Letters to a Friend
“Diana Athill is perhaps best known for her memoirSomewhere Towards the End, butLetters to a Friendcould eclipse it. ... Each letter is an unalloyed delight; articulate to the point of eloquence, and candid, even about the naughty bits and her frustration with her long-time lover, Barry Reckord (a Jamaican playwright now deceased). They were together for years, in a relationship so open that, at one point, Athill invited one of his girlfriends to live with them. ...[E]very letter inLetters to a Friendis a small masterpiece; chatty, companionable and very, very intelligent.” (Valerie Ryan - Shelf Awareness)“[T]his latest of her books,… demonstrates, through the tart comments she has interposed, that, well into her 90s, she has lost none of her fire. …Her undeniably patrician manner and lapidary prose style notwithstanding, it is very clear from the warmth of Athill's communications with her friend that for her, kind hearts are indeed far more than coronets, her genuine concern and sympathy with his travails shining through…. One feels that Athill isn't capable of writing a rote ‘bread and butter letter.’ One of the joys of this book is how heartfelt her sentences always are, so full of freshness and purpose, whether describing an experience or indulging in a spot of delicious gossip. … Words across an ocean from a true friend for all seasons.” (Martin Rubin - San Francisco Chronicle)