Monday, February 15, 2016

Somewhere Towards the End


Somewhere Towards the End is a 2008 memoir written by Diana Athill when she was 89 years old. It won both the Costa Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Now 98, she still writes. Her latest book was also a memoir, published last year.

from the back of the book:
Diana Athill, esteemed for the honesty and elegantly expressed wisdom of her memoirs, reflects openly, and sometimes with great humor, on the losses and occasionally the gains that age brings.
quotes:
It is so obvious that life works in terms of species rather than individuals. The individual just has to be born, to develop to the point at which it can procreate, and then to fall away into death to make way for its successors, and humans are no exception to that whatever they may fancy. We have, however, contrived to extend our falling away so much that it is often longer than our development, so what goes on in it and how to manage it is worth considering.
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Appearance is important to old women, not because we suppose it will impress other people, but because of what we ourselves see when we look in a mirror.
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When I worry, it is about living with the body's failures, because experience has shown me that when that ordeal is less hard than it might have been, it is usually because of the presence of a daughter. And I have no daughter.
...
Whatever happens, I will get through it somehow, so why fuss? Now that I have attempted to assess my own attitude, that seems to be it.
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I am not sure that digging out past guilts is a useful occupation for the very old, given that one can do so little about them. I have reached a stage at which one hopes to be forgiven for concentrating on how to get through the present.
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The NYT quotes her explanation of why she wrote this:
“book after book has been written about being young, and even more of them about the elaborate and testing experiences that cluster round procreation, but there is not much on record about falling away.” Being well along in that process herself, she thought, “Why not have a go at it?”
and goes on to say,
Yet 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 Guardian says, "The book is about old age - illness, declining capabilities, caring or being cared for; few books on the subject manage to be amusing, but this one does." Kirkus Reviews has a positive review and closes with this: "Fiercely intelligent, discomfortingly honest and never dull."

The Telegraph says, "One of the delights of this book is that the author is clear-headed about ageing and never complains. In fact she feels grateful that these days a woman of her age has more freedom in the way she dresses than her mother did. Nevertheless she is quick to spot the indignities that age can bring."

11 comments:

  1. Must read this! As pointed out, so little is written with any depth about life of those at an advanced age.

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    1. Yes, I'm going to be on the look-out for more on the subject. I'd be interested in seeing Athill's more recent work.

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  2. I have read articles about her, she seems a very interesting lady, but for some reason I never got to reading her. I love the quotes and the no-nonsense attitude. No sentimentality there. This goes high up on my list. Thanks.

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    1. She was apparently quite the sexually liberated woman in her day, and some of her earlier memoirs are said to include a lot of that. There's not much of that in this book. I like her unsentimental attitude, too. No mushy stuff. Practical.

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  3. This is not just interesting, but fascinating. One of the things I studied (independently) in my human factors classes was aging, including when people retire and how they cope after they do. It's fascinating to see how people react when they have six months left before retiring. Some have already mentally quit their jobs, while others try to find ways to keep from leaving.

    I enjoyed the aging quotes, and I want to find this book. It would be a great resource, too.

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    1. It's interesting for me to watch folks as they consider retirement. From the perspective of someone who "retired" when my first child was born, it seems to me like some people go mad!

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  4. Forgot to mention, I picked up an old book called "the next 50 years" awhile back. It was more a guide for staying fit, eating healthy, knowing the lasest scams, etc., but it brought a lot of insight about aging and what we all have to look forward to in the future.

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    1. I'm googling "the next 50 years".... and having trouble finding the book. I'll keep looking. It sounds like something I'd benefit from.

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  5. Did you like this book? I wonder if its any good but those reviews and the awards make me want to read it- it must be good. Happy Day!

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  6. Did you like this book? I wonder if its any good but those reviews and the awards make me want to read it- it must be good. Happy Day!

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    1. Yes, I liked it. It's nice to read a book about aging that doesn't focus on religious comfort and that isn't concerned with trying to prepare physically by better diet/exercise now and that isn't sweetly/sadly sentimental. I found this a more bracing read.

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