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FICTION
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Only Human (Virago, 2001)
Having seen enough of the results of autonomy and imagination with Adam and
Eve, and dull obedience in the shape of the dutiful Noah, God tried once
more to infiltrate humanity by seeking a solitary man whose history he
could control and develop. Abraham was his chosen one. But accidents happen,
unforeseen consequences of best-laid plans. Not even God, it appears, is
exempt from jealousy. When the Lord made his final creation on earth, love
came along for the ride and caused havoc, even to the creator himself.
Between the way of the world and the way of love, no one is safe.
Novelist Jenny Diski examines the story of the lifelong love of Abraham and
Sarah (Genesis chapters 11 to 22) and, with subversive wit and intelligence,
she recasts their story as the first love triangle – between a man,
his wife and the voice of God. In this marriage there was always a third.
As the Creator and the barren wife wage war, they struggle not only over
the affections of Abraham, and control of posterity, but the very notion
of truth and storytelling. This brilliant, bit-ter-comic love story asks
awkward questions about the nature of love and faith, and incidentally throws
new light on the motivations of God …
'Irony at its driest … succeeds remarkably in
bringing to life one of the world's first great family sagas' GUARDIAN
'A hugely engaging and entertaining book that dares to question truth, storytelling
and even the Lord God' SUNDAY EXPRESS
'Excellent, sexy novel ... this book delves into all kinds of byways – infertility,
obedience, autonomy in a relationship – with wit and intelligence'
MARIE CLAIRE
'Both intimate and ambitious – not only human, but also divine' DAILY
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After These Things (Virago 2004)
A sequel to Jenny Diski's novel Only Human and continuing with her narration
of the story of the Patriarchs in the Book of Genesis, After These Things
is an account of the relationship between Abraham's tragic son Isaac and
Isaac's son Jacob. The book follows the psychological trail of the children
of Abraham, the first properly constituted family and finds that like all
families, their story is structured by wishes and fears. In Isaac and Jacob's
relationship we see all the com-plexities of love, power, desire that make
them quintessentially human.
The inimitable Jenny Diski tells this ancient story anew, with the deliciously
subversive wit and intelligence readers have come to expect from this wonderfully
surprising writer. |
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Nothing Natural (1986, reprinted
Virago 2003)
An addictive story of a dangerous love affair with a shocking denoument,
this is a complex examination of the relations between the sexes at their
most combatative and collusive. It is a clever book with much to tell us
about the nature of desire and what should or should not be permissable.
'An outstandingly well-written novel.' New Statesman
'She writes with an admirable lack of sensationalism about a difficult subject…an
honest and startling look at the angry face of sex.' Cosmopolitan
'Chillingly clever.' Guardian |
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The Dream Mistress (Phoenix 1996)
When Mimi discovered an unconscio0us bag lady huddled behind a London cinema
a sense of duty prompted her to call an ambulance. It was only later that
she wondered if the tramp, who could have been anybody, might not have
been somebody after all. Could she be Leah, Mimi’s abandoned and
abandoning mother? Or perhaps she was Bella, a surgically reconstructed
bomb blast victim? Then again, she could have been the perverse and reclusive
nun, gifted with terrible, miraculous powers.
'Energized by erotic obsession...an unexpected
unfolding into profound and magical lyricism...made me long for more.'
Independent
‘ A complex dream of a book…Jenny Diski is a remarkable writer.’ Mail
on Sunday
‘ Superb…[Diski] explores, in fine, lucid prose, vivid fragments
of Bella and Mimi’s odd, alienated lives.’ New Statesman |
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Like Mother (1988, reprinted Granta 1998)
Chillingly original, Like Mother is the spellbinding story of Frances told to
us in the voice of her ultimate fictional creation and means of self-expression,
Nony, a baby without a brain.
‘ Original in concept, and brilliant in the
telling, the story is cutting and painful in its ultimate honesty.’ Publishing
News
‘ She writes with enterprise and cunning.’ Observer |
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Then Again (1990, reprinted Granta 1998)
A powerful novel exploring the nature of belief, the boundaries between madness
and san-ity, revelation and delusion, and good and evil.
‘ Radiates confidence in its own ability to
turn difficult ideas into pacy, accessible fiction.’ Sunday Correspondent. |
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The Vanishing Princess (Phoenix
1995)
An obsession with baths…An expectation of infidelity…A tube suicide…A
liaison with Rumplestiltskin…A foxtrot in the Bin
‘ Her short stories life and examine concepts
from all sides, delivering fresh, inventive ob-servations, and putting
an ironic spin on the familiar.’ Times Literary Supplement |
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Monkey’s Uncle (Phoenix,
1994)
In early January, Charlotte FitzRoy went mad. She was surprised to find that
while part of her was now in mental hospital, part of her had taken off to an
alternative wonderland – a bizarre internal world where she makes friends
with Jenny, a highly-opinionated orang utan, converses with Marx, Freud and Darwin,
and observes Robert FitzRoy, the captain of the Beagle and a man whose obsessions
strangely mirror Charlotte’s own.
'Stands alone…for its daring assault on the
boundaries of fiction…stunning’ Independent on Sunday
‘ Bold and original…the auther can stab you with moments of poignancy
that linger long in the mind.’ Sunday Times |
Happily Ever After (Penguin
1991)
The mad old woman in Liam’s attic was once a tormented
child, then the precocious darling of the literary world, before
becoming a suicidal
drunk. Now, at the age of sixty-eight, Daphne Drummond has decided finally
to be happy in spite of the strange noises she hears coming form the cupboard
under the stairs. She will do it by winning the love of reluctant Liam,
currently awash with whisky and sexual fantasies about his
wayward young wife, and
by writing a new novel called Happily Ever After that will put her name
back on the literary map But happily ever after looks unlikely
for Sylvie, the
hopeless, helpless lodger on the ground floor, and her angry, insecure
daughter, Divya. Divya and Daphne recognise they have much
in common, but Daphne discovers
that she must choose between old sorrows and her newfound, vibrant happiness.
‘ Compassionate, amused, detached and ironic
by turns, Jenny Diski is a writer of consider-able accomplishment.’ Daily
Telegraph
‘ Diski’s magic lies in her ability to make eccentricity seem normal
and bizarre both at the same time. She combines a close sympathy for even her
maddest characters with a cool and ironic detachment.’ The Times
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Rainforest (Penguin 1987)
Mo’s life as an anthropologist in London is safe, orderly and stain-free.
Why should a research trip to the rainforest in Borneo threaten her cool view
of the world. The powerful story of a woman compelled to confront chaos.
‘ Jenny Diski focuses with razor-sharp
perception upon the way in which sexual obsession can triumph
over reason…a gripping, provocative novel.’ Daily
Mail
‘ Great precision and power…a tough exploration of solitude and sexual
need...When I put the book down I needed air; I’d been horribly gripped.’ New
Statesman |
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