From the author of The Savage God, a unique memoir of growing old, and a lesson in not going gently into that good night The ponds of Hampstead Heath are small oases; fragments of wild nature nestled in the heart of north-west London. For the best part of his life Al Alvarez - poet, critic, novelist, rock-climber and poker player - has swum in them almost daily. An athlete in his youth, Alvarez chronicles what it is to grow old with humour and fierce honesty - from his relentlessly nagging ankle which makes daily ...
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From the author of The Savage God, a unique memoir of growing old, and a lesson in not going gently into that good night The ponds of Hampstead Heath are small oases; fragments of wild nature nestled in the heart of north-west London. For the best part of his life Al Alvarez - poet, critic, novelist, rock-climber and poker player - has swum in them almost daily. An athlete in his youth, Alvarez chronicles what it is to grow old with humour and fierce honesty - from his relentlessly nagging ankle which makes daily life a struggle, to infuriating bureaucratic battles with the council to keep his disabled person's Blue Badge, the devastating effects of a stroke, and the salvation he finds in the three Ss - Swimming, Sex and Sleep. As Alvarez swims in the ponds he considers how it feels when you begin to miss that person you used to be - to miss yourself. Swimming is his own private form of protest against the onslaught of time; proof to others, and himself, that he's not yet beaten. By turns funny, poetic and indignant, Pondlife is a meditation on love, the importance of life's small pleasures and, above all, a lesson in not going gently in to that good night. _____________________ 'A beautiful unfolding of a story, told in deceptively simple prose but with a great power to move' Sunday Times 'The adrenalin still flows in lively extracts' The Times 'A marvellous book... it has no business to be as invigorating and absorbing - its success is against the odds' Observer
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Seller's Description:
This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has soft covers. In good all round condition. Dust jacket in good condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 300grams, ISBN: 9781408841020.
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Seller's Description:
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
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New. From the author of "The Savage God, " a unique memoir of growing old, and a lesson in not going gently into that good night. Num Pages: 288 pages. BIC Classification: BM. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 199 x 131 x 23. Weight in Grams: 200. 2015. Reprint. Paperback.....We ship daily from our Bookshop.
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Seller's Description:
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
