A Writer’s Diary

‘A Writer’s Diary’ is a novel that blends fact and fiction, invention and memoir with joyful creativity and remarkable literary ambition. In it, Toby Litt takes on some of the biggest questions of life and death, not to mention literary, as well as human mortality and the steady march of time. At first, ‘A Writer’s Diary’ appears to be exactly what it claims to be. It is a daily summary of the events in a person called Toby Litt’s life: his thoughts on creating literature, his concerns for his family and the people he teaches, his musings on the various things that catch his attention around his desk and his immediate surroundings. But as it progresses, questions start to arise. Is this fact? Or is it fiction? (And if it’s both, which is which?) Is this a book about quotidian daily routines – one person’s days as they unspool – or is something more going on? Is there something even larger taking shape?