90s (?) book about woman with ordinary life

[Peverellshire]

Can anyone help me find (?)

What I remember:

Retired bank clerk, (?) reflects on her very ordinary life. Flagged on news etc, at time.

Harold Fry vibes but pre-dates that.

Margaret Forster - Diary of an Ordinary Woman?
I don't think her fictional diarist was a bank clerk though. Cracking read though

I think it was autobiographical (?) bank clerk ish but not that job. Will check it out, thanks!

@Peverellshire was it Misadventures, by Sylvia Smith?

Thank you so much @Terpsichore that may be it! The only thing is I remember her/it being on the news & her life being even more banal and this being mid late 90s ish (!)

I remember Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner being boring, but I can't remember why

@Peverellshire iirc I tried to read it at one stage but I don’t think I got very far as it really was so very, very uneventful! I seem to remember there was suspicion that it was an elaborate hoax but actually no, I think she just did write incredibly boringly and it was seen as modish at the time.

@ThingsWithEyes that’s because nothing happened ;)

Thanks @Terpsichore Terpsichore

I was going to suggest Anita Brookner but it sounds like you may have found it! I love AB's books, quite hypnotic in the level of detail and emotion from within ordinary, quite stifled lives

Hotel du Lac was miserable and depressing, full of sad empty middle aged women with sad empty lives. I can’t understand how it was so acclaimed.

@NumberFortyNorhamGardens you’re not wrong, but AB wrote (& researched) well.

I found Hotel du Lac quite incredible when rereading in 30s as opposed to first reading as a teen - there's a huge undercurrent of rejection and needing to escape to find peace

@Tonight1 I recall the unfortunate teen/20 something with ‘Victoria plum’ bottom or similar & felt sorry for her. May re-read.

I think it was the Sylvia Smith book too - I loved it but gave my copy to charity in a house move. My copy had a different cover & you can read a few excerpts here:

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/_/y8P7c8gJH8cC?hl=en&gl=GB&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwik6enfwpuBAxVxSkEAHYkwALMQ7_IDKAF6BAgKEAQ

Thank you! Seems charming & original.