Alan Bennett's Latest Diaries: A Witty Chronicle of Age and National Change
At 91, Alan Bennett remains a masterful observer of British life, as showcased in his new diary collection, Enough Said. Covering the years 2016 to 2024, this volume delves into the pandemic, the rise of populism, and the twilight of his prolific career, all filtered through his trademark Yorkshire wit and self-deprecating humour.
Personal Diminution and Public Disgust
The diaries reveal a man grappling with the physical toll of aging. Bennett details his struggles with deafness, cataracts, and the aftermath of open-heart surgery, which left his torso resembling "the map of a much disputed corner of eighteenth-century Poland." He has given up cycling around Primrose Hill and now relies on a wheelchair for train journeys to his Yorkshire cottage with his partner, Rupert Thomas.
Yet, his personal challenges are matched by a profound disillusionment with broader societal shifts. Bennett expresses unyielding revulsion towards Brexit and Boris Johnson, and he spares no contempt for Donald Trump. He laments the erosion of the tolerant England that once nurtured a butcher's son like him, noting the closure of libraries, the monetisation of education, and what he sees as the vulgarity of modern sports culture.
Losses and Legacies
The book is punctuated by the deaths of key figures in Bennett's life, including Jonathan Miller, Maggie Smith, and Queen Elizabeth II. He reflects on his collaborations with them, such as putting the Queen on stage in A Question of Attribution and on screen before Stephen Frears' The Queen. Bennett's trademark diffidence is occasionally tinged with peevishness, as when he notes omissions in obituaries or public recognition that both flatters and pains him.
Surprising Observations and Enduring Passions
Despite his age, Bennett's curiosity remains vibrant. He offers amusing takes on Love Island and candid thoughts on amphetamines, though he questions the point of "coke without sex." His reading habits include a hefty biography of Philip Roth, which he humorously notes he "fell over yesterday on my birthday."
Throughout, there is a reassuring consistency in his passions. Bennett and Rupert continue to explore junk shops and remote churches, his mobility permitting. His keen eye for nature enriches the diaries with scents of flowers and sightings of newts and herons. His love for art, literature, and architecture is both wholehearted and unpretentious, and his memory for past events—from childhood doctors to meals in 1960s New York—remains astonishing, even as individual words begin to elude him.
Bennettian Wit and Self-Reflection
The diaries are filled with pithy and elegant sentences that capture his unique voice. For instance, he notes the sale of the Christian Science Temple in Leeds to Wetherspoons, a place where he once realized his sexuality. He also offers sharp character sketches, such as describing Jonathan Miller as someone it was "always difficult to tell anything, only to remind him of it."
Bennett is brutally honest about his insecurities, from sexual confidence to envy of other writers, and he reflects on aging with phrases like "skinned rabbit hands." He maintains daily rituals, like wearing a tie in homage to his father, and treasures shoes once worn by Alec Guinness. In a poignant closing entry, he admits, "I feel I am not yet grown up," yet his sharp eye continues to skewer British institutions and celebrate unexamined lives.
If this proves to be his final volume of diaries, readers will indeed be the poorer for it. Enough Said by Alan Bennett is published by Profile Books and Faber & Faber at £25.
