Diana Athill
Ars Memoria
This book is simultaneously awe-inspiring and almost too painful to bear.
The pain is due to the fact that as he wrote it Tony Judt was dying from an atrocious illness, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), which gradually imprisons a mind in a body so totally paralysed that breathing can only be done with the help of a machine and speech is impossible. That small amount of explanation is distressing enough. The precise account of what it is like to experience ALS, given by Judt at the start of the book, is horrifying.
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
'Feminists have been caricatured so often that it’s worth recalling the many obstacles placed in the path of women campaigning for equal rights.'
@polblonde on @helenlewis's new book about difficult women throughout history.
http://ow.ly/Is9c50ywe7G
'Too many historians sneer at our forbears; scolding them if they follow the customs of their own day ... tut-tutting if the poor things are detected having a little fun.'
From the archive, Mary Clive on medieval travellers.
http://ow.ly/yk8a50yrjSG
'Reading Taylor’s book has also made me join a book club. I did not like the January book; I did enjoy drinking gin while saying why.'
@clamorousvoice explores the history of women readers.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/she-readers