Ammonites & Leaping Fish: A Dance In Time (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
I have come to believe that anything Penelope Lively has written is well worth reading. Even though fiction is more my line than autobiography, this memoir tackles the pertinent questions of memory, reading and objects. The penultimate sentence -- "There is a further dimension to memory; it is not just a private asset, but something vast, collective, resonant" -- is an apt and profound conclusion to a thought-provoking, personal, but wide-ranging book. Enlightening, in her look at how age, memory, coincidence, and serendipity intersect to inform and often redirect the course of one's life (a theme of her recent novel How It All Began). Instructive, in that I discovered at least three new books in her chapter on reading and writing for further reading and reflection. Not a traditional linear memoir, but certainly an affecting account of a life well-lived, and well-read. Her descriptions of the social upheavals of the mid-twentieth century, though scarcely more than vignettes, gave me greater understanding and a clearer picture in my mind than would the most scholarly tomes on the subjects. My favorite quote: "I can measure out my life in books. They stand along the way like signposts: the moments of absorption and empathy and direction and enlightenment and sheer pleasure" (pp. 161-2). I love getting a glimpse into the ticking of the mind of a good writer.
What do You think about Ammonites & Leaping Fish: A Dance In Time (2013)?
Very thoughtful writing about aging, memory, and what remains precious in one's eighth decade.
—Telle
Love Penelope Lively's fiction and memoirs. This is her third book of the latter.
—Lowpez
Brilliantly written: fascinating exploration of language and memory.
—Summer
