaning to be found in this engaging and very enjoyable book.

The reading is exemplary.

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Great Stuff

A comedy of manners..written as only Pym could- filled with the usual "Affectionate Irony". This is nicely read although I do prefer Susan Jameson' performance.

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2 people found this helpful

Evocative of the era

This is my second Barbara Pym book and I cant wait to read the others. It really transports to another era and the narrator really brought the characters to life

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Delightful!

Lovely comedy of manners. Well read overall, but I felt the narrator struggled with some of the male characters who sounded similar & were not clearly defined. A common problem with audio books I find. Very enjoyable nevertheless.

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Respectable and subersive

This is Barbara Pym's early masterwork. The limitations, triviality and superficiality of the lives described may be disconcerting at first. But perhaps we don't notice our own limitations. But every speech reveals people's self deceptions. The social nuances are spot-on. And what I have always found very moving in this book is that here is an eminently respectable, indeed conservative, lady in the 1950s who finds absolutely no difficulty in relating to gay men as completely unproblematic. I find it an endlessly amusing and fascinating book. More for lovers of Jane Austen than lovers of Charlotte Bronte or Ian Fleming.

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9 people found this helpful

Excellent and very well narrated

Another excellent and quietly humorous and clever Barbara Pym - perhaps not quite as witty as Some Gazelle . . but very good nevertheless. Fortunately Patience Tomlinson managed a different lead voice so no confusion despite sight overlap of themes.

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Splendid

At last a narrator worthy of Barbara Pym!


I can't give away the plot- but the genius of 'Glass of Blessings' is the way it quietly crumbles- it feels calm, chilly- almost a little dull and predictable- but then- wham!- the genius of Pym's narration just hits you-

The scene in the grocer's shop over the streaky bacon is achingly moving in a most extraordinary way.

It's a slow burner- you can't judge it til you've finished it.

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3 people found this helpful

Deliciously waspish Pym at her very best

It is perhaps one of those fundamental truths that one so often considers oneself THE one normal person in the room - the yardstick against which all and everything should be measured. Everyone and everything else falls short - to some degree - against such a paragon....
Thus it is with poor Wilmet Forsyth who, travelling through her world with her smug and patronising conceits, misses all that is really just under her nose. With the deft, crafted, one-liners and surgical observation this is Pym at her most Austeneque. Delicious, skilful, hilarious and yet tragic. For this yardstick is the most flawed character in the cast - and herein lies the joke.
Oh - if only we could see ourself as others see us...!
Patience Tomlinson's narration is wonderful: playing it absolutely straight & letting the humour stand out for itself.
The ONLY flaw being her rendition of the male voices - universally sounding in their mid 70s when in fact many are in their late 30's. In this a joke is missed: for a pompous young fool is so much funnier than a pompous old fool.

This is really a story from another age - my mother's generation. Could any 33 year old now be so snobbish and out of touch?

That being said however this was the best book I've listened to in years and will surely listen to it again. A real gem!

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1 person found this helpful