The two most effective pieces in the book are the very long opening piece about his mother's mental illness and the rest of his extended family, particularly her sisters (one of whom died after wandering out of a mental hospital; Bennett himself found her body), and the rather shorter closing piece about his own, so far successful, battle with bowel cancer, a legacy of his father's side of the family. In between are long, amusing extracts from his diaries between 1996 and 2004, and various other pieces mostly about the arts in Britain and his own work which didn't appeal to me as much but are, as usual with Bennett, engaging and often bitterly funny. Recommended.
April Books 7) Untold Stories, by Alan Bennett
The two most effective pieces in the book are the very long opening piece about his mother's mental illness and the rest of his extended family, particularly her sisters (one of whom died after wandering out of a mental hospital; Bennett himself found her body), and the rather shorter closing piece about his own, so far successful, battle with bowel cancer, a legacy of his father's side of the family. In between are long, amusing extracts from his diaries between 1996 and 2004, and various other pieces mostly about the arts in Britain and his own work which didn't appeal to me as much but are, as usual with Bennett, engaging and often bitterly funny. Recommended.
-
Interesting Links for 23-12-2016
Thirty things you didn't know about the EU referendum Most of this was indeed new to me. (tags: eu brexit ukpolitics ) This is the truth…
-
Interesting Links for 05-05-2016
Why Republican voters decided on Trump And how @fivethirtyeight got it wrong. (tags: uspolitics ) The elevators of New York Fascinating.…
-
Interesting Links for 04-05-2016
America Has Never Been So Ripe for Tyranny Gloomy reflections from @sullydish, drawing on Plato. #fb (tags: uspolitics ) Negotiating TTIP…
- Post a new comment
- 1 comment
- Post a new comment
- 1 comment