What a conflicting book this is. The subject is fascinating. A diarist whose life was a colossal failure. And not just in material terms: she never lived up to the deeply held visions she had of herself as an artist (written, musical, visual). The journey from the young magical vibrations of ambition to the bleak imprisoned despair of late middle age rivals Larkin’s letters. We have potentially been gifted a great diarist of the twentieth century.
A Life Discarded, by Alexander Masters
A Life Discarded, by Alexander Masters
A Life Discarded, by Alexander Masters
What a conflicting book this is. The subject is fascinating. A diarist whose life was a colossal failure. And not just in material terms: she never lived up to the deeply held visions she had of herself as an artist (written, musical, visual). The journey from the young magical vibrations of ambition to the bleak imprisoned despair of late middle age rivals Larkin’s letters. We have potentially been gifted a great diarist of the twentieth century.