When I first picked up this book and understood it was supposed to be a comedy, I was a bit skeptical when I saw the publication date of 1952. Would a novel set in its present post-war England be as funny today as it must have been then? I was quickly corrected within the first few pages of Pym's novel, told through the character of Mildred Lathbury: in her 30s, single, and thus considered an inevitable spinster.

In the way that I (and many others) have read and loved the romance of books like Jane Eyre and Austen novels, Pym outrightly satirizes the romantic notions of each (sometimes by name like Jane Eyre, other times by situation like many Austen novels). Because I know the source of satire so well, I found myself laughing out loud many a time during reading.

There's no way to explain how funny this book is by explaining the plot - about Mildred who finds herself always thrust in the middle of other people's problems, mainly because she is an "excellent woman" who, because she is single, people believe to have nothing much to do and enlist her help far too often. Her inner thoughts and considerations show off her serious gamut of emotions while everyone else tells her how she feels or should feel. See? I can't even explain it properly.

Pick up this quick read for fun.