Excellent Women

this book is really hard to write a review for because much of the time i felt like i was sort of skimming over the surface of something that could've been really juicy or impactful, but never really quite dipping through and giving me that oomph that i was waiting for up to the last page. i know that the English people are stereotyped as being very reserved, reticent, and bury an ocean of emotions underneath a placid surface - this book seems to embody that image exactly, down to the very ending.

Mildred Lathbury is a “spinster” at just slightly above 30 years old who finds herself enthralled by her new neighbours/flatmates, Rockingham and Helena Napier. she suspects Helena Napier, an anthropologist, to be attracted to a fellow anthropologist, Everard Bone. to complicate things, Mildred's close friends, the pastor Julian Malory and his sister Winifred, have their lives turned upside down by their new flatmate, the fashionable and enigmatic Mrs Allegra Gray. a lot of criss-crossing interactions and attractions ensue.

having devoured a lot of 18th and 19th C English literature that centers mainly around the domestic or neighbourhood society, the everyday life and the gossips of people's relationships being the main action of the day, i feel like i'm in a generally good position to appreciate this type of plot, although i can absolutely understand why a lot of people might find it just straight up boring.

i think the main issue with this book is that it kinda just dips its toes into various things but doesn't really quite take the plunge. there's just a bit of social commentary, but not really. there's just a bit of satire, but not really. there's just a bit of romance, but not really. and even in the ending, i was expecting at least some full-blown confession from Everard Bone, or *at least* some kind of well-rounded ending but NOPE, we just kinda have Mildred vaguely agreeing to help him out with his academic research, and it's a super vague indication that it's likely they're going to end up together even though he never once explicitly said anything along those lines.

while this wasn't a hard book to get through, and i was interested enough to know what happens at the end to keep up with the book all the way, when i was done with the book i felt like i had been left high and dry. i had a lingering feeling of dissatisfaction by how a lot of things were portrayed and resolved.

i still gave this book 3 stars though, because the characters were just vivid and humourous enough that i laughed out loud sometimes. the writing was just that bit satirical enough that i smirked to myself sometimes, especially when it comes to Mildred feeling a little despaired about being known as the lady who always had tea prepared when a crisis happens. the plot and the set-up were generally good, it's just that i felt like it was never pushed past a critical point in order to deliver the most impact on the reader, and it was a bit of a missed opportunity.