Author(s): Deborah Levy

Essays

Things I Don't Want to Know is Deborah Levy's sparkling response to Orwell's Why I Write. 'Things I Don't Want to Know' is a unique response to George Orwell from one of our most vital contemporary writers. Taking Orwell's famous list of motives for writing as the jumping-off point for a sequence of thrilling reflections on the writing life, this is a perfect companion not just to Orwell's essay, but also to Levy's own, essential oeuvre. "In her powerful rejoinder to Orwell, Deborah Levy responds to his proposed motives for writing - 'sheer egoism', 'aesthetic enthusiasm', 'historical impulse' and 'political purpose' - with illuminating moments of autobiography. A vivid, striking account of a writer's life, which feminises and personalises Orwell's blunt assertions". (Spectator). "An up-to-date version of 'A Room of One's Own'...I suspect it will be quoted for many years to come". (Irish Examiner). "Levy's strength is her originality of thought and expression". (Jeanette Winterson). Deborah Levy writes fiction, plays and poetry. Her work has been staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company, and she is the author of numerous highly praised books including The Unloved, Swallowing Geography and Beautiful Mutants, all of which are now published by Penguin. Her novel Swimming Home was shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize, 2012 Specsavers National Book Awards and 2013 Jewish Quarterly Wingate Prize.