England, in the mid-fifties. Meg Bailey has always aspired to live a respectable life. With her best friend, Roxane, she moves from secondary school to an un-bohemian art college in Oxford. Under the watchful eye of Roxanne's mother, Mrs Wheeler, the two girls flourish in Oxfordian society. But Meg constantly longs for more. Not content to stay in Oxford, she finds a job in London. Roxane stays behind and marries Dick, a man of Mrs Wheeler's choosing.
As Meg's independence grows, Dick suddenly appears in London for work. A connection to her past, Meg and Dick's friendship flourishes, blurring the lines of loyalty between what is and what was in a way that changes life for these three friends forever.
As sharp and starling now as when it was written, this unflinching and candid book of love and betrayal encapsulates Diana Athill's gift of storytelling at its finest.
Publisher: Granta Books
ISBN: 9781783785803
Number of pages: 192
Weight: 138 g
Dimensions: 200 x 130 x 17 mm
[The writing] shows [Athill's] editor's eye... This novel shows not so much that Athill should have written more fiction - we wouldn't want to be without those memoirs - but that she could - Guardian
Don't Look at Me Like That evokes a London of rain; grimy bedsits, plush, hushed restaurants, illicitness and despair...Athill skilfully blends diffidence and pathos to produce a story at once all-too familiar and unique - Catherine Taylor
Athill is wonderful - always aware of the need to entertain and beguile her reader ... Fascinating and surprising - Daisy Goodwin, Sunday Times
A tale of love and betrayal - Monocle
A short, sharp shock... beautifully observed... nuanced and true... Don't Look At Me Like That deserves to become a classic of bedsit lit... spare and unsparing... I loved this book. Meg fascinates... Read this book in your teens and twenties, and think: "Oh god, that's me." Read it later and think: "Thank god, that's over" - Times
Diana Athill was a force for good in the world of books, a champion for women wanting to make their own way, unconfined by the pressures of society. Her openness and honesty made readers feel that they were truly seen and understood; that our lives might just be as remarkable as hers - Erica Wagner, Harper’s Bazaar
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