maryportfuncity 10,684 Posted December 7, 2014 Author Jenny Diski is terminally ill with inoperable lung cancer but - according to a lengthy piece in The Observer - today was told in August she has "two to three years." An outside bet for 2015 (her chemo'd immune system could fail her), but definitely in there from 2016 onwards if she makes that start line. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DevonDeathTrip 2,366 Posted December 7, 2014 Author Jenny Diski is terminally ill with inoperable lung cancer but - according to a lengthy piece in The Observer - today was told in August she has "two to three years." An outside bet for 2015 (her chemo'd immune system could fail her), but definitely in there from 2016 onwards if she makes that start line. I've read a couple of Jenny Diski's books, mainly due to her association with Doris Lessing. Like Mother, is a deeply subversive piece of work about a descent in to nihilism, narrated by a baby without a brain called Nonentity. I believe one of the lead characters in Lessing's Memoirs Of A Survivor is based on Diski. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,684 Posted December 8, 2014 Author Jenny Diski is terminally ill with inoperable lung cancer but - according to a lengthy piece in The Observer - today was told in August she has "two to three years." An outside bet for 2015 (her chemo'd immune system could fail her), but definitely in there from 2016 onwards if she makes that start line. I've read a couple of Jenny Diski's books, mainly due to her association with Doris Lessing. Like Mother, is a deeply subversive piece of work about a descent in to nihilism, narrated by a baby without a brain called Nonentity. I believe one of the lead characters in Lessing's Memoirs Of A Survivor is based on Diski. That is pretty much the point of the article over the weekend, that the pair had a deal not to write about each other but Diski - facing death - is now freed from that and Lessing broke it repeatedly by nicking their relationship as material for fiction. Writers, eh, deceitful scummers hobbled by emotional baggage and forever prone to sprinting for the moral high ground. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DevonDeathTrip 2,366 Posted June 16, 2015 Author Jenny Diski is terminally ill with inoperable lung cancer but - according to a lengthy piece in The Observer - today was told in August she has "two to three years." An outside bet for 2015 (her chemo'd immune system could fail her), but definitely in there from 2016 onwards if she makes that start line. I've read a couple of Jenny Diski's books, mainly due to her association with Doris Lessing. Like Mother, is a deeply subversive piece of work about a descent in to nihilism, narrated by a baby without a brain called Nonentity.I believe one of the lead characters in Lessing's Memoirs Of A Survivor is based on Diski. That is pretty much the point of the article over the weekend, that the pair had a deal not to write about each other but Diski - facing death - is now freed from that and Lessing broke it repeatedly by nicking their relationship as material for fiction. Writers, eh, deceitful scummers hobbled by emotional baggage and forever prone to sprinting for the moral high ground. Jenny Diski was the subject of a lengthy article in The New York Times last week. Although the treatment seemed to have stalled the disease’s momentum, it had also worsened the pulmonary fibrosis (an incurable scarring of the lungs that, in effect, slowly suffocates the patient) with which Diski was diagnosed several years ago. It is now looking more likely that the fibrosis will kill her first. Diski is also composing essays each month for the London Review of Books. Her writing is a bit of an acquired taste, but for anyone interested, her latest offering can be found here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DevonDeathTrip 2,366 Posted November 12, 2015 Jenny Diski is getting in to the spirit of things. Has she been reading DL? If it were a race, the first man home – except for Iain Banks who won the trophy by a mile – would be Oliver Sacks (announced 19 February – died 30 August), with Henning Mankell (announced 17 January – died 5 October) a close second. Lisa Jardine won a race of her own, staying shtum publicly, her death a surprise except to the few who knew. So Clive James (announced May 2011 – ?) and Diski (announced 11 September 2014 – ?) still battle it out for third place. In the other kind of race, last man standing, James and Diski would be meandering towards first and second place, Sacks and Mankell having already taken third and last place.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spade_Cooley 9,630 Posted November 12, 2015 Will she be the first person to win the DDP and be a successful hit in the same year? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spade_Cooley 9,630 Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) I know she's not "technically" big enough for her own thread on here, but she is a guaranteed "as soon as she dies" obit in both The Guardian and The Times, and her Twitter feed is a classic for those of us who like to keep tabs on our quarry in real time. She's just tweeted again after a week away, looks like she's good to go for 2k16: enny Diski @diski 1h1 hour ago I'm crying & not just about looks and alienation. I can't follow the world outside. Something is trying to make understanding misunderstood 4 retweets5 likes Reply Retweet 4 Like 5 More Jenny Diski @diski 1h1 hour ago Just back from week in hospital , will live a bit longer , nurses everywhere giving me injections, but twittemr as I know tis nomore.Where? Edited January 5, 2016 by DevonDeathTrip I've merged the older Diski posts with this thread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sean 6,365 Posted January 5, 2016 Do you reckon her odd tweets are the result of medication or has the cancer spread to the brain?Maybe it is infections doing it , they can screw your mind up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Mad Hatter 1,093 Posted January 5, 2016 Do you reckon her odd tweets are the result of medication or has the cancer spread to the brain?Maybe it is infections doing it , they can screw your mind up.no,I think they mean get her on the list as immediately! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcreptile 11,073 Posted January 5, 2016 My guess is they are giving her fairly aggressive chemo and as a very communicative person, that's her way to deal with it. I've heard of that feeling by the name "chemo haze". As I said, I guess they can keep her alive for quite a while, but maybe she decides at one point that she's had enough and quits treatment. I think she's a solid pick, but I didn't want to spend a couple of months interpreting every tweet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maryportfuncity 10,684 Posted January 5, 2016 She's a popular Deathrace pick and I'd be surprised if she survived this year. Could've been a Deathlist contender IMHO (probs just about famous enough) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungWillz 21,205 Posted January 5, 2016 I've never heard of her and don't intend to google her. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
msc 18,536 Posted January 5, 2016 She's doomed, basically. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spade_Cooley 9,630 Posted January 5, 2016 Our girl taking shots at a woman I'm sure is Dr Zorders' favourite current writer, Laurie Penny: Laurie Penny @PennyRed 2h2 hours ago I love it when racists tell me what my feminism should look like. It's literally my favourite thing, second only to this chest flu I have. More Jenny Diski @diski 2h2 hours ago @PennyRed You think you'e got flu. I've got a line to my heart to fed 3 times a day by nurse. which is worse? Weak as kit drowned yesterday 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sean 6,365 Posted January 5, 2016 Our girl taking shots at a woman I'm sure is Dr Zorders' favourite current writer, Laurie Penny: Laurie Penny @PennyRed 2h2 hours ago I love it when racists tell me what my feminism should look like. It's literally my favourite thing, second only to this chest flu I have. More Jenny Diski @diski 2h2 hours ago @PennyRed You think you'e got flu. I've got a line to my heart to fed 3 times a day by nurse. which is worse? Weak as kit drowned yesterday God I hate Laurie Penny!She is so condescending and petty and always talks garbage!Diski has`t got shit on David Starkey when it comes to owning Mssssssssssssssssssssssss Penny! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Magere Hein 1,400 Posted January 5, 2016 Who the fuck is this Jenny Disky? Some famous for dying cancer mum? That's not DL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Mad Hatter 1,093 Posted January 5, 2016 Who the fuck is this Jenny Disky? Some famous for dying cancer mum? That's not DL. no, she is a famous author who won the Thomas Cook travel book award and she is a regular contributor to the London book reviews. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
msc 18,536 Posted January 5, 2016 Who the fuck is this Jenny Disky? Some famous for dying cancer mum? That's not DL. Doris Lessing's daughter, and a name author in her own right. Never read her stuff though. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Magere Hein 1,400 Posted January 5, 2016 Who the fuck is this Jenny Disky? Some famous for dying cancer mum? That's not DL.no, she is a famous author who won the Thomas Cook travel book award and she is a regular contributor to the London book reviews. I see, she even has a Wikipedia entry. I jumped to conclusions after reading her tweets cited above. Sorry for that. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spade_Cooley 9,630 Posted January 5, 2016 That legendary Belgian temperament flaring up as usual. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eesti 151 Posted January 5, 2016 She will make it to 2017! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DevonDeathTrip 2,366 Posted January 5, 2016 I've never heard of her and don't intend to google her. Not that anyone else cares about her beyond getting the deadpool points....but as someone who had heard of her before she got ill (see above), I can recommend her books. IMO there is a strong Doris Lessing influence to her work, although Diski might not agree with this assessment. Not a stranger to taxing mental states herself, Diski writes very eloquently about madness and, as well as some of her more recent tweets, Rainforest (1990, available here for just 1p + P&P) is an excellent example of a descent into insanity... Doris Lessing's daughter, and a name author in her own right. Not her daughter, although Diski was taken in - basically off the streets- by Lessing in the early 1960s. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toast 16,232 Posted January 5, 2016 Doris Lessing's daughter, and a name author in her own right. Not her daughter, although Diski was taken in - basically off the streets- by Lessing in the early 1960s. Protegée is probably the word. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charon 4,943 Posted January 11, 2016 Latest crypto shite.. Here I am, escaped the fearful sectioning when I only had pneumonia. Will put up some Swedish columns. Have’not for a bit. Now I assume 'sectioning' is a medical term and not her getting committed over her tweets?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spade_Cooley 9,630 Posted January 13, 2016 Absolute slobberknocker of a blogpost here# I was polite but firm (after explaining to her that I wasm’t s cucumbet. “it worked like a spell. Say cucumber at the in a steady, sane tone of voice, snd they couldn’t wait to get rid of me. We parted company in the best of humours and I am having the treatment I needed without taking uo twice the space. Simple if you keep your calm. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
