From the singular pen of the incomparable Alan Bennett comes a drily witty and endlessly charming diary of life in and out of lockdown, running the gamut from park bench encounters to haircuts to Boris Johnson.
4 March. HMQ pictured in the paper at an investiture wearing gloves, presumably as a precaution against Coronavirus. But not just gloves; these are almost gauntlets. I hope they're not the thin end of a precautionary wedge lest Her Majesty end up swathed in protective get-up such as is worn at the average crime scene.
20 March. With Rupert now working from home my life is much easier, as I get regular cups of tea and a lovely hot lunch.
A year in and out of lockdown as experienced by Alan Bennett. The diary takes us from the filming of Talking Heads to thoughts on Boris Johnson, from his father's short-lived craze for family fishing trips, to stair lifts, junk shops of old, having a haircut, and encounters on the local park bench.
A lyrical afterword describes the journey home to Yorkshire from King's Cross station via fish and chips on Quebec Street, past childhood landmarks of Leeds, through Coniston Cold, over the infant River Aire, and on.
Publisher: Profile Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781800811928
Number of pages: 64
Weight: 136 g
Dimensions: 182 x 118 x 12 mm
Edition: Main
The dyspeptic Pepys from Yorkshire, Alan Bennett, master of the "absurd and inexplicable" moments of ordinary life, offers up a curation of his thoughts, diaries and essays of the pandemic years that makes for a digestible stocking filler ... his thoughts and writing are as clear-eyed and vigorous as ever - Times Best Biography and Memoir Books of 2022
From the singular pen of the incomparable Alan Bennett comes a drily witty and endlessly charming diary of life in and out of lockdown, running the gamut from park bench encounters to haircuts to Boris Johnson - Waterstones Best Books of 2022: Biography
Sparklingly sardonic ... There really is no one like Bennett, as this small gem demonstrates - Martin Chilton, Independent
Filled with elegiac memories and literary gossip ... a major National Treasure - Lynn Barber, Telegraph
Mournful and witty ... Bennett at his best - Roger Lewis, Daily Mail
I worship Alan Bennett - David Sedaris
His stories improve with each telling ... Perhaps it is Bennett's long experience as a dramatist that lends his prose such perfect timing - Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday
Our greatest living writer - Clive Davis, The Times
He still has the sharpest pen in Britain ... Bennett is at his best when flirting with indecency ... mesmerising and unbearably sad - Daily Telegraph
There is no other writer, certainly none from any other era or nation, quite like Alan Bennett - David Sexton, Evening Standard
Cleverer and funnier than any one person has a right to be - John Carey, Sunday Times
His writing remains as deft and seamless as ever - Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian
Vivid and evocative in the way we've come to expect from him ... the diaries of the inimitable Alan Bennett are always highly anticipated - Alastair Mabbot, The Herald
He may clearly be increasingly frail but, even in lockdown, Alan Bennett retains his customary waspish wit in the latest tranche of his diaries - Choice
Bennett is, as ever, an astute diarist and chronicler of our times. His way with words and his view on things is priceless. This is entertaining and at times, poignant. My only complaint is that it is too short.
A much welcome, if short collection of Bennett's diaries during the pandemic of 2020/2021. At only 69 pages it is a quick read but still thought provoking. His age and ailments are a recurring theme and I found... More
Alan Bennett in his own inimitable way takes us through a year in and out of lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic.
It is a quick read as, although it states there are 64 pages, the diary starts at page five and...
More
Please sign in to write a review
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?
