Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Review
From the inventive, darkly acerbic, cunningly erotic Diski (Monkey's Uncle, 1995; an acclaimed memoir, Skating to Antarctica, 1998; etc.) comes this story of the chance encounter of a mother and daughter, long apart, who pass mutually unrecognized but are nonetheless affected by what transpires. Mimi, having fallen asleep in a London cinema to the outrage of her lover (who takes the dozing - as intended - as a reflection on himself), walks out on the guy, only to come across a comatose bag lady by the theater's rear exit. After an ambulance whisks the old girl away, Mimi goes home to bed, speculating on what has just happened while awaiting the death of her relationship, which occurs later that same night. Meanwhile, at the hospital, the bag lady, named Bella by the EMT's, is being cleaned before treatment. Imagining, in her unconscious state, that she's been stripped to her very organs, she searches for clues to her identity. She fancies she's faceless, the victim of a terrorist's bomb, but saved by a man who's in love with her - because, without her face, he could imagine the face he always had loved. In truth, though, she's Mimi's mother, Leah, who, abandoned by her husband, in turn abandoned her child. Converting from Judaism to Catholicism, becoming a nun even while remaining an atheist, Leah had to give it up when her aloofness proved untenable. So she plummeted into life as a welfare case, was dismissed as half-mad - but finally (and miraculously) seemed to heal a neighbor's dying child, then took to the streets in shock. After many years, a coincidental meeting with that child, now an addict who's half mad himself, brought her to the state in which Mimi discovered her. An elaborate tale, finding humor in the odd comers created when what's real and what isn't converge: a story that both disturbs and delights. (Kirkus Reviews)
Product Description
When Mimi discovered an unconscious bag lady huddled behind a London cinema, a sense of duty prompted her to call an ambulance. Later, she wondered if the tramp, who could have been anybody, might not be somebody after all. Could she be her abandoning mother? Or Bella, a bomb-blast victim?
See all Product Description
From the inventive, darkly acerbic, cunningly erotic Diski (Monkey's Uncle, 1995; an acclaimed memoir, Skating to Antarctica, 1998; etc.) comes this story of the chance encounter of a mother and daughter, long apart, who pass mutually unrecognized but are nonetheless affected by what transpires. Mimi, having fallen asleep in a London cinema to the outrage of her lover (who takes the dozing - as intended - as a reflection on himself), walks out on the guy, only to come across a comatose bag lady by the theater's rear exit. After an ambulance whisks the old girl away, Mimi goes home to bed, speculating on what has just happened while awaiting the death of her relationship, which occurs later that same night. Meanwhile, at the hospital, the bag lady, named Bella by the EMT's, is being cleaned before treatment. Imagining, in her unconscious state, that she's been stripped to her very organs, she searches for clues to her identity. She fancies she's faceless, the victim of a terrorist's bomb, but saved by a man who's in love with her - because, without her face, he could imagine the face he always had loved. In truth, though, she's Mimi's mother, Leah, who, abandoned by her husband, in turn abandoned her child. Converting from Judaism to Catholicism, becoming a nun even while remaining an atheist, Leah had to give it up when her aloofness proved untenable. So she plummeted into life as a welfare case, was dismissed as half-mad - but finally (and miraculously) seemed to heal a neighbor's dying child, then took to the streets in shock. After many years, a coincidental meeting with that child, now an addict who's half mad himself, brought her to the state in which Mimi discovered her. An elaborate tale, finding humor in the odd comers created when what's real and what isn't converge: a story that both disturbs and delights. (Kirkus Reviews)
Product Description
When Mimi discovered an unconscious bag lady huddled behind a London cinema, a sense of duty prompted her to call an ambulance. Later, she wondered if the tramp, who could have been anybody, might not be somebody after all. Could she be her abandoning mother? Or Bella, a bomb-blast victim?
See all Product Description
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
 |
41% buy the item featured on this page: The Dream Mistress£5.49 |
 |
24% buy Nothing Natural £5.49 |
 |
19% buy Stranger on a Train: Daydreaming and Smoking Around America £5.99 |
 |
16% buy Only Human: A Comedy£6.29 |
Customer Reviews
There are no customer reviews yet. Create your own review
| |||
Video reviews
|
 |
Customer Discussions
Beta (What's this?)|
This product's forum
(0 discussions)
Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Active discussions in related forums
|
Related forums
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > D > Diski, Jenny
- Books > Fiction > By Period
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
Fun for Everyone |
More From Jenny Diski
Skating to Antarctica by Jenny Diski 'Her best and most moving book to date … sassy and vulnerable'
Read more
|
Treat Someone
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). |
||||||||
| |||||
Your Recent History
(What's this?)|
You have no recently viewed items or searches.
After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session. |
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
| ||||
Amazon Home | |
| International Sites: United States | Germany | France | Japan | Canada | China | |
| Business Programs: Sell on Amazon | Fulfilment by Amazon | Join Associates | Join Advantage | |
| Customer Service | Help | View Basket | Your Account | |
| About Amazon.co.uk | Careers at Amazon | |
| Conditions of Use & Sale | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates |