Deborah Levy: The Cost of Living

I wish I can write about everyday life as beautiful and soulful as Levy can. Her candid prose and brutal honesty make this book so damn engaging. Her plumbing struggle, for instance, I know exactly what she was going through. Her writing is concise, funny, and heartfelt. Here’s an example:

To strip the wallpaper off the fairy tale of The Family House in which the comfort and happiness of men and children have been the priority is to find behind it an unthanked, unloved, neglected, exhausted woman. It requires skill, time, dedication and empathy to create a home that everyone enjoys and that functions well. Above all else, it is an act of immense generosity to be the architect of everyone else’s well-being. This task is still mostly perceived as women’s work.

I definitely recommend this memoir for both writing style and vivid storytelling.