- Published: 04/04/2024
- ISBN: 9781803510927
- Granta Books
- 192 pages
Somewhere Towards The End
Diana Athill
What is it like to be old? Diana Athill made her reputation as a writer with the candour of her memoirs – her commitment, in her words, ‘to understand, to be aware, to touch the truth’. Now in her nineties, and freed from any inhibitions that even she may once have had, she reflects frankly on the losses and occasionally the gains that old age brings, and on the wisdom and fortitude required to face death. This is a lively narrative of events, lovers and friendships: the people and experiences that have taught her to regret very little, to resist despondency and to question the beliefs and customs of her own generation.
£9.99
There is a sense throughout Athill's work that you are making a new friend as much as reading a new story ... a delight to read
Observer
The book is a moving and humorous account of old age, unsparing about its indignities, unflinching from the inevitability that the end can not be many years away, but full of joy at the way life keeps on, at the most unexpected moments, renewing itself
Irish Times
Part exposé, part treatise on old age, the book is a ruminative read
Sunday Times
From the Same Author
Diana Athill on Granta.com
Fiction | Granta Books
Don’t Look at Me Like That
Diana Athill
‘When I was at school I used to think that everyone disliked me, and it wasn’t far from true.’
Essays & Memoir | Granta 69
Editing Vidia
Diana Athill
‘I thought so highly of Vidia’s writing and felt his presence on our list to be so important that I simply could not allow myself not to like him.’
Essays & Memoir | Granta 69
Lessons
Diana Athill
‘My two valuable lessons are: avoid romanticism and abhor possessiveness.’