RESULTS

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 complexities of love, power, desire that make them quintessentially human.

Daphne Drummond - ex-novelist and trainee baglady - decides it's high time she took a lover. This comedy of lust and noble failure begins when Daphne sets her sights on her landlord, Liam, a drunk whose only pleasures are avoiding work and fantasizing about his young wife's infidelities.

'Nothing Natural centres with illuminating precision on a sado-masochistic relationship. Rachel is in her thirties, a single parent admired by her friends for her self-sufficiency . But when she meets the compelling, sinister Joshua she discovers another side to herself. In a sense which horrifies her, she has found herself. An outstandingly well-written novel' New Statesman. 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.

Novelist Jenny Diski examines the story of the life-long love of Abraham and Sarah (Genesis chapters 11 to 22) and recasts their story as the first love triangle - between a man, his wife and the voice of God.

'As a general rule I try to maintain a balanced and realistic approach to life. I'm convinced that the best place for a rabbit's foot is at the end of a rabbit's leg. And if there are fairies at the bottom of the garden, they go about their business and I go about mine. But although this approach keeps life on an even keel and prevents the stress of both over-excitement and grave disappointment, I do find that the perfectly mundane existence that I strive for and attain can occasionally seem a little flat, a bit lacking in absurdity. So from time to time, when a rattling cliche, or a good thumping banality presents itself, I'm inclined to give it a run for its money. Hand me a candle and I'll burn it at both ends, give me a cart and I'll put it before the horse.' In her inimitable style, coupled with her sharp wit and idiosyncratic views, Diski reviews her own experiences, an array of key historical figures and pertinent topics. Ranging from 'The Sexual Life of Catherine M.' and her ponderings on the thrill of guilt, to the biblical role of water in 'Did Jesus walk on water because he couldn't swim?' this is vintage Diski.