Somewhere Towards The End

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'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

WINNER OF THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY PRIZE, the moving and witty memoir on what it means to grow old.

Written in her nineties, when she was free from any inhibitions she may have once had, Diana Athill reflects frankly on the losses and occasionally the gains that old age can bring, and on the wisdom and fortitude required to face death.

Lively, fearless and humorous, Somewhere Towards the End encapsulates the vibrant final decades of Athill's life. Filled with events, love and friendships, this is a memoir about maintaining hope, joy and vigour in later life, resisting regret, and questioning the beliefs and customs of your own generation.

'Informative, honest and lacking in the usual sorrow over old age. A remarkable woman' Beryl Bainbridge

'An honest joy to read' Alice Munro

'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

'Her brilliant book is entirely lacking in the usual regrets, nostalgia and Hovis-ad recollections of old-timers. It is a little literary gem, penned by a marvellous, feisty old character ... What a treasure' Daily Mail

Reviews

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 expos, part treatise on old age, the book is a ruminative read * Sunday Times *
Her brilliant book is entirely lacking in the usual regrets, nostalgia and Hovis-ad recollections of old-timers. It is a little literary gem, penned by a marvellous, feisty old character ... What a treasure * Daily Mail *
What sets her apart is the flagrancy and wit of her writing ... her memoirs display a vivacious appreciation of the life she has lived and what is still to come * New Statesman *
Exhilarating and comforting, so much good sense, candour and liveliness of spirit in such clean, clear prose -- Simon Gray
[She has] a cold eye for reality and no time for sentimental lies -- Jenny Diski * Sunday Times *
A candid look at getting near the inevitable -- Fiona Phillps * Daily Express *
Informative, honest and lacking in the usual sorrow over old age. A remarkable woman -- Beryl Bainbridge
An honest joy to read -- Alice Munro
Captivating * New York Times Book Review *
Her eye is unflinching, her prose as clear and graceful as ever; her honesty is inspiring * Spectator *
Brave, amusing and graceful * Sunday Telegraph *
Full of clarity and wit, original thought and understated insight * Metro *
[An] honest, clear-sighted book * Independent *
Vive la Athill! * The Times *
Invigorating * Financial Times *
This is an inspiring book * Sunday Telegraph *
Memoirs are many. This one is singular ... Her prose is practiced, clear and crisp. Epitomising what she preaches, the book is beautifully balanced in its brevity and well produced. Athill is refreshingly candid, but never prurient ... This book should encourage the old to speak up and the young to listen to what their elders have to say * The Times *
Oddly uplifting ... Her sharp-witted musings on friendship, sex, sore feet, religion and death are infused with a curiosity for all that life brings and are a captivating read, whatever stage one is at * Guardian *
So deftly drawn and perceptive that one feels better simply for having read them...It is impossible not to be engaged by Athill's vigorous reflections on such unlikely topics as sore feet, septuagenarian sex and the business of working out whether one is too old to drive a car ... a very funny book -- Elizabeth Day * Observer *

Author Bio

Diana Athill was born in 1917. She helped Andre Deutsch establish the publishing company that bore his name and worked as an editor for Deutsch for four decades. Athill's distinguished career as an editor is the subject of her acclaimed memoir Stet. She is the author of seven further volumes of memoirs, Instead of a Letter, After a Funeral, Yesterday Morning, Make Believe, Somewhere Towards the End, Alive, Alive Oh!, A Florence Diary, and a collection of letters, Instead of a Book, all published by Granta. Her only novel, Don't Look At Me Like That, was first published in 1967. In January 2009, she won the Costa Biography Award for Somewhere Towards the End, and was presented with an OBE. She died in January 2019.