This book simply ended up being another example of how Deborah Levy is climbing the ladder of my all-time favourite writers, one book at a time. Having devoured “The Cost of Living” in a bit more than a day, it left me hooked on the author’s craft and longing for more of her stories. I was a bit hesitant with the rating for the first part of the “Living Autobiography” collection, “Things I Don’t Want to Know“, swaying between 4/5 and 5/5 ★. I’ll start this review with a spoiler though, this one was definitely deserving of the highest possible rating! The passage like the one below illustrates the reading ride that you’ll be in for:

My voice broke and I paused mid-sentence. The translator waited for me to finish the agreed three sentences. She was left stranded, a broken sentence hanging between us. If the words were trains they had slowed right down and then come to a halt. When they eventually pulled into the station, splattered with the dust of the African past, the translator’s tone was clipped and matter-of-fact – which might have been a good thing.

p. 132-133

This part of the trilogy focused a lot on the author’s work as a writer, conceived in a similar structure to the previous part. Made up of 14 vignettes, they revolved around topics of one’s profession, motherhood, rebuilding one’s life at 50 or what it means to be a woman in society. It was once again filled with lots of intriguing quotes from other writers, with the author’s habits and routines, as well as with bizarre parallels that have been pulled, such as a seemingly two headed caterpillar being an expression of a divided self. If you have read the first part, you will recognize some reappearing themes, such as the bees making their comeback as a specific sign. Finally, it was all sprinkled with the author’s signature sense of humour:

[T]his afternoon I had an argument with my copy-editor about commas. She is keen to insert more commas into my text for easy reading. She loves commas. Her affliction is nothing less than a comma psychosis. She inserts them everywhere. It is like working with a comma on Viagra.

p. 70

The author once again illustrated her observational skills, describing mundane situations of other people with a special charm, making them appear special. I found the book to be atmospheric, touching and inspiring. I’d highly suggest it to you if you normally enjoy somewhat philosophical musings on the most random kinds of subjects. I now can’t wait to finally dive into the third and final part of this autobiography, “Real Estate”! 🙂

★★★★★ (5/5)

_{Edition: ISBN 978-0-241-97756-9
Penguin Random House, 2019 (first published in 2018)}