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Una Vita Come Le Altre (2009)

by Alan Bennett(Favorite Author)

3.78 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

8845925471 (ISBN13: 9788845925474)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Adelphi

review 1: I find it incredibly hard to articulate what it is about this particular story that appeals to me. Apart from Bennett's ease with words and his finely observed portraits of his parents, there is the appeal of a family which, on the face of it, might simply be described as ordinary and unassuming. Without an ounce of self pity or sentiment, Bennett lifts the lid on that supposed ordinariness, and reveals so many trials, difficulties, and the stoicism that both his parents, and the wider family, endured. Bennett grew up in a time when suffering and problems were rarely talked about, but dismissed simply as 'that nonsense' or 'mother's trouble'. I think it is this understated determination which most affects me, reminding me not to take for granted the bravery of previous gen... moreerations, to be grateful for their stoicism and not to judge by appearances.Fran Macilvey, "Trapped: My Life With Cerebral Palsy"
review 2: An enjoyable read, this was one of the titles nominated for World Book Night last year, so no doubt quite a few copies will find themselves in charity shops (although I found this one in a telephone box used as a book exchange in Devon). The book centres around Bennett’s relationships with his parents, and his two aunties on his mother’s side. Its charm derives from its honesty, particularly the account of his mother’s depression, and later descent into dementia, though readers will find the characterisation of his aunties funnier with a familiarity of Bennett’s plays; it seems that many of his characters were based on them. It’s a very engaging memoir in parts, and I began to think how I would write about my own family through a similar lens. But I’m not sure it really merits the extended print run that World Book Night demands. less

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