Witty and movingDecember 14, 2008 T. Boyd(Bushey, UK) Simon Gray wrote wonderfully. His digressions give one the impression that one is listening in to his unfiltered interior monologue. He is wise and witty and does not spare the doctors who dealt with him so insensitively. He castigates the consultant who told him he had a year to live for taking that year away from him. His autobiographical writings are a wonderful legacy.
Heart-rending and bittersweetNovember 5, 2008 Julia(Oxford) 6 out of 12 found this review helpful
I enjoyed this book, even though the subject matter is dark and the overall tone of the book is rather melancholy. He writes extremely well; the only mild irritant is his tendency to waffle on and on, making a sentence extremely long and sometimes a little boring and you begin to wonder when he will finally place a full stop.A little like that! On the whole though, highly recommended and can be read as a ' stand alone ' book, although it is beneficial to have read The Smoking Diaries.
