Somewhere Towards the End: Summary and book reviews of Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill, plus links to an excerpt from Somewhere Towards the End and a biography of Diana Athill.
Somewhere Towards the End A Memoir
by Diana Athill
Hardcover: Jan 2009,
192 pages.
Paperback: Dec 2009,
208 pages.
Diana Athill is one of the great editors in British publishing. For more than five decades she edited the likes of V. S. Naipaul and Jean Rhys, for whom she was a confidante and caretaker. As a writer, Diana Athill has made her reputation for the frankness and precisely expressed wisdom of her memoirs. Now in her ninety-first year, "entirely untamed about both old and new conventions" (Literary Review) and freed from any of the inhibitions that even she may have once had, Athill reflects candidly, and sometimes with great humor, on the condition of being old—the losses and occasionally the gains that age brings, the wisdom and fortitude required to face death. Distinguished by "remarkable intelligence...[and the] easy elegance of her prose" (Daily Telegraph), this short, well-crafted book, hailed as "a virtuoso exercise" (Sunday Telegraph) presents an inspiring work for those hoping to flourish in their later years
BOOK REVIEWS
Media Reviews
Publishers Weekly
Firmly resolute that no afterlife awaits her, Athill finds just enough optimism in this world to keep her reflections from slipping into morbidity—she may not offer much comfort, but it's a bracing read.
Booklist
Noted British editor and writer Athill decided at 91 to “have a go” at writing about the process of getting old....choice pearls sparkling with dry wit for the reader to ponder, reflect upon, and perhaps assimilate.
BookMarks Magazine
This is a remarkable memoir, not the least for its honest approach to the end of life.
The New York Times - Dwight Garner
Ms. Athill's book is welcome and original because she is such a robust, free-thinking, nonmawkish presence on the page. She catalogs the indignities of old age while reminding us how much joy can be sucked out of a physically diminished life, joy that often comes from unexpected places.
The Washington Post - Michael Dirda
To readers Athill delivers far more than modest pleasure: Her easy-going prose and startling honesty are riveting, for whither she has gone many of us will go as well…A refusal to sugar-coat and a commitment to utter frankness, coupled with an engaging style, make Diana Athill's Somewhere Towards the End unusually appealing, despite its inherently cheerless subject.
The New York Times Book Review - Erica Jong
[Athill's] memoir is captivating because of her fearlessness of death, her sense that death is another adventure in her adventurous life.
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