About this item
From the Man Booker Prize-winning author of The Finkler Question and J, and one of "our funniest writers alive" (Allison Pearson) : a wickedly observed novel of old age and new love. At the age of ninety-something, Beryl Dusinbery is forgetting everything - including her own children. Her tongue, meanwhile, remains as sharp as ever. She spends her days stitching macabre messages into her needlework and tormenting her two long-suffering carers with tangled stories of her love affairs. Shimi Carmelli can do up his own buttons, walk without the aid of a frame, and speak without spitting. Among the widows of North London, hes whispered about as the last of the eligible bachelors. Unlike Beryl, he forgets nothing - especially not the shame of a childhood incident that has hung over him ever since. Theres very little life remaining for either of them, but perhaps just enough to heal some of the hurt inflicted along the way and find new meaning in whats left. Could this be their chance to live a little? Told with Jacobsons trademark wit and style, Live a Little is equal parts funny, irreverent, and tender - a novel to make you consider all the paths not taken, and whether you could still change course.Advance praise for Live a Little"One of the great comic geniuses of our time." - Lit Hub"A tender story of unlikely love . . . Jacobson treats with compassion the dilemma of old age. . . . Wise, witty, and deftly crafted." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "For all of its moments of bleakness, and the occasional flicker of genuine terror, its rarely less than bitterly funny in its determination to face up to the obliteration that awaits us all." - The Guardian"What a relief to come on a novel which invites you to smile and even laugh." - The Scotsman"The novels brilliant cover tells it all: hearts and skulls, love and death." - The Jewish Chronicle"A thoroughly enjoyable read. For a literature snob and a language obsessive . . . there is a lot to feast on . . . for someone looking for an emotionally honest storyline, the book also delivers. Live a Little is about growing old, but its also about gender, race, love and politics." - Independent"Tender and funny." - Grazia
About the Author
An award-winning writer and broadcaster, Howard Jacobson was born in Manchester, brought up in Prestwich and was educated at Stand Grammar School in Whitefield, and Downing College, Cambridge, where he studied under F. R. Leavis. He lectured for three years at the University of Sydney before returning to teach at Selwyn College, Cambridge. His novels include The Mighty Walzer (winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize) , Kalooki Nights (longlisted for the Man Booker Prize) and, most recently, the highly acclaimed The Act of Love. Howard Jacobson lives in London.
