ellend's review against another edition
4.0
So good - bit slow at the beginning but really liked how this one was about being alive as a wider theme. V sad at times but also truly hopeful and appreciative of the luck of being alive. Altho I think Maggie was a bit conservative at times lol, which …. the light touch of her political opinions is not something that needed to be included lol
atlantic_reader_wannabe's review against another edition
4.0
When I first read this book, I had no idea who the author was. Post-reading, I find myself wanting to read more. I know this is a biography, but that doesn't stop me from wanting more. Nothing like a good biography!
pattydsf's review
3.0
Once again, I get to read a book because Good Reads has given me a free copy. This was especially interesting this time, because the book was published in England and seemingly not in this country. Thank you Good Reads for this lovely gift.
I liked Gee's premise that we live animal lives because we are animals and this connects us to the rest of the planet, the universe. I don't really think of myself as an animal, but of course, Gee is right.
I knew nothing about Maggie Gee before this book. I had not read her other books 12 in all. I can't say that she is even published in this country. But none of that matters. Gee can write and she drew me into her story and helped me see what her short time on this planet is like.
I enjoyed reading about her life, about her family and especially about her profession. Gee is very honest about the writing life and so I would think many aspiring writers would find this memoir fascinating. I also believe that people interested in England and its history would be interested in this book.
All in all, I am very glad to have escaped my everyday world into Maggie Gee's everyday world. We have so much in common and even more of our lives are not at all the same. And this made for a fun read.
I liked Gee's premise that we live animal lives because we are animals and this connects us to the rest of the planet, the universe. I don't really think of myself as an animal, but of course, Gee is right.
I knew nothing about Maggie Gee before this book. I had not read her other books 12 in all. I can't say that she is even published in this country. But none of that matters. Gee can write and she drew me into her story and helped me see what her short time on this planet is like.
I enjoyed reading about her life, about her family and especially about her profession. Gee is very honest about the writing life and so I would think many aspiring writers would find this memoir fascinating. I also believe that people interested in England and its history would be interested in this book.
All in all, I am very glad to have escaped my everyday world into Maggie Gee's everyday world. We have so much in common and even more of our lives are not at all the same. And this made for a fun read.
featherbooks's review
3.0
My Animal Life was well-written, much about Gee's unhappy childhood with a physically-abusive father, an unhappy mother and two brothers but didn't become interesting to me until she grows up, goes to Oxford and writes about the Sixties and her later life, especially her career as an author (with a dozen books behind her).
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