Description
Coda is Simon Gray's powerful account of the year in which he struggled to come to terms with terminal lung cancer. Darkly comic depictions of the medical team are set against joyful accounts of sunlit days with his beloved wife, Victoria. Written with exceptional candour and a poignant reluctance to leave this world behind, Simon Gray's Coda is as life-affirming as it is heart-rending. Sadly, Coda was published posthumously: Gray died in August 2008.
'The culmination of an exceptional series. As well as a sceptic's scrupulous examination of his morality and a sharp satire of the medical profession, it is a celebration of life' Book of the Year, Sunday Telegraph
About the Author
Simon Gray was born in England in 1936 and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was the author of over 30 plays, including Butley, The Common Pursuit and Cell Mates, and published several volumes of diaries and books about the theatre, including Enter a Fox and Fat Chance, both published by Granta. He was awarded a CBE in 2005. He died in 2008.
Reviews
'I can't imagine a finer book for a writer to go out on - An absolutely extraordinary achievement' Front Row 'Few books have ever been more immediate, more rooted in the present tense' Mail on Sunday 'The effortless, rambling style he's accidentally found himself cultivating here reaches its zenith - He finishes not in ugly mid-sentence but clearly, cleanly, perfectly. A casually perfect but unexpectedly painful early full stop to a life and a mind for which we are immeasurably richer' Observer 'His beautifully written, addictively readable, unsparingly honest journals are his greatest achievement - and will survive the test of time' Telegraph 'Those many readers who have enjoyed the three previous volumes of The Smoking Diaries will find this one every bit as compelling: less funny, despite frequent shafts of wit, considerably more moving' Scotsman 'Mordantly funny, unsparing of himself and others, desperately brave, it is both compulsive and agonising to read' Sunday Telegraph An Evening Standard 'Best Book of 2008': 'Wittily digressive, deeply humane and excruciatingly honest' 'An effortlessly astonishing piece of writing that established Gray without a doubt among the great autobiographers' Literary Review
Awards
Short-listed for Costa Biography Award 2009 (UK).
Book Information
ISBN 9781847081001
Author Simon Gray
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint Granta Books
Publisher Granta Books
Weight(grams) 201g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 18mm
'The culmination of an exceptional series. As well as a sceptic's scrupulous examination of his morality and a sharp satire of the medical profession, it is a celebration of life' Book of the Year, Sunday Telegraph
About the Author
Simon Gray was born in England in 1936 and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was the author of over 30 plays, including Butley, The Common Pursuit and Cell Mates, and published several volumes of diaries and books about the theatre, including Enter a Fox and Fat Chance, both published by Granta. He was awarded a CBE in 2005. He died in 2008.
Reviews
'I can't imagine a finer book for a writer to go out on - An absolutely extraordinary achievement' Front Row 'Few books have ever been more immediate, more rooted in the present tense' Mail on Sunday 'The effortless, rambling style he's accidentally found himself cultivating here reaches its zenith - He finishes not in ugly mid-sentence but clearly, cleanly, perfectly. A casually perfect but unexpectedly painful early full stop to a life and a mind for which we are immeasurably richer' Observer 'His beautifully written, addictively readable, unsparingly honest journals are his greatest achievement - and will survive the test of time' Telegraph 'Those many readers who have enjoyed the three previous volumes of The Smoking Diaries will find this one every bit as compelling: less funny, despite frequent shafts of wit, considerably more moving' Scotsman 'Mordantly funny, unsparing of himself and others, desperately brave, it is both compulsive and agonising to read' Sunday Telegraph An Evening Standard 'Best Book of 2008': 'Wittily digressive, deeply humane and excruciatingly honest' 'An effortlessly astonishing piece of writing that established Gray without a doubt among the great autobiographers' Literary Review
Awards
Short-listed for Costa Biography Award 2009 (UK).
Book Information
ISBN 9781847081001
Author Simon Gray
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint Granta Books
Publisher Granta Books
Weight(grams) 201g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 18mm
