Arresti domiciliari. Diari della pandemia

by Alan Bennett, Mariagrazia Gini (Translator)

All’inizio del 2020, l’intera umanità si è trovata d’improvviso immersa in uno dei più sinistri romanzi distopici che siano mai stati concepiti. Solo che non era un romanzo. E mentre la pandemia dilagava in successive ondate, non meno contagiose erano le ondate di retorica che si sono abbattute su tutti noi, in molteplici varianti. Contro questo secondo flagello, un farmaco efficace e senza effetti collaterali è «Arresti domiciliari», dove Alan Bennett – e chi, altrimenti? – riesce a guardare alle ripercussioni della catastrofe con sovrano understatement, sfiorandole con quel tocco leggero che è solo suo, in un diario che, giorno dopo giorno, intreccia riflessioni e ricordi del passato ad aneddoti e osservazioni sull’inopinata congiuntura del presente.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, British Literature, Humor, Diary, Autobiography

63 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 9, 2023

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Alan Bennett is an English author and Tony Award-winning playwright. Bennett's first stage play, Forty Years On, was produced in 1968. Many television, stage and radio plays followed, along with screenplays, short stories, novellas, a large body of non-fictional prose and broadcasting, and many appearances as an actor. Bennett's lugubrious yet expressive voice (which still bears a slight Leeds accent) and the sharp humour and evident humanity of his writing have made his readings of his own work (especially his autobiographical writing) very popular. His readings of the Winnie the Pooh stories are also widely enjoyed.

Reviews

[Cecily · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s now May 2025. The Covid-19 (neé Coronavirus) pandemic and consequent lockdowns feel simultaneously a lifetime ago and very recent - current, even. Long Covid is now a greater risk than ending up in ICU on a ventilator, but it’s still around, and evolving.

Life changed overnight with the first lockdown: new words entered our vocabulary, and hand sanitiser, masks, gloves, and lateral flow tests entered our homes, as we kept people out.

We had to accept new ways of living - and dying. The struggle to get groceries and loo rolls, and to make and maintain connections, spawned neighbourhood WhatsApp groups that continue today. Weddings were postponed, scaled down, rescheduled, and even cancelled. Teachers had to switch to online lessons, with no additional training, as parents juggled working from home with supervising children. Businesses and livelihoods were lost, as well as lives. The ridiculous “Eat Out to Help Out” was intended to help the former, but likely resulted in the latter.


Image: A deserted London street, with an NHS poster at a bus stop exhorting people to stay home (Source)


But before all that, at the end of January 2020, I went to London’s Chinatown to celebrate my birthday and Chinese New Year, defying rumbling anti-Chinese sentiment. There were fewer non-Chinese people there than usual, but Wuhan, and overwhelmed Italian hospitals, felt far away that happy day. They weren't.

First year of Covid-19

The timeline is something of a blur now, so it was instructive to read the first year through Bennett’s inimitable diaries.

24 February ‘20. It opens with Rupert’s employer asking which staff would be able to work from home, should the need arise. “This is thought to be unlikely.” (Rupert is Bennett’s partner.)

18 March ‘20. Bennett, in his mid-80s, is mentally sharp, but physically frail, so no longer cycles around town or socialises as much as he used to, even before he was told to shelter at home:
“My usual going-on now has governmental endorsement.”

26 March ‘20. “Good Friday, when this year Pontius Pilate is not the only one washing his hands.”

8 May ‘20. “The dawning realisation of how inadequately the government has managed the response to the virus.”

9 May ‘20. “Lockdown is coming apart.”

7 November ‘20. Biden is declared President and “the scourge of Trump has been lifted”. (May 2025, he's back in power!)

17 November ‘20. “Think of making a note of words I see but don’t understand, still less use, e.g. double-down.”

31 December ‘20. Being medically vulnerable, he has his first Covid jab, but although he’s self-isolating with his partner, Rupert isn’t allowed one, and Bennett learns many of the vaccination staff have not yet been offered jabs yet either.

27 February ‘21. Home haircut: “While professing to admire my abundant locks, [Rupert] manages to make me look like a blond Hitler. He was also wondering if he could have the offcuts, in case they might find a market on eBay.”

Sometimes the dates are barely relevant. The book is sprinkled with reminiscences of his parents (his mother’s fear of TB imposed hygiene rules that are echoed in Covid times), bookshops, his childhood, university, antique shops, friends, current anecdotes (Rupert’s niece and nephew), and favourite books. The last of those are Andrew Barrow’s The Tap Dancer (which he wishes he’d written) and Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love.

It ends with a humbling tribute to his father, from a coalman back in Yorkshire, who told AB:
“I don’t care how celebrated you are… You’ll never be a patch on your dad.”

More Bennett

Alan Bennett has been publishing his diaries each year in the London Review of Books since 1983, and collating them into larger volumes. These 50 small pages fit in a pocket and cover 24 February 2020 to 11 March 2021.

I’ve reviewed a variety of Bennett’s books, including diaries, and plays, HERE.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the wit of the prose of the Covid19 diaries

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it in one sitting - the book is punchy and comes in at under 50 pages. Pleasingly, it mentions little about the pandemic; it's more to do with him and his reminiscences. Like many other readers have said, it felt more like a preface to a larger work yet to be revealed.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

'House Arrest - Pandemic Diaries' (2022) - is a very lovely, although very short (coming in at less than 50 pages) collection taken from Alan Bennett's diaries of the time.

As you'd expect, 'House Arrest' is an erudite, insiteful, quietly witty book, whilst somewhat infused with an air of pathos throughout - Bennett alludes to the aging process and the things, such as cycling, that he's no longer able to do due to his advancing years.

Whilst only brief in length, 'House Arrest' does provide a lovely snapshot of what life was like for the aging Alan Bennett through the pandemic, told in a manner that only he can
.

Using words such as 'lovely' and 'charming' here to describe'House Arrest', could make Bennett's book sound trite or suggest that it somehow lacks depth, but it is neither of the things and as with everything from Alan Bennett - well worth your time.

[John Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our national treasure at work during the pandemic – sharing his everyday thoughts, alongside his increasing physical infirmities, in his own inimitable way. Warm, human and open, usually with a nonchalant air. As captivating as always. Something in the day sparks a reminiscence and he wanders off tangentially – how I relate to that!

An abiding memory for me is his engaging encounter with a leaf sweeper which puts a smile on AB’s face for the rest of the day. His one regret: he’d forgotten to put his hearing aid in!

A delight.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very short selection from the author's diary entries made during the period of the pandemic. Sadly, not much insight from these entries into how the pandemic affected him or much on his views of the effects of the various measures on friends, neighbours and the general population - which I expected when originally obtaining this book. Perhaps to be expected as the author gets older, many of the entries sparked various reminiscences in him, which were interesting. However, the book really was too short to obtain a good idea of the author's thoughts during the lockdown periods. Disappointed overall compared to much of the author's other work, which I have generally enjoyed - 4/10.

[Georgia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Take a shot every time Alan mentions oxbridge and you will be catatonic by the end of these 48 pages

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Generally, I worship at the altar of Alan Bennett but this very slight volume was a big disappointment. A tiny hardback of 45 pages, it took about half an hour to read. Although billed as a Pandemic Diary, other than having an inoculation and the odd socially distanced conversation, there was little relevant to those times and concerns. Some of the entries were literally a sentence, saying nothing at all. Most were childhood or travel reminiscences, vastly inferior to what we have read before. Felt like a contractual obligation was being fulfilled with this very slight and disjointed melange. It would be a horrible shame if this great literary career ends with this.

[Matthew Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slight but reliably Bennettesque dip into the diaries. Caustic and swinging between nostalgia and criticism of the present political system, it's only let down marginally by the surprisingly boring 'driving through Leeds' coda.

[Seregnani · Rating 3 out of 5]

« Ogni sera verso le otto facciamo il giro dell'isolato a piedi: una passeggiata di tre minuti esatti. In circostanze normali, una delle buone abitudini di Rupert è quella di raccogliere le cartacce da terra per cestinarle e stasera, all'angolo di Regent's Park Road, recupera un pezzetto di carta che si rivela un fazzoletto (usato).
Rupert è sgomento; ci affrettiamo verso casa in modo che possa buttarlo e lavarsi le mani. Ma il nostro tragitto viene interrotto da una salva di applausi e clangori di pentole del vicinato, tutto sui balconi, per ringraziare il servizio sanitario nazionale.
Rupert riesce ad applaudire mentre io no, perché devo sorreggermi con il bastone.
Do anche l'impressione, camminando per strada, di prendermi l'applauso e addirittura di cercarlo.».


3 ⭐️

[Pam Saunders · Rating 1 out of 5]

I expected insights into the pandemic, the impact on his life, the community, nothing but cups of tea, a few chats with friends over the fence and being driven around. Very short and dull. Don't bother reading.

[Alastair Hill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lacking any real insight or substance this collection of diary entries will likely leave you feeling slightly short-changed. Less than 50 pages of nothing, there are a handful of snippets which appear to be going somewhere but immediately are snuffed out.

[Alison Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic Bennett enjoyed after being dropped off at work an hour early. “I don’t care how celebrated you are “ the coal man said “ You’ll never be a patch on your dad” .

[Checkie Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elated to learn that The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford is one of Alan Bennett's favourite books

[Lukas Massarotti · Rating 4 out of 5]

While waiting for a copy of ‘The Uncommon Reader’ to come in I was handed this to tide me over.

I quite enjoyed Bennett’s dry, cynical analysis of the doldrums of the Lockdown era, but alongside that there’s some really cute moments like how he talks about living in isolation with his partner, l look forward to reading more Bennett

[Jeff Howells · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very slight book ( I read it on a short bus journey of less than 30 minutes). Although I love Alan Bennett’s diaries I’m not entirely sure that this was deserving of a publication on its own. It’s billed as the Pandemic Diaries but considering, for the best part of two years, we lived with some sort of restriction, Bennett glosses over so much (I don’t know how much of his diaries have been edited down or even if he writes them every day).
Bennett is such a master of the mundane I actually would have relished reading about what he did in that first lockdown when the world shrank for everyone. His thoughts on theatres closing and cultural outlets being on the brink of extinction are almost totally absent. In fact the only thing I really took away from reading this was how frail he has become. There’s no such thing as bad Bennett but this is very much Bennett on rations.

[Jayne Peckitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought today and have no idea when this was published but it feels just like sitting with Alan Bennett for a chat. Never seen this before and within an hour I have found another delight in his writing.

Loved his comments on Boris and Trump - how true!

My one complaint is that I wanted this to be so much longer. I got to the end and just thought, 'Oh no, more!!!'

[Chiara Manenti · Rating 1 out of 5]

A quite useless little book. Some remarks are indeed witty, but many others refer to very personal and local events so that I didn’t get them. The best parts are the childhood memories, but many of them were in other Bennet’s books as well. I can’t see the point in showing that you aren’t aging well…

[Kariss Ainsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never tire of reading anything this man writes

[Joe Maggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always a privilege to have the insight into someone’s diaries and in a way it feels like diaries during the height of the pandemic are even more intimate and personal than others. Some really touching and poignant moments in here; a few bits that stand out are when Bennett has a small interaction with a stranger sweeping the street that “makes his morning” (such interactions being rare at that point), a footnote in a poem in LRB triggering a vivid childhood memory from 1941 (genuinely fascinating and one of my favourite things is when a tiny snippet evokes mass nostalgia), and when he struggles to explain how his glasses have broken to an optician because of the lack of speaking he’s done to other people during 2020 (definitely remember making some pretty awful blunders for a good few months until I worked out how to socialise again).

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, I found Alan Bennett's writing style and social observations delightful, poignant and amusing but the book is so short that I felt a real sense of disappointment when I reached the end of his reflections, leaving me with a feeling of having been 'cheated'! So, my 4* rating reflects how good these 45 pages of musings were but don't reflect my disappointment!

[my.bookshelf.87 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't what I expected it would be. There's hardly any mention of the pandemic and most pages don't constitute diary entries.. A fair few random memories thrown in from Alan's childhood with no context to the current era in which he is writing. Also, a diary isn't usually so short!

Disappointing.

[Ilina Jha · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good I wrote my dissertation on it 📚

[Tamsin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply marvellous.

[Tim Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Alan Bennett for writing a diary so small I could finish it in an hour on the 30th December to reach my book goal for the year.

[gallizio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fine pena wild

[David Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the heft of previous volumes of his Diaries, Mr. Bennett’s House Arrest, covering the Lockdown and Vaccination years, is little more than an Epilogue at a mere 49 pages – a bit longer than a Talking Heads monologue.

His observations are as crisp and sharp as ever. The Queen watches the Remembrance Day ceremony at The Cenotaph with “a beady eye on the revamped choreography.” Bennett’s eye is beadier than Her Majesty’s. Boris Johnson’s nightly addresses during the Pandemic are “pretty pointless… a poor orator and speaker generally… the plainness of Keir Starmer a relief.”

As always, Alan’s mind is half in the present, half in the past. He still cherishes memories of Mam and Dad and schooldays in Yorkshire. Now eighty-six and arthritic, he has swapped his bicycle for a wheelchair, but he gave us two new monologues for the revamp of Talking Heads in 2020 – the royalties from which he donated to NHS charities. House Arrest is, please God, not his Last Post. It is, like everything else he has shared with us, undiluted joy to read.

[Laura Spira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent a pleasant half hour reading this but it's not as jaunty as his diaries have been in the past and the constraints of the pandemic and ageing mean that much of his reflection now relates to past rather than present encounters. But the writing is splendid and the whimsy is still there.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, mellow and nostalgically English.

I'm a Bennett novice and at 64 pages I think the main audience for this is long-term Bennett(ians?) who enjoyed his other diaries. 64 pages for a year is not much, and I am a hardened failure of a diarist. Maybe he's saving the rest for a bigger installment?

The biggest takeaway I got from this is that Alan Bennett is also sometimes confused or perplexed by contemporary poetry and grandiose articles in the TLS. If he can, then so can I.

[Chris Fowler]

While Mr Bennett is never less than readable, this very slight volume is the length of a magazine article and really nothing more than an erudite version of anyone's lockdown experience. It swings between childhood memories of Leeds and day-to-day pottering around Camden. Pleasant but little more than a coda to a delightful career.