Summary and Reviews of Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill

Media Reviews

The New York Times - Dwight Garner Ms. Athill's book is welcome and original because she is such a robust, free-thinking, nonmawkish presence on the page. She catalogs the indignities of old age while reminding us how much joy can be sucked out of a physically diminished life, joy that often comes from unexpected places.

The Washington Post - Michael Dirda To readers Athill delivers far more than modest pleasure: Her easy-going prose and startling honesty are riveting, for whither she has gone many of us will go as well…A refusal to sugar-coat and a commitment to utter frankness, coupled with an engaging style, make Diana Athill's Somewhere Towards the End unusually appealing, despite its inherently cheerless subject.

The New York Times Book Review - Erica Jong [Athill's] memoir is captivating because of her fearlessness of death, her sense that death is another adventure in her adventurous life.

BookMarks Magazine This is a remarkable memoir, not the least for its honest approach to the end of life.

Booklist Noted British editor and writer Athill decided at 91 to “have a go” at writing about the process of getting old....choice pearls sparkling with dry wit for the reader to ponder, reflect upon, and perhaps assimilate.

Publishers Weekly Firmly resolute that no afterlife awaits her, Athill finds just enough optimism in this world to keep her reflections from slipping into morbidity—she may not offer much comfort, but it's a bracing read.