Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there is a raft of writers to whom I return again and again, not so much because I want to write like them, even if I were capable of it, but simply for a sort of stylistic shot in the arm. Penelope Lively armcapableraft share on social
I'm intrigued by the way in which physical appearance can often direct a person's life; things happen differently for a beautiful woman than for a plain one. Penelope Lively appearancebeautifuldifferently Change image and share on social
I've always been fascinated by the operation of memory - the way in which it is not linear but fragmented, and its ambivalence. Penelope Lively ambivalencefascinatefragment Change image and share on social
The present hardly exists, after all-it becomes the past even as it happens. A tricky medium, time - and central to the concerns of fiction. Penelope Lively centralconcernexist Change image and share on social
Deep down I have this atavistic feeling that really I should be in the country. Penelope Lively atavisticcountrydeep Change image and share on social
All I know for certain is that reading is of the most intense importance to me; if I were not able to read, to revisit old favorites and experiment with names new to me, I would be starved - probably too starved to go on writing myself. Penelope Lively experimentfavoriteimportance share on social
We all need a past - that's where our sense of identity comes from. Penelope Lively identitypastsense Change image and share on social
Conventional forms of narrative allow for different points of view, but for this book I wanted a structure whereby each of the main characters contributed a distinctive version of the story. Penelope Lively bookcharactercontribute Change image and share on social
It was a combination of an intense interest in children's literature, which I've always had, and the feeling that I'd just have a go and see if I could do it. Penelope Lively childcombinationfelt Change image and share on social
I have had to empty two family homes during the last few years - first, the house that had been my grandmother's since 1923, and then my own country home, which we had lived in for over twenty years. Penelope Lively countryemptyfamily Change image and share on social
