Product Description

'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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #404108 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
'She writes with an admirable lack of sensationalism about a difficult subject . an honest and startling look at the angry face of sex' Cosmopolitan 'Absolutely terrifying' Margaret Drabble 'Its efficiency and loathsomeness are about equal' Observer 'That rare beast, a sexual shocker written with integrity' - LONDON MAGAZINE

About the Author
Jenny Diski is the author of eight novels and two memoirs: Skating to Antarctica and Stranger on a Train. She lives in Cambridge.

Customer Reviews

Compelling reading and wonderful character development
I found this to be a powerful book that delved deeply into the life of a woman named Rachel who becomes involved in a sadomasochistic relationship with an emotionally distant man. Initially I felt the title referred to this s&m relationship. However, as the author reveals more of Rachel's life, it appears that there is nothing natural in her emotionally starved world. Her parents fought bitterly when she was a child. She struggles with paralyzing spells of depression and is incapable of emotional closeness. She is delightfully articulate and quick witted - an intelligent woman with a large share of emotional distress. We watch her spiraling deeper into a suicidal state and it takes a strong reader to maintain compassion. Finally her darkest hour passes, and the novel ends with her first steps towards a healthier self concept. Compelling reading and wonderful character development - a great first novel.

More complex than kinky sex
I read this as an interested participant in submissive sexual practices and although it was easy to read I found it disappointing on several scores. Firstly, the hype which Rachel's relationship with Joshua caused in all previous reviews completely blanks out the significant relationship she develops with Pete who she is teaching. Further, while submission is truly addictive this is not that well documented or explored. Lastly I could see no reasons why anyone would submit to Joshua Ableman - he has no features at all as outlined in the book, and certainly none of the features I would expect to see in any dominant partner of mine. Thank goodness we are all different.

A dismal portrait of destructive collusion
I came upon this book by chance as it was part of a promotional display at my local library. I then made the unforgivable mistake of being lured into a book by the appearance of its cover.

The novel centres around the collusive sado-masochistic relationship between Rachel the main character and Joshua, a faceless individual about whom very little is revealed. I have to say I found the book unremittingly depressing. I turned the pages in vain hoping to find a glimmer of light, some redeeming feature of Rachel's personality which would lift the novel from the dreary and mundane: but no - she appeared to be a truly damaged personality with little hope of repair. I found the thread of the novel quite disjointed at times; the tone changing from a light magazine-style to some heavy, self-indulgent passages with whole-page paragraphs. Also I could not see how the section dealing with her quite different kind of relationship to Pete fitted into the overall theme of the novel: it seemed like a section from another kind of book altogether had been pasted in - it just did not seem to link up in any way.

At no time in the novel did I really see Rachel as a victim: the relationship though bizarre and often causing her pain was clearly as much under her control as his: it was plainly collusive. As the novel progressed I was intrigued to find out how Rachel would manage to maintain such a tightly controlled relationship while mentally she was so unbalanced. She was clearly terrified of intimacy and commitment of any kind and always sought the safety and refuge of her own company.

I found the farcical resolution to the novel disappointing and taking away what little hope I had left for Rachel. All in all a pretty gloomy read.