Dancing Fish and Ammonites: A Memoir

I loved the first chapter on “Old Age” (51 pages)I underlined many thoughts that she shared.But after that the book seemed almost stream of consciousness, loose & drifting. It lost substance for me.

Lively has entered that time she feared, "that hazard light worn by the old- slow potentially boring, hard going." While I share that status with Lively, I also believe this book has much to inform those entering the ranks of the aged. After all, there appear to be a lot of us and more on the way. The task to place oneself in the world comes as a reality for us all. I agree with Lively that we are a bit invisible, out of the way, no longer the dominant. I also find it a relief. However, present we are, and Lively's thoughts are instructive and sprightly.I am quite charmed by the ways of viewing age in this book. In particular the review of treasured belongings. Of course I also share with her that legal addiction, reading. Her prose is witty, self deprecating, and literate. Lively's own works are part of my library, and it find enchanting the peppering of titles that share her own life. She has a dignity about diminishment that I admire, and a wry regret that I enjoy. Last, but not the least, the memoirs that apply to her own life come as illustrative of a life culminating in her present state.I would urge you to read this book. The thoughts have a comfort and a wisdom. After all, "the poor have always been with us, now the old are too."

I have read many of her books, this and her last novel (How it all Began) being my two favourites. How an 80 year old woman reminisces about life, her writing and memory without ever expressing regret for the past or sorrow for the reality of her immediate future (infirmity and death) is beyond me. I dislike the word inspiring, but Ms. Lively inspires me to embrace hope as I too enter her reality, and for that I am enormously grateful.Oh yes, and she can write the stars out of the skies. I have used that expression to describe beautifully written books but not very often.

You have to be old to enjoy this book. Since I am 10 years younger than the author, I found her observations interesting and in some sense reassuring. Yes, I am aging gracefully.A younger person may not appreciate Lively's attempt to make sense of her life. When you are younger, you don't feel the need to do that so reading some one else's reflections may not be very interesting.Since I have just completed a major move and downsizing of my possessions, I found her descriptions of the 6 things instructive and provocative. Why did I keep what I kept?I gave the book 3 stars because it is really for older people.

Having read the book 2X I found myself reacting differently each X. What struck me in both readings is the role in which the 3 different kinds of memory make up our view of life past, present and future. In the second read I found myself -- as a healthy older person -- pretty put off by all her health issues which seemed so negative when she has had so much good stuff in her life.

As an admirer of Lively's fiction, I found this book disappointing, She is objective and almost scientific in her subjects whereas I had wanted something more personal. For instance the section on Memory I anticipated with intense interest, assuming this would relate her own memories, perhaps tell us some things about her writing. Instead it deals with memory itself in an analytical and almost scientific manner. The section on "Reading and Writing" was more to my taste. It and the closing section, "Six Things" make the book worthwhile. Nell Abbott

The British author Penelope Lively has reached the age of 80, and her reflections on her life now, as they relate to the long years she has already lived, are insightful, direct, charming but not at all sentimental. How does she see herself changed, and in what ways is she still the same? What and whom has she gladly put aside? Born in Cairo to ex-pat Brits, she has lived a full and accomplished life, had a clearly-loved husband and family, and traveled widely. This book is an inspiration to anyone facing the last chapters of life, a picture of what remains, and how well it can be lived.

I love Penelope Lively fiction. She is a wonderful writer, the characters stay with you for a long time after you finished the book. ButDancing Fish and Ammonites isn't a fiction, it is a memoir and reminiscences about author's life and about growing old.I could recommend it to anyone who is interested in that part of human life

Penelope Lively is a wonderful writer with a truly exquisite command of the language . So much of what she says is quotable and "right on." This memoir was written when she turned 80, and it is not chronologically organized, but organized around themes in her life: The section on time is especially interesting and moving. As an aging writer and reader just a few years younger than Lively, I found the memoir especially relevant and was comforted by the grace of language and sensibility with which the author addresses both the indignities and the rewards of aging.

A bemused and valuable record of an interesting life -- a wonderful book for anyone who has spent time contemplating the nature and role of memory in our lives, written in clear and lively (no pun intended) prose. A lovely memoir.

A well written bookIntrospectiveThoughtfulReading memoirs leads one downA reflective path

Enjoyed author's comments about life in general, with a little about hers in particular. Interesting reading.

Excellent read