Somewhere Towards the End

Published to coincide with the author's 90th birthday in December 2007, Somewhere towards the End is a magnificent celebration of old age by one of Granta's most established authors. An extract was published in Granta 98, Ian Jack's final issue The Deep End. The author's desk was recently the subject of the Guardian Writers' Rooms feature.Somewhere Towards the End tells the story of what it means to be old: how the pleasure of sex ebbs, how the joy of gardening grows; how much there is...
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Published to coincide with the author's 90th birthday in December 2007, Somewhere towards the End is a magnificent celebration of old age by one of Granta's most established authors. An extract was published in Granta 98, Ian Jack's final issue The Deep End. The author's desk was recently the subject of the Guardian Writers' Rooms feature.Somewhere Towards the End tells the story of what it means to be old: how the pleasure of sex ebbs, how the joy of gardening grows; how much there is to remember, to forget, to regret, to forgive-and how one faces the inevitable fact of death. Athill has lost none of her skill or candour as a writer, her love of the intimate detail. Her book is filled with stories, events and people, and with the kind of honest, intelligent reflection that has been a hallmark of her writing throughout her long career. Athill describes her books as "documentaries," and her early work prefigured the modern taste for memoir. "I believed, and still believe, that there is no point describing experience unless one tries to get it as near to what it really was as you can make it, but that belief does come into conflict with a central teaching of my upbringing: Do Not Think Yourself Important."