Latest Readings
As seen:
By Clive James
avg rating
1 review
An esteemed literary critic shares his final musings on books, his children, and his own impending death
In 2010, Clive James was diagnosed with terminal leukemia. Deciding that “if you don’t know the exact moment when the lights will go out, you might as well read until they do,” James moved his library to his house in Cambridge, where he would “live, read, and perhaps even write.” James is the award-winning author of dozens of works of literary criticism, poetry, and history, and this volume contains his reflections on what may well be his last reading list. A look at some of James’s old favorites as well as some of his recent discoveries, this book also offers a revealing look at the author himself, sharing his evocative musings on literature and family, and on living and dying. As thoughtful and erudite as the works of Alberto Manguel, and as moving and inspiring as Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture and Will Schwalbe’s The End of Your Life Book Club, this valediction to James’s lifelong engagement with the written word is a captivating valentine from one of the great literary minds of our time. TweetReviews
‘Latest Readings’ came about because of James being invited to write about what he was reading from the editors at Yale; this could well have been his last writings and about the last books he read as he is now very ill. The book contains short reflections on different writers: Hemmingway, Conrad and Sebald, for example. In these essays James reflects largely on books that he has returned to and that have stayed with him. He is as good company as ever and as perceptive. While not every reader will recognise the books he’s read and the writers he’s loved, there is a celebration of a shared love for reading that brings all readers together. James reflects with nostalgia on the demise of the book shop over an online experience and reflects on the importance of reading to the individual and society which is recognisable to all readers. The pieces are good tasters and an introduction to James’s work that should lead people to want to explore more. As a book group read, it is something a little ‘different.’ As well as discussing the whole book together, we chose different pieces to discuss and there is also a wealth of online material that can be accessed too. A different kind of discussion but well worthwhile and a very good way of introducing readers to James generally and his other writing.
