Fay Weldon tackles her autobiography with the same mixture of wry
self-mockery and humorous insight that characterizes her novels.
Her years of experience, first as a copywriter and later as a
prolific novelist, have sharpened her considerable wit. This book
is full of droll one-liners, and throughout she demonstrates a calm
insouciance to whatever dramas life seems determined to hurl at
her. The autobiography covers the first 30 years of Fay's life,
from her traumatic experiences of an earthquake while still in the
womb to the time of her marriage to Ron Weldon. The intervening
years encompass the turbulent story of a life lived in numerous
establishments ranging from the palatial to the rat-infested. Fay
begins her autobiography in her maiden name, Fay Birkinshaw, and
the overwhelming impression of these early years in New Zealand is
the stifling atmosphere of the house full of women. Fay lived with
her mother, her rather too-good-to-be-true elder sister, Jane, and
the delightful Nona, a grandmother as far removed from a cuddly
lady knitting in an armchair as it is possible to imagine. Fay is
not only surrounded by women at home - her female-dominated
schooldays simmer with a barely repressed sexuality. But despite
her later sexual dalliances, Fay remains innocent for most of her
teenage years, oblivious to the consternation surrounding her close
relationship with her schoolfriend Molly. When the family move back
to London, they have to build up their lives all over again.
Margaret, Fay's mother, is adept at seeing the positive side; each
setback is a challenge. Fay has inherited her mother's ability to
pick up the pieces and start again without brooding on the past.
She faces the crises in her life with humour, dissecting her own
tragic experiences with penetrating insight. Thus her marriage of
convenience to the nauseous headmaster Bateman is fodder for her
vitriolic pen - it is hard to imagine that she is writing her own
story rather than researching material for another novel. Certain
elements hinder the effortless flow of her narrative. She jumps
inexplicably from first to third person, and the structure reflects
the sudden thoughts which strike her as she is writing; a page or
two of distant recollection will suddenly be followed by an account
of what happened a year ago. But this is a hugely entertaining
autobiography in which the sheer delight of the content easily
overcomes the minor deficiencies of the structure. (Kirkus UK)
Fay Weldon, one of the pre-eminent writers of our times, has crammed more than most into her years. From the 1930s to the 2000s, Weldon has seen and lived it all. As a child in New Zealand, as young and poor in London, as unmarried mother, as wife, lover, novelist, feminist, anti-feminist, there are few waterfronts that she hasn't covered, few battles she hasn't fought.
'Effervescently funny, honest and insightful. Transports us across years of sadness, brightness, chaos, triumph. An exuberant and thoughtful treat.
Andrea Ashworth
'Wonderfully fluent and entertaining, revealing a life crammed with more gritty drama than a tea-time soap. You can always trust Fay to be provocative – and this time she excels herself.'
Val Hennessey, 'Daily Mail'
'You couldn't make it up. The rich, fruity haphazardness of her experience will startle and amaze. She embarks on a romantic career so potentially damaging – yet so gleefully undertaken – that a modern feminist reaches for the smelling salts. This is a book that reminds us of the value of living first and writing later.'
Lynne Truss, 'Sunday Times'
'It is an astonishing, gripping story, lightly and deftly told, without self-pity. It will delight her many fans.'
Lynn Barber, 'Daily Telegraph'
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