Things I Don't Want to Know

By Deborah Levy,

Book cover of Things I Don't Want to Know

Book description

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…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Things I Don't Want to Know as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Deborah Levy weighs in with autobiography, but not the self-important or self-tortured brand, no, Things I Don’t Want to Know reads like a collection of anecdotes you might hear from a close friend over the course of decades that add up to a sense of why they are the way they are.

She shaves it down to essential experiences that may have shaped her (I don’t presume!) and in so doing, reveals the writerly eye she has had since she was a child. I greatly admired the skill with which she recounted childhood episodes from the eyes of the child,…

Want books like Things I Don't Want to Know?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 43 books like Things I Don't Want to Know.

Browse books like Things I Don't Want to Know

Book cover of Bloomsbury Girls: A Novel
Book cover of Animal Farm
Book cover of Why I Write

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,206

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in George Orwell, writing, and presidential biography?

George Orwell 36 books
Writing 60 books