‘Diane Cook’s writing is sharp, bawdy, bold and often hilarious. Her stories are refreshingly crude and her imagination is unbounded. Like her characters, Cook does what she wants. Her world is another universe, where people are wilder.’
Moving On
Diane CookA cool, unsettling story of grief and starting over – from the Guardian First Book Award long-listed collection Man V. Nature
After the death of her husband a woman is relocated by the Placement Team to a prisonlike shelter for widows and the unwanted. There she is offered only one option: to prepare for her next husband. “Moving On” is the bold and brilliant opening story from Diane Cook’s critically acclaimed, award-winning debut collection Man v. Nature.
Praise for Man V. Nature
‘A knockout … every single story could make a great movie.’ Miranda July, author of The First Bad Man
‘Man V. Nature could also be called Diane Cook V. The Challenges of Writing Fresh, Invigorating Fiction in Our Age. In the latter contest, Cook crushes. Here is a bold debut.’ Sam Lipsyte, author of Home Land
‘Astonishing … the stories are surreal, with the sharpest edge and in one way or another, each story reveals something raw and powerful about being human in a world where so little is in our control.’ Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist
Reviews
Rebecca Curtis, author of Twenty Grand
'The worlds in Diane Cook’s impressive debut are bizarre, vertiginous, funny, pushed to the extreme - but just familiar enough in their nuances of the human condition to evoke an irresistible, around-the-corner reality.’
Tea Obreht, author of The Tiger's Wife
'Diane Cook’s stories are like high-wattage bulbs strung across a sinister, dark land. Man V. Nature is equal parts dazzle and depth.’
Ramona Ausubel, author of No One is Here Except All of Us
Diane Cook
Diane Cook is a novelist and short story writer. Her collection, Man v. Nature (Oneworld, 2015), was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the L.A. Times Book Prize. Her stories have appeared in Harper’s, Tin House and Granta, and been anthologised in Best American Short Stories. Her debut novel The New Wilderness was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize. She lives in Brooklyn.
Author page
