The Old Girls’ Network by Judy Leigh

This is a book with unlikely protagonists. We are talking of two sisters well into their seventies having their own coming of age story. The elder and harder sister(Barbara), after a near death-like experience and an additional piece of advice by a medical professional, contacts her sister for an extended stay. The younger, softer sister is a widow (Pauline) who is finding out her own wants. She is a pillar of her community and actively involved in all the local culture.
It is relatively easy to favour Pauline over Barbara when reading, unless if like me, you identify with the prickliness of the Elder sibling (we are all a team of our own for the most part!). It is also easy to forget the ages of the characters because of their extremely active lifestyle. It only comes into focus if they bring it up themselves or if they recollect something that occurred during the war.
There is an addition of a temporary tramp whose life history is unknown but is a man with many skills. He settles down in the town for the duration of the narrative and acts as a catalyst for several changes. Taken together, it was an entertaining read with characters a lot older than I am used to reading the love lives of.
I would definitely recommend it to readers of the genre.