The Cost of Living: A Working Autobiography

Deborah Levy

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journey of self discovery

introspective memoir

urban london setting

loss and reinvention

poignant reflections on gender roles

fabulous and lyrical writing style

narrative of personal upheaval

brisk pacing and engaging narrative

humor and vulnerability in writing

writing about divorce and loss

themes of creativity and identity

significant figures influencing reflections

'The Cost of Living: A Working Autobiography' by Deborah Levy is a powerful and introspective memoir that delves into the author's journey of rebuilding her life after the collapse of her twenty-year marriage and the death of her mother. Through a mix of memories and present-day encounters, Levy explores themes of loss, creativity, and reinvention. The writing style is described as fabulous, lyrical, and compelling, with poignant reflections on gender roles, politics, and the complexities of starting over emotionally and physically.

Characters:

The central figure is the author herself, along with significant figures from her past that influence her reflections, especially regarding gender and identity.

Writing/Prose:

The writing is characterized by its lyrical quality and introspective insights, blending humor with vulnerability to convey complex emotions.

Plot/Storyline:

The narrative focuses on personal upheaval, including a divorce and the loss of a parent, leading to a journey of self-discovery and identity reconstruction.

Setting:

The setting primarily takes place in urban London, reflecting a transitional phase in the author's life.

Pacing:

The pacing is brisk, engaging readers through a concise narrative while combining introspective essays.

As Orson Welles told us, if we want a happy ending, it depends on where we stop the story. One January night I was eating coconut rice and fish in a bar on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. A tanned, tattoo...

Notes:

The book is part of a series of autobiographical works by Deborah Levy.

Levy explores the aftermath of her divorce and the death of her mother.

The narrative includes themes of self-discovery and redefining identity beyond traditional roles.

Levy uses writing as a means to process her emotions and reclaim her life.

The story features her move to a new home and the challenges that come with it.

She reflects on societal expectations for women and the search for individuality.

The memoir blends personal stories with broader feminist themes.

Her relationship with men is a focal point, highlighting dynamics of misunderstanding and expectation.

Levy's writing style is described as lyrical and compelling.

She emphasizes the costs of freedom, suggesting that true liberation involves struggle.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include themes of divorce, grief related to the death of a parent, mental health struggles, and reflections on misogyny.

From The Publisher:

The bestselling exploration of the dimensions of love, marriage, mourning, and kinship from two-time Booker Prize finalist Deborah Levy.

A New York Times Notable Book

A New York Public Library Best Nonfiction Book of 2018

What does it cost a woman to unsettle old boundaries and collapse the social hierarchies that make her a minor character in a world not arranged to her advantage?

This vibrant memoir, a portrait of contemporary womanhood in flux, is an urgent quest to find an unwritten major female character who can exist more easily in the world. Levy considers what it means to live with meaning, value, and pleasure, to seize the ultimate freedom of writing our own lives, and reflects on the work of such artists and thinkers as Simone de Beauvoir, James Baldwin, Elena Ferrante, Marguerite Duras, David Lynch, and Emily Dickinson.

The Cost of Living, longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal in Nonfiction, is crucial testimony, as distinctive, witty, complex, and original as Levy's acclaimed novels.

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