“Then she leaned over and bit him hard on the cheek.”

Even though this biography of novelist Barbara Pym was picked as a “Best Book of the Year 2021” by the London Times, the Guardian, and the Daily Telegraph, I was initially reluctant to read it. I didn’t want to learn things that would make me think less of one of my literary heroes. (What if she turned out to be boring?) Fortunately, I was in for a pleasant surprise: she was more interesting and more spirited than I imagined. I never could have imagined that Barbara was a biter. This book is “clever, funny, and full of surprises.” I savored it.

Byrne, Paula. The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym. William Collins, 2021, p. 68.

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