I have just been reading How It All Began by Penelope Lively – a very satisfying read.
It tells of the consequences of a mugging, which results in a broken hip for 77-year old Charlotte & so also has cleverly plotted consequences in the lives of those connected to her.
In the telling of the story we get reflections on ageing, the contingency of history (& historians), the value of a life of reading, of learning to read, of the meaning of money, & financial crisis. All beautifully, but deftly, elegantly & economically told – the book is less than 250 pages long in the hardback edition.
I shall resist the temptation to fill this post with enjoyable, penetrating & delicious quotes, & settle for just one:
The consultant was not the one who had done the surgery. Of course not. The National Health Service likes to make sure that you achieve as wide an acquaintance as possible amongst its operatives.My only grumble is that this story of angst among the comfortable middle classes ends with a casual dismissal of the mugger – who was soon relieved of his ill-gotten gains by another gang – as just a ’fourteen-year-old with behavioural problems’.
Link
Penelope Lively's official website
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