In this shimmering mosaic of a novel, a writer reflects on the final days of her friend’s life. In the decades after they met at school, they shared a passion for books and words, took care of each other’s children, received acclaim as authors, and endured failure and disappointment. Yet in these last days together, as she and her friend go on walks through their neighbourhood, she discovers that their paths may have been more different than she realised – and bridging the gulf becomes more vital than ever.
Based on Debra Adelaide’s friendship with Gabrielle Carey, When I Am Sixty-Four is a work of extraordinary depth and grace. Tender and moving, yet infused throughout with unexpected humour, it captures the human condition in all its complexity: the small but momentous events that can transform a life; the way cherished memories can be rewritten or expunged; the limitations of love, but also its necessity; and the exhilarating, unpredictable world of the creative imagination.
