"…though life was sometimes too strong and raw and must be made palatable by fancy, as tough meat may be made tender by mincing" (7)."...and secondly because it was helpful to missionaries and government officials to know as much as possible about the people they sought to evangelize or govern" (15)."And so it came about that, like many other well-meaning people, they worried not so much about the dreadful things themselves as about their own inability to worry about them" (41)."He often thought what a good thing it would be if the wearing of masks or animals' heads could become customary for persons over a certain age. How restful social intercourse would be if the face did not have to assume any expression--the strained look of interest, the simulated delight or surprise, the anxious concern one didn't really feel" (57)."Miss Clovis was acting as secretary to the selection committee and enjoyed the work, which was congenial to her natural curiosity about people and her desire to arrange their lives for them" (62).“The small things of life were often so much bigger than the great things, she decided, wondering how many writers and philosophers had said this before her, the trivial pleasures like cooking, one’s home, little poems especially sad ones, solitary walks, funny things seen and overheard” (104).“Understanding somebody else’s filing system is just about as easy as really getting to know another human being” (109).“Men appeared to be so unsubtle, but perhaps it was only by contrast with the tortuous delicacy of women…” (110).“...but the bookshelf by her bed wasn’t very encouraging, and only made her think what very strange books people gave as Confirmation presents” (138).“The only real book of devotion she had, suitably enough from her headmistress, told her that we are strangers and pilgrims here and must endure the heart’s banishment, and she felt that she knew that anyway” (138)."...having the power to grant her moments of happiness but being very stingy with them just now" (154)."...and in the evening read her favourite depressing poets, Hardy, Matthew Arnold and the lesser Victorians..." (154).“Oh, what cowards scholars are! When you think how poets and novelists rush in with their analyses of the human heart and mind and soul, of which they often have far less knowledge than darling Tom has of his tribe” ( 167).“Her words seemed to ring out among the peacocks, making Catherine wonder if they often heard or witnessed the deeper passion. The gossipy office chatter, the dreary female conversation, the quiet furtive hand-holdings, would be more what they were accustomed to, she felt” (172).“Tom left the room feeling rather sad. He had the impression that his uncle was a kind of prisoner, or a sacrifice laid before the altar of the television set which demanded a constant tribute of victims” (181)."Digby, characteristically, took up a handful of pieces of the sky and began trying to fit them together, leaving the more interesting sections of gondolas, water and buildings to Mark and the girls" (210).“ ‘Writing is such a comfort, isn’t it, that’s what people always say--it really does take you out of yourself. I sometimes feel it lets you more into yourself, though, and really the very worst part’” (234).“But sometimes, she thought, grief was all one had to give them and even then one was conscious of the poverty of one’s feelings, as if there were some lack in oneself that prevented one from suffering as deeply, as splendidly almost, as people did in the works of sensitive female novelists” (241).
Less than Angels follows the lives, loves and fortunes of a group of young and not so young anthropologists. This is very familiar territory for Barbara Pym, she herself worked in The African Institute in London, and at the centre of this novel is an anthropological research centre. One of the darlings of the centre is Tom Mallow –“out in the field” as the novel opens, who lives with Catherine Oliphant a writer when he returns. Deirdre Swann is just nineteen, starting out on her anthropological studies, she meets Tom the days he returns – and is instantly infatuated. Deirdre lives in comfortable but stereotypical suburbia with her mother, aunt and brother, next door to another anthropologist Alaric Lydgate - occasionally to be seen wearing African masks around his home. Esther Clovis who we first met in Excellent Women, is now working with her friend Miss Lydgate (sister to Alaric) at the research centre. Two middle aged spinster academics in tweed with penetrating voices, can’t you just picture them? Through them we catch a tantalising glimpse of Everard Bone and Mildred Lathbury also from Excellent Women. “Esther Clovis had formerly been secretary of Learned Society, which post she had recently left because of some disagreement with the President. It is often supposed that those who live and work in academic or intellectual circles are above the petty disputes that vex the rest of us, but it does sometimes seem as if the exalted nature of their work makes is necessary for them to descend occasionally and to refresh themselves, as it were by squabbling about trivialities. The subject of Miss Clovis’s quarrel with the President was known only to a privileged few and even those knew no more than that it had something to do with the making of tea” The ageing Professor Mainwaring is in hopes of acquiring research money from Minnie Foresight, money which will awarded in grants to a couple of lucky young anthropologists. Two of the students competing for the grants are Digby and Mark, two of young Deirdre Swann’s friends. When Tom leaves Catherine Oliphant, she turns her romantic writer’s eye on Alaric Lydgate, who she continually describes as having a face like Easter Island. There is something deliciously incestuous about these academics and their interactions that reminded me ever so slightly of Iris Murdoch. Other Pym novels revolve around the people and traditions of the Church of England, and although there are a couple of clergymen in the background, the church is not as prominent in this novel. Some of the characters muse about religion and attend services – and Deirdre’s aunt in particular likes to entertain the local clergy, even going as far as washing surplices. Pym’s wry humour is at its best in Less than Angels – she was definitely poking some very gentle fun at the academics she must have rubbed shoulders with during her career. Seasoned academics ruminate about their days “in the field” jealously guarding their notes, the young untested scholars vie for grants and wonder at how they themselves will cope with the rigours of being “out in the field”. Barbara Pym was a wonderfully sharp observer of human life and its traditions and absurdities – and there was a lot in ‘Less than Angels’ for me to chuckle over. Deirdre’s Aunt Rhoda was possibly my favourite comic character – she did get some of the best lines.
What do You think about Less Than Angels (2008)?
Loved, loved, loved it! I was a bit afraid when I read Jane and Prudence and found myself disliking the characters so much, but the characters in this one were once again written with the compassionate detachment that I'd appreciated in Pym's first two. I think this is my favorite so far. Catherine Oliphant's such a lovable character, and Digby and Marks, too.I'm appreciating how the separate novels are beginning to be so connected--a character from a previous one pops up in passing reference, and it's like being pleasantly surprised to discover a mutual acquaintance.
—Marissa
Another very pleasurable comedy by the marvelous Pym. I hesitate to call her novels comfort reads, lest someone think I mean fluffy, sugary, Nicholas Sparksy kind of stuff. But really, they are comforting, almost soothing. It's like immersing yourself into a hot bath scented with Earl Grey, with a glass of sherry on the edge of the tub. Her characters go about their mundane business of academic squabbling (this one is set among anthropologists), heavy tea-drinking and romantic entanglements, and somehow Pym manages to make it a riveting read. She gently teases these hapless scholars and their bizarre behavior, but never resorts to cheap satire, as a lesser writer might. The characters, while flawed, are sympathetic and lovingly portrayed. Even when they think they are being mean-spirited, they are really quite adorable, as in this conversation between two struggling young anthropologists discussing another, more successful peer:'I should have thought that one might have discerned the faintest glimmer of his genius by now.''Certainly his conversation isn't brilliant, perhaps even ours is a little better than his', said Digby uncertainly. 'And I thought the paper he read in the seminar last term - well - confused', he added, plunging further into disloyalty. Mark took him up eagerly on this point and they went into a rather technical discussion at the end of which they had the satisfaction of proving, at least to themselves, that Tom, far from being brilliant, was in some ways positively stupid and not always even sound.'Almost a diffusionist', said Mark, his eyes sparkling with malice. 'Oh, come', said Digby in a shocked tone. Feeling that they had perhaps gone a little too far, he changed the subject. Maybe this is why I find her books so comforting, that the people in them are so very human, and yet basically decent.
—Bibliophile
