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There Were No Windows
This 1944 novel is about memory loss and is the only book we know of, apart from Iris about Iris Murdoch (and arguably There Were No Windows is wittier and more profound), on this subject. Based on the last years of the writer Violet Hunt, a once-glamorous woman living in Kensington during the Blitz who is now losing her memory, the novel's three 'acts' describe with insight, humour and compassion what happens to 'Claire Temple' in her last months. 'A quite extraordinary book,' was the verdict of Cressida Connolly in the Spectator, 'unflinchingly, blackly funny, brilliantly observed and terrifying.' And because Claire Temple is an unrepentant snob, 'the novel gives a sly account of the end of an entire way of life.'
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1944
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About the author
Norah Hoult
28 books20 followersNorah ‘Ella’ Hoult was born in Dublin in 1898. Her mother, Margaret O’Shaughnessy, was a spirited Irish-Catholic girl who eloped with a Protestant English architect named Powis Hoult when she was 21. After Norah and her brother were orphaned they were sent to live with their father’s relations in England, where they went to school. Norah Hoult was a journalist for the Sheffield Daily Telegraph and then moved to London to work on a magazine, becoming a full-time writer after her first book, Poor Women (1928), was published. She lived in Dublin from 1931-7 (and was briefly married to a quantity surveyor) and then in New York; in 1939 she settled in London, living in Bayswater, not far from Violet Hunt upon whom Claire Temple in There Were No Windows (1944) is modelled. Between 1928 and 1972 she published twenty-five books; in 1957 she returned to live in Ireland, and died there in 1984.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 13, 2025
A very upsetting book about an elderly woman losing her memory. There is no plot, and it did get repetitive at times as it is just Claire Temple having interactions with different characters, but it was ultimately so affecting and awful.
Hoult portrays all aspects of Claire's memory loss-- the comical, the frustrating and infuriating clashes her carers have with her, the loneliness and the fear. It is devastating to watch this intelligent and proud woman losing grip on reality and alienating her few remaining friends and visitors. As is often the case with those suffering from dementia, Claire is not an easy or perfect victim. She is genuinely very difficult to deal with, and you can understand the frustrations of others at the same time as feeling sorry for her.
The meaning of the title is haunting. It is literal-- the disintegration of Claire's memory takes place during the London Blitz and she is confused as to why the windows are all blacked out --but also figurative, as Claire's dementia leaves her increasingly trapped in a lonely dark room into which no one else can see.
Hoult portrays all aspects of Claire's memory loss-- the comical, the frustrating and infuriating clashes her carers have with her, the loneliness and the fear. It is devastating to watch this intelligent and proud woman losing grip on reality and alienating her few remaining friends and visitors. As is often the case with those suffering from dementia, Claire is not an easy or perfect victim. She is genuinely very difficult to deal with, and you can understand the frustrations of others at the same time as feeling sorry for her.
The meaning of the title is haunting. It is literal-- the disintegration of Claire's memory takes place during the London Blitz and she is confused as to why the windows are all blacked out --but also figurative, as Claire's dementia leaves her increasingly trapped in a lonely dark room into which no one else can see.
August 12, 2023
Another brilliant novel!
One of the saddest books I have ever read. I felt constantly wretched. It was anxiously true. The insight into a person who lost memory and people who take care of her - so far the best description I have read.
Besides the main topic, there was also the Blitz and the last step of the dying of the Victorian and Edwardian world.
It was a marvelous, perfect novel to the end. Although, in the last chapter (a few last percent of the story) Dr Fairfax put his understanding of the reason for Claire's lost memory and it was weird. On the hand, his understanding of the personalities of Claire, Miss Jones, and Kathleen was interesting.
I learned a lot, and now I will be more sympathetic to people with any kind of dementia. If you can - just read it!
One of the saddest books I have ever read. I felt constantly wretched. It was anxiously true. The insight into a person who lost memory and people who take care of her - so far the best description I have read.
Besides the main topic, there was also the Blitz and the last step of the dying of the Victorian and Edwardian world.
It was a marvelous, perfect novel to the end. Although, in the last chapter (a few last percent of the story) Dr Fairfax put his understanding of the reason for Claire's lost memory and it was weird. On the hand, his understanding of the personalities of Claire, Miss Jones, and Kathleen was interesting.
I learned a lot, and now I will be more sympathetic to people with any kind of dementia. If you can - just read it!
December 28, 2009
First published in 1944 this is the poignant story of Claire Temple former novelist nearing 80 years old, who is rapidly losing her memory, a character based on the writer Violet Hunt. In this novel Claire is often confused, distressed and accusing as she struggles to understand the world around her. We see the situation both through the eyes of Claire herself and of those who are a part of her world, the cook, the companion, some old friends and the doctor. The London blitz forms a backdrop to the novel, and Claire is constantly reminded that there is a war on, that cream is unobtainable, that shops close at 4 O’clock in the winter due to the blackout. In this beautifully written novel, Norah Hoult has succeeded in portraying memory loss in such a way, that the reader can feel the very frustrations experienced by the various characters, can completely sympathise with her confusions. While portraying Claire Temple as difficult and frustrating, Hoult managed to make her vulnerable too, she’s a small elderly woman, dependent upon others and deeply distressed by her situation. She is also a terrible snob, which makes for a few lighter humorous moments in what is after all a rather sobering story.
December 11, 2019
There is an appealing dark humour in this that I didn’t expect, Clare is such a snob and her repetition of tasteless questions is kind of funny. I think the war setting heightens the sense of claustrophobia of the house and the women in it, it’s well written and has aged well, society still doesn’t know what to do with old cranky women.
November 15, 2022
Grim, dark, depressing but well written.
May 20, 2021
Bleakly humorous, piercingly sad, and altogether brilliant. I struggled a bit to get into the story, put it down when I thought it would make me too sad (or strike too close to home), and finally was wowed. This is the story of a woman, Claire Temple, nearing the end of her life whose short term memory is forsaking her. She was once a minor literary and society figure who was attractive to men, even if she never achieved the status, artistic or marital, she aspired to. Now she has become impoverished, incapable of taking care of herself, but also annoying, needy, snobbish. She is tended to by her Irish cook and a companion who provides nothing of the kind of companionship Claire desires. Both are, as she never forgets, her social inferiors.
The novel proceeds in a kind of slow burn. Claire is as annoying to the reader as she is to her minders. She reminded me very much of my mother in her last forgetful, disoriented years. And I was not always much better than Claire Temple’s helpers in terms of patience and understanding — it was hard!
Hoult is unrelenting in her ability to keep the reader face-to-face with Claire’s tedious behavior. The cook Kathleen is indeed unkind and the companion Miss Jones a bore, but you can’t help but sympathize and feel grateful not to be in their shoes. But still, gradually, you are pulled toward some greater understanding, some more imaginative response to the old lady’s affliction. This movement is consolidated, made explicit, grounded philosophically in the completely bang-up ending of the book. I’ll say nothing further.
Some of the prose is exceedingly beautiful.
The novel proceeds in a kind of slow burn. Claire is as annoying to the reader as she is to her minders. She reminded me very much of my mother in her last forgetful, disoriented years. And I was not always much better than Claire Temple’s helpers in terms of patience and understanding — it was hard!
Hoult is unrelenting in her ability to keep the reader face-to-face with Claire’s tedious behavior. The cook Kathleen is indeed unkind and the companion Miss Jones a bore, but you can’t help but sympathize and feel grateful not to be in their shoes. But still, gradually, you are pulled toward some greater understanding, some more imaginative response to the old lady’s affliction. This movement is consolidated, made explicit, grounded philosophically in the completely bang-up ending of the book. I’ll say nothing further.
Some of the prose is exceedingly beautiful.
September 14, 2024
What a sad novel.
THERE WERE NO WINDOWS is a fictionalisation of Violet Hunt’s own life: it follows Claire Temple, a literary icon, who has begun to go senile. It's set during the Blitz, and most of the novel is from the point of view of the people in Claire's life, such as her housekeeper-cook, Kathleen (a real witch), and her doctor. Only the first section is from Claire’s viewpoint. It's an interesting way to examine the issue, but I can't help but wish we got more of Claire.
There's no plot to speak of: the book is literally just people interacting with Claire in the last days of her life, reminiscing over what she used to be, comparing it to how she is now. One thing I really liked, that did end up being somewhat undercut, is that most of the novel portrays what happens to Claire as being sad, and suggesting that this happening to ANYONE is sad. However, her doctor, who is clearly the most reasonable character, who also has the last words of the book, pontificates that this is somehow sadder happening to Claire than to other, more ‘normal’ people. Because she's ‘more sensitive’. Which. No.
Overall I think THERE WERE NO WINDOWS is well worth reading, as it's a remarkably clear-eyed examination of old-age and the indignities we visit as a society on the elderly.
THERE WERE NO WINDOWS is a fictionalisation of Violet Hunt’s own life: it follows Claire Temple, a literary icon, who has begun to go senile. It's set during the Blitz, and most of the novel is from the point of view of the people in Claire's life, such as her housekeeper-cook, Kathleen (a real witch), and her doctor. Only the first section is from Claire’s viewpoint. It's an interesting way to examine the issue, but I can't help but wish we got more of Claire.
There's no plot to speak of: the book is literally just people interacting with Claire in the last days of her life, reminiscing over what she used to be, comparing it to how she is now. One thing I really liked, that did end up being somewhat undercut, is that most of the novel portrays what happens to Claire as being sad, and suggesting that this happening to ANYONE is sad. However, her doctor, who is clearly the most reasonable character, who also has the last words of the book, pontificates that this is somehow sadder happening to Claire than to other, more ‘normal’ people. Because she's ‘more sensitive’. Which. No.
Overall I think THERE WERE NO WINDOWS is well worth reading, as it's a remarkably clear-eyed examination of old-age and the indignities we visit as a society on the elderly.
August 28, 2014
The portrayal of the memory loss is brilliant, trust me. The moralistic summing up of Doctor Fairfax I found a little troubling if that were the voice of the author, but given that each of the characters are inhabited so nonjudgmentally otherwise and each foible and frailty is so tenderly rendered, I suspect that the Fairfax coda is just the sort of thing a doctor would say. The evanescent interactions between the few characters were done so deftly that mood and insinuation are naked to the reader and other characters even while they are considered crafty by they themselves. There were a number of reserved and trenchant observations on both the individual characters and the human condition. Funny in parts, bleak in others, the end made me tear up and even though I was exasperated by the main character I found her compelling and tragic. I wonder if this was ever adapted for the stage? It would be an actor's treasure.
March 31, 2016
I wrote about this book here:
August 26, 2021
Claire Temple is an aging writer with a chequered romantic past who still has charm but is losing her memory. Rattling around in a big house in Kensington with nobody but a feisty young cook, she becomes increasingly hard to manage. And the Blitz is on, so it matters when she objects to the blackout or fails to understand the sirens.
This is apparently based on a real person, but you don't need to know that to appreciate the way that Norah Hoult draws out Claire's charm and confusion, her sense of entitlement, and the impossibility of living with her. Her lifestyle wouldn't be possible these days - unless extremely rich, she would be in a care home well before the end - but back then there were no care homes, there were only asylums, of which she was rightly terrified.
Even though the subject matter is sad, it is leavened with kindness and humour.
This is apparently based on a real person, but you don't need to know that to appreciate the way that Norah Hoult draws out Claire's charm and confusion, her sense of entitlement, and the impossibility of living with her. Her lifestyle wouldn't be possible these days - unless extremely rich, she would be in a care home well before the end - but back then there were no care homes, there were only asylums, of which she was rightly terrified.
Even though the subject matter is sad, it is leavened with kindness and humour.
August 19, 2023
Claire Temple is an elderly lady who is slowly losing her memory. She lives on her own in a London home during the blitz with only her feisty Irish cook Kathleen for company. The house is at boiling point as Claires' memory causes increasing frustration, and Claire believes her cook is trying to harm her.
However, Claire is also ascerbic in her wit, cruel in her comments and disinhibited in her memories when she over the following chapters meets various visitors from friends, former secretaries, and most wittily Francis Maitland an artistic man about town with whom Claire shares gossip about the great and good of early 20thc literature and art.
When a new companion, Mrs Jones, is employed to help out, things go from bad to worse.
This was a very enjoyable and unique piece of writing that combined humour with poignancy as an obviously once vibrant and brilliant woman slips into the torment of dementia. A big thanks to persephone for bringing these forgotten pieces of work back to life.
However, Claire is also ascerbic in her wit, cruel in her comments and disinhibited in her memories when she over the following chapters meets various visitors from friends, former secretaries, and most wittily Francis Maitland an artistic man about town with whom Claire shares gossip about the great and good of early 20thc literature and art.
When a new companion, Mrs Jones, is employed to help out, things go from bad to worse.
This was a very enjoyable and unique piece of writing that combined humour with poignancy as an obviously once vibrant and brilliant woman slips into the torment of dementia. A big thanks to persephone for bringing these forgotten pieces of work back to life.
February 12, 2013
A fantastic book written during war time. Something that we all can relate to with an elderly parent, humorous & yet very moving, terribly sad ending.
October 12, 2014
Such a phenomenal book. Extraordinarily written and wonderfully engaging. Finished it within a week.
October 22, 2021
Claire Temple is trapped in her mind - a state many of us with anxiety may be familiar with - she is incredibly lonely too - again familiar territory. And she forgets many things - some resonance again - but Claire has begun to lose more than her handbag, and her cat, and her husband that was never quite her husband, because she had also begun to lose that thing we perhaps fear the most of losing - she is losing herself - she isn’t just lonely and trapped in her mind; she is abandoned in a mind whirlpool that does not feel familiar, her grasp on her memories no longer controllable, with bars locked against those she wishes to release and remember. It is painful to experience the repetition of her questions and demands. She is both endearing but unlikeable and reminds me that I was supposed to revisit another cantankerous older lady - having started and ended 2020 with Elizabeth Strout I need to spend time with Olive again.
With one negative for the slightly jarring repeated use of the outdated term ‘mental’, this book was otherwise compellingly engaging - I was drawn right into the nightmare that Claire and those around her were living. Though it was overwhelmingly a sad novel with an inevitable conclusion, there were also moments of humour and of slightly cheeky, daring for its time, additions in the storyline which added to my admiration.
And what an ideal title for this novel because if there are no windows then perhaps it’s not possible to see a way out - of your head.
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Another perfect Persephone read, one I’d read again and an author I crave more from now. An Irish writer I’d not heard of until last year thanks Patrick @podsticles - I believe she could give my Edna a good run, but where can I get more of her books - why do some authors go out of favour and not get printed!
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Pasted from IG
Read March 2021.
July 16, 2015
A poignant tragedy documenting the final days of Claire Temple, a nearly 80-year-old English woman, at the height of the London Blitz in the 1940s.
A former 19th-century society woman, Claire battles severe short-term memory loss with increasing difficulty and, as a result thereof, struggles desperately to make sense of her extant circumstances, albeit being haunted by devastatingly vivid recollections of youth and passion long bygone, a social standing altogether annihilated, loved ones long ago deceased, and her fall out of the realm of concern of her former admirers and bigwig acquaintances.
In the wake of the influential spell of chronic isolation---a wholly uninvited horror for one who was formerly apt to surround oneself with human companionship for the sake of feeling complete as an individual---Claire's rapid tumble into desperation, heartache and, ultimately, madness, is heartachingly depicted in this brilliant work of prose, which additionally serves as a threnody for the star-crossed souls who have suffered, are presently suffering and are fated to suffer the same fate.
A former 19th-century society woman, Claire battles severe short-term memory loss with increasing difficulty and, as a result thereof, struggles desperately to make sense of her extant circumstances, albeit being haunted by devastatingly vivid recollections of youth and passion long bygone, a social standing altogether annihilated, loved ones long ago deceased, and her fall out of the realm of concern of her former admirers and bigwig acquaintances.
In the wake of the influential spell of chronic isolation---a wholly uninvited horror for one who was formerly apt to surround oneself with human companionship for the sake of feeling complete as an individual---Claire's rapid tumble into desperation, heartache and, ultimately, madness, is heartachingly depicted in this brilliant work of prose, which additionally serves as a threnody for the star-crossed souls who have suffered, are presently suffering and are fated to suffer the same fate.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 3, 2013
Set during the Blitz, the story concerns elderly writer Claire Temple, who is gradually succumbing to dementia in her home in Kensington. It is by turns sad, insightful, (surprisingly) funny, and increasingly gripping. Although Claire is at times still clever and charming, her thoughts run in tiresome circles (often concerning the whereabouts of her cat). The household also includes Claire's beautiful but temperamental Irish cook, Kathleen, and eventually a paid companion, the dependable but lumpish Miss Jones. Each character inhabits her own world so securely, and is also sympathetic in some ways, but having come together they make a volatile mix. All sorts of things break down, within and without. Penultimately, relief is brought by Dr. Fairfax, who administers sedatives ...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2018
Brilliant portrayal of memory loss written when the word dementia was barely known. The way the more innate character traits are magnified in those with dementia is brilliantly done with Claire's snobbery, her obsession with men, her nastiness to her less socially adept friends, and her fickleness, all shown in Technicolor now that the woman has lost the social awareness to hide them. Despite all this we sympathise with Claire.
The Irish cook Kathleen's take on the English taps into something and her belief that Claire is of bad mind and could stop herself if she only stopped to think before speaking (a thing Claire tells us she never in her life did) is interesting.
Overall a must read for anyone interested in dementia.
The Irish cook Kathleen's take on the English taps into something and her belief that Claire is of bad mind and could stop herself if she only stopped to think before speaking (a thing Claire tells us she never in her life did) is interesting.
Overall a must read for anyone interested in dementia.
April 6, 2018
Such a sad book , beautifully written about an upper class elderly lady who was use to being the centre of attention and her gradual mental decline . Sad because she realises at times that she has acted rudely or inappropriately but can’t quite remember what she said or did.
She is looked after by two women , her Irish maid/cook and a paid companion.
The story is told through the three different women and can be disturbing at times as her increasingly erratic behaviour doesn’t make her friends and carers rally round to support her but the opposite and she is left feeling alienated and bullied .
She is looked after by two women , her Irish maid/cook and a paid companion.
The story is told through the three different women and can be disturbing at times as her increasingly erratic behaviour doesn’t make her friends and carers rally round to support her but the opposite and she is left feeling alienated and bullied .
June 1, 2020
Strange beautifully written . Reminds me of cocooning ,older people like the main character have nothing to look forward to only loneliness and isolation . A thought that many are enduring these days . amazing that it was written so long ago when the world was so different but same underlying conditions for those unfortunate enough to suffer dementia . She didn’t think much of the Irish even though she was of that nationality herself .
January 25, 2024
War stricken London is crumbling around her and Claire Temple's mind is steadily disintegrating. The saddest of tales, told with acute insight by Nora Hoult back in 1939. The story has sharp resonance today when so many finish their days with dementia where the mind is a lonely and unhappy place even for those who are loved. Sadly the plight of Claire was to be lonely and unloved. Disturbing and so terribly sad.
February 19, 2016
I was sent this in return for an honest review witch will soon be filmed and put on my channel
May 26, 2020
Well, this was one of the most depressing things I have ever read. It's like a horror story that could happen to any one of us.
February 22, 2025
I thought the novel had its good points (the theme/story line and some of the writing), but it was too long for my tastes ... otherwise it might have merited 4.5 or 5 stars from me. But 3.5 stars (and then 4 stars in 카지노싸이트 rating system) is pretty darn good in my book (no pun intended) so I hope you consider taking a gander at it. My motto is ”If it’s a Persephone Books re-issue there must be something good about it!” and it was indeed the case with this novel.
Time period is World War II, and location is England. Poor Clair Temple is approaching 80 years old and her short-term memory is shot. She asked a woman who came into her house to do her laundry, Mrs. White, how her husband, Mr. White, was doing, and the woman informed Clair that Mr. White was dead. Five minutes later she asks how Mr. White is doing. The woman replies that he is dead. Five minutes later she asks how Mr. White is doing... and so on and so on.
With everybody she meets she can initially remember who they are after she is reminded by somebody as to who they are. But then she drifts back into forgetfulness. Perhaps because her short-term memory is shot hardly anybody visits her (because she can’t remember anything you say) and she is extremely lonely. She lives with her cat, Lisa, and a cook, Kathleen, who she thinks hates her. The relationship between the two is interesting...at times comical. And then a woman is employed as a carer for her, Miss Jones, and Clair takes an immediate dislike to her.
There is another aspect of Clair Temple that perhaps also contributes as to why nobody visits her, including a sister of hers and two nieces. She utters what she really thinks of people to their face. She didn’t like Miss Jones. Here are her remarks to her:
‧ ...After watching her with bright angry eyes, Mrs. Temple remembered Lisa lying at her feet (her cat), and bent to lift it up. As she held the cat close to her she said: “It’s extraordinary how much closer I feel to this animal than Ido to you. It is alive; you know that it is greedy for fish and rabbit and likes being stroked and prowling in search of a mate. But you? I know you’ve never slept with anybody.”
‧ “Golly, I don’t think I’ve ever disliked anybody as much as I do you, and I’ve disliked so many people.”
Supposedly, the author modeled Clair after someone she knew in real life and who lived close by, a fiction writer like herself, Violet Hunt ( ). Violet died 2 years before this book was published.
Reviews:
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‧ A journal article on the book... Fiction as a gerontological resource: Norah Hoult's There Were No Windows, Journal: Aging and Society, February 2009; Volume 29, Number 2; pages 295-308. DOI:
Note: some of the reviews suggest she is experiencing dementia...I have to plead ignorance to that, I’m not an expert. I don’t think Julia Briggs who wrote the Afterword to the Persephone re-issue in 2005, used that word once (she passed away in 2009, she was Professor of Literature and Women's Studies at De Montfort University and before that taught at Oxford University). The novel certainly portrays an older woman who perhaps is not living in the here and now (she at times thinks a lover she had is still alive when in fact he is dead), is certainly forgetful, and certainly lonely.
Time period is World War II, and location is England. Poor Clair Temple is approaching 80 years old and her short-term memory is shot. She asked a woman who came into her house to do her laundry, Mrs. White, how her husband, Mr. White, was doing, and the woman informed Clair that Mr. White was dead. Five minutes later she asks how Mr. White is doing. The woman replies that he is dead. Five minutes later she asks how Mr. White is doing... and so on and so on.
With everybody she meets she can initially remember who they are after she is reminded by somebody as to who they are. But then she drifts back into forgetfulness. Perhaps because her short-term memory is shot hardly anybody visits her (because she can’t remember anything you say) and she is extremely lonely. She lives with her cat, Lisa, and a cook, Kathleen, who she thinks hates her. The relationship between the two is interesting...at times comical. And then a woman is employed as a carer for her, Miss Jones, and Clair takes an immediate dislike to her.
There is another aspect of Clair Temple that perhaps also contributes as to why nobody visits her, including a sister of hers and two nieces. She utters what she really thinks of people to their face. She didn’t like Miss Jones. Here are her remarks to her:
‧ ...After watching her with bright angry eyes, Mrs. Temple remembered Lisa lying at her feet (her cat), and bent to lift it up. As she held the cat close to her she said: “It’s extraordinary how much closer I feel to this animal than Ido to you. It is alive; you know that it is greedy for fish and rabbit and likes being stroked and prowling in search of a mate. But you? I know you’ve never slept with anybody.”
‧ “Golly, I don’t think I’ve ever disliked anybody as much as I do you, and I’ve disliked so many people.”
Supposedly, the author modeled Clair after someone she knew in real life and who lived close by, a fiction writer like herself, Violet Hunt ( ). Violet died 2 years before this book was published.
Reviews:
‧
‧
‧
‧ A journal article on the book... Fiction as a gerontological resource: Norah Hoult's There Were No Windows, Journal: Aging and Society, February 2009; Volume 29, Number 2; pages 295-308. DOI:
Note: some of the reviews suggest she is experiencing dementia...I have to plead ignorance to that, I’m not an expert. I don’t think Julia Briggs who wrote the Afterword to the Persephone re-issue in 2005, used that word once (she passed away in 2009, she was Professor of Literature and Women's Studies at De Montfort University and before that taught at Oxford University). The novel certainly portrays an older woman who perhaps is not living in the here and now (she at times thinks a lover she had is still alive when in fact he is dead), is certainly forgetful, and certainly lonely.
February 18, 2023
Well written, but I was expecting a *plot* (as in ); there are no great revelations about Claire's past, no forgotten secrets come out of the woodwork to haunt her, and there are no significant consequences to her forgetfulness. People put up with her, and eventually she dies. It's a character study of the decline of a senile old lady, and it's compellingly uncomfortable to read but ultimately, I found, unsatisfying as a novel.
(And it didn't occur to me to find it funny, but then I've never been able to find second-hand embarrassment amusing...)
(And it didn't occur to me to find it funny, but then I've never been able to find second-hand embarrassment amusing...)
August 7, 2018
So true of our fears of old age, irrelevancy and our dependence on others that it is incredibly uncomfortable to read.
February 23, 2020
Don't think I've ever felt quite so claustrophobic when reading a novel.
April 18, 2021
3.5 stars
October 9, 2023
Grim yet wonderfully written, and hard to put down.
August 9, 2023
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