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Ammonites and Leaping Fish: A Life in Time Paperback – January 1, 2014
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length234 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPenguin
- Publication dateJanuary 1, 2014
- Dimensions5.08 x 0.59 x 7.8 inches
- ISBN-100241966981
- ISBN-13978-0241966983
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
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Product details
- Publisher : Penguin (January 1, 2014)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 234 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0241966981
- ISBN-13 : 978-0241966983
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.08 x 0.59 x 7.8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,941,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9,011 in Aging (Books)
- #28,643 in Women's Biographies
- #288,729 in Self-Help (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Dame Penelope Margaret Lively DBE FRSL (born 17 March 1933) is a British writer of fiction for both children and adults. She has won both the Booker Prize (Moon Tiger, 1987) and the Carnegie Medal for British children's books (The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, 1973).
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Miyagawa (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book enjoyable, thought-provoking, and lively. They appreciate the personal insights and intimate look into the author's life and writing practice. The writing style is praised as eloquent and lovely.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers enjoy the book. They find it a great read and say it's lively.
"...A splendid book!" Read more
"Sensational piece of work. I have always loved Lively's writing and having met her many years ago very much liked the person...." Read more
"Eloquently written and hugely enjoyable. Inspired me to read several other books mentioned in this one and evoked many childhood memories of my own." Read more
"great read..." Read more
Customers find the book thought-provoking and personal. They appreciate reading the wise old lady's feelings and thoughts. The book provides an intimate look into her life and writing practice.
"Lovely to read the feelings and thought of a wise old lady, perhaps especially as one feels those days approaching or one has elderly..." Read more
"...But this book is such an intimate look into her life and writing practice that it was an absolute page turner for me. Truly wonderful...." Read more
"...recommended for lovers of language and ideas. thought provoking, too." Read more
"Thought-provoki9ng and personal..." Read more
Customers enjoy the writing style. They find the book eloquently written and enjoyable, with an interesting look into the author's life and writing practice.
"...If I can age as well I'll be grateful! Beautifully written and every page a treasure trove." Read more
"...But this book is such an intimate look into her life and writing practice that it was an absolute page turner for me. Truly wonderful...." Read more
"Eloquently written and hugely enjoyable. Inspired me to read several other books mentioned in this one and evoked many childhood memories of my own." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2014I have long admired Penelope Lively's novels and so have the members of my English class. I thought it would be interesting to read her memoir. I was not disappointed. With wisdom and stoicism she confronts the problems and regrets of old age and yet manages to weave some golden threads in an otherwise sombre set of colours. A splendid book!
- Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2013Lovely to read the feelings and thought of a wise old lady, perhaps especially as one feels those days approaching or one has elderly (less articulate perhaps) people to deal with. Liked less her enumeration of her reading/books etc but old people have to be forgiven their need to spoil their 'autobiograpies' with 'lists' of who they know, where they've been or what they read.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2014This is another book I chose by title alone. Although I recognized Lively's name, I have to admit I haven't read anything of hers. (If I have, I've forgotten.) I was curious to read a memoir about aging from an author's point of view, since I fall into that category myself. While she does mention writers and writing, they are overshadowed by several awkward sections where Lively seems determined to wedge her story into an essay about memory in general--what people choose to remember and what they don't. The memories, in other words, that define us. Unfortunately the role memory plays in our lives has been done before, and done better. While Lively offers the general reader some penetrating insights, this book reads like a rush job by an accomplished author with other, bigger projects on her mind.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2014I love her novels and enjoyed piecing together some of the background to them. I learned a lot from this book, not only about aging but about many of the subjects that have interested her over a long and active life.
If I can age as well I'll be grateful!
Beautifully written and every page a treasure trove.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2014Sensational piece of work. I have always loved Lively's writing and having met her many years ago very much liked the person. But this book is such an intimate look into her life and writing practice that it was an absolute page turner for me. Truly wonderful. And certainly for readers of a certain age very wise.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2016sorry I'm finished !
will definitely reread and try to buy a hard copy.
recommended for lovers of language and ideas.
thought provoking, too.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2014Eloquently written and hugely enjoyable. Inspired me to read several other books mentioned in this one and evoked many childhood memories of my own.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2016Didn't hold my interest or live up to my expectations.
Top reviews from other countries
- Kindle CustomerReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
This a wonderful book about ageing and remembering ,very insghtfully and sensitively written ,highly recommended.
- Ed BainesReviewed in Spain on June 20, 2017
2.0 out of 5 stars I found it repetative.
I didn't like it. Felt it was repetitive and didn't address the questions on aging that interested me. I don't recommend it.
- Jl AdcockReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2016
4.0 out of 5 stars An elegantly written retrospective on time, life and memory
Penelope Lively's look back over her life is, typically, well-written, thoughtful and reflective. She touches on many of the themes that run through her novels: time, the sense of layering that combines past with present in so many aspects of life, and the role of memory. A personal take on what it is like to age, Lively rarely feels sorry for herself with some of the discomforts that age brings. Instead, she offers an accessible and highly engaging memoir that looks at different aspects of her life, through memory, books and writing, and a few important possessions that, for her, bring together that sense of past and present.
Here is someone with plenty to say about what it is to have lived in a particular period of time. It's about as far away from the empty-headed, ghost written "celebrity" memoirs that litter the shelves these days as you could possibly imagine. An interesting and thought-provoking read for anyone interested in the passage of time and the impact it has on all of us. One Amazon reviewer has said that this is a book to read only if you're in your seventies and apparently approaching the end of your own life - utter nonsense.
- Margaret AllgoodReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2014
3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed the book but found it a bit boring in ...
Enjoyed the book but found it a bit boring in parts and not one that I would want to read again so will pass it on to others to read.
- anna62Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Penelope Lively at 90
A thoughtful and helpful account of how your memories impact on your journey to accepting ageing.