Things I Don’t Want to Know

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First published by Notting Hill Editions Ltd 2013
Published in Penguin Books 2014

The moral right of the author has been asserted

ISBN: 978-0-241-14657-6

1. Political Purpose

2. Historical Impulse

3. Sheer Egoism

4. Aesthetic Enthusiasm

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THINGS I DON’T WANT TO KNOW

Deborah Levy writes fiction, plays and poetry. Her work has been staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company, and she is the author of numerous highly praised books including The Unloved, Swallowing Geography and Beautiful Mutants, all of which are now published by Penguin. Her novel Swimming Home was shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize, 2012 Specsavers National Book Awards and 2013 Jewish Quarterly Wingate Prize.

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All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.
– George Orwell, Animal Farm (1945)

I know roughly speaking, how I became a writer. I don’t know precisely why. In order to exist, did I really need to line up words and sentences? In order to exist, was it enough for me to be the author of a few books? … One day I shall certainly have to start using words to uncover what is real, to uncover my reality.

– Georges Perec, Species of Spaces and Other Pieces (1974)

Deborah Levy