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Egg Dancing
With only a schizophrenic mother and a militantly hostile sister for backup, Hazel Sugden, food-splattered mum and queen of low self-esteem, is palpably unfit to save the future of mankind. But, when embryology, psychiatry and religion clash over the miracle designer drug Genetic Choice, the trio are propelled into action with comic results.
281 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1996
4 people are currently reading
202 people want to read
About the author
Liz Jensen
25 books226 followersLiz Jensen was born in Oxfordshire, the daughter of a Danish father and an Anglo-Moroccan mother. She spent two years as a journalist in the Far East before joining the BBC, first as a journalist, then as a TV and radio producer. She then moved to France where she worked as a sculptor began her first novel, Egg Dancing, which was published in 1995. Back in London she wrote Ark Baby (1998) which was shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Award, The Paper Eater (2000), and War Crimes for the Home (2002) which was longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. She has two children and shares her life with the Danish essayist, travel writer and novelist Carsten Jensen.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
November 29, 2014
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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April 8, 2024read it for the funny cover; was better than expected
March 26, 2009
I came to this novel having previously read Liz Jensen's more recent works, The Ninth Life of Louis Drax, and My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time. Egg Dancing is her first novel.
Egg Dancing is an original weave of psychiatry, obstetrics, genetics, science fiction, dystopia and religion in this comic-thriller, which has multiple points of confusion and story turns for the reader.
Egg Dancing has many laugh-out-loud moments, appealing to my black sense of humour, and the novel is on occasions quite touching and sensitive. An easy read, and, as the plot unravels, you don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to work out how it’s going to pan out. But that is a minor criticism, Jensen has told a good tale: her female characters are, as ever, strong, well constructed and full of the flaws that manifest themselves in most hilarious storylines. Jensen writes with energy, not with speed; a fizz and sprightliness that keeps the reader engaged.
However, by half-way through I was urging her to explore the characters and the story further, I felt like there was a lot more there to give us, and I was left a little short-changed by the end. It’s not a question of depth, but breadth. Of the three central female characters, it was the sister, Linda, who was given the longest and most detailed narrative, and as a result, this novel could have at least another 100 pages of value to add to the other two women. The character of Linda steals the show, and this created an imbalance in my view. Not that I am complaining too much, Linda provided the best of the black comedy and some cringe-worthy and spitefully revengeful moments.
I found myself thinking is this the origin of the novel The Ninth Life of Louis Drax, written several years later? I had feelings of déjà vu throughout…… a cast of strong female characters, a male doctor(s), children with mysterious quirks…….
Liz Jensen has written an inventive and original first novel, and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.
Egg Dancing is an original weave of psychiatry, obstetrics, genetics, science fiction, dystopia and religion in this comic-thriller, which has multiple points of confusion and story turns for the reader.
Egg Dancing has many laugh-out-loud moments, appealing to my black sense of humour, and the novel is on occasions quite touching and sensitive. An easy read, and, as the plot unravels, you don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to work out how it’s going to pan out. But that is a minor criticism, Jensen has told a good tale: her female characters are, as ever, strong, well constructed and full of the flaws that manifest themselves in most hilarious storylines. Jensen writes with energy, not with speed; a fizz and sprightliness that keeps the reader engaged.
However, by half-way through I was urging her to explore the characters and the story further, I felt like there was a lot more there to give us, and I was left a little short-changed by the end. It’s not a question of depth, but breadth. Of the three central female characters, it was the sister, Linda, who was given the longest and most detailed narrative, and as a result, this novel could have at least another 100 pages of value to add to the other two women. The character of Linda steals the show, and this created an imbalance in my view. Not that I am complaining too much, Linda provided the best of the black comedy and some cringe-worthy and spitefully revengeful moments.
I found myself thinking is this the origin of the novel The Ninth Life of Louis Drax, written several years later? I had feelings of déjà vu throughout…… a cast of strong female characters, a male doctor(s), children with mysterious quirks…….
Liz Jensen has written an inventive and original first novel, and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.
February 22, 2015
'Linda, you're obsessed.'
'Off with them.'
'Linda – ' 'Off with them!' she bossed, leaning on the back of a chair and wrenching off her own suede Hush Puppies.
Sometimes there's no point arguing with Linda. It's a question of energy levels. We went through to the bathroom, where we stood barefoot next to each other in front of the mirror, levelling our big toes along a line of grouting. Linda put a copy of Assertiveness and You on her head to confirm she was the taller.
'By a good five centimetres,' I reassured her.
'I'm one metre sixty.'
'And I'm one fifty-five, just like I've always been.'
'Not always, you haven't,' she said, full of mistrust.'You've always been up and down.'
This was Liz Jensen's first novel and although I enjoyed it, it is not my favourite as I don't think it works as well as most of her later books. It's a quirky tale of sisterly rivalry, mental illness, religious evangelism and genetic meddling to create perfect babies. Hazel and Linda speak about visiting their mother in the mental hospital as visiting the State of Absolute Delusion, and Linda at least shows some signs of inhabiting the same State.
'Off with them.'
'Linda – ' 'Off with them!' she bossed, leaning on the back of a chair and wrenching off her own suede Hush Puppies.
Sometimes there's no point arguing with Linda. It's a question of energy levels. We went through to the bathroom, where we stood barefoot next to each other in front of the mirror, levelling our big toes along a line of grouting. Linda put a copy of Assertiveness and You on her head to confirm she was the taller.
'By a good five centimetres,' I reassured her.
'I'm one metre sixty.'
'And I'm one fifty-five, just like I've always been.'
'Not always, you haven't,' she said, full of mistrust.'You've always been up and down.'
This was Liz Jensen's first novel and although I enjoyed it, it is not my favourite as I don't think it works as well as most of her later books. It's a quirky tale of sisterly rivalry, mental illness, religious evangelism and genetic meddling to create perfect babies. Hazel and Linda speak about visiting their mother in the mental hospital as visiting the State of Absolute Delusion, and Linda at least shows some signs of inhabiting the same State.
August 8, 2025
Yumurta Dansı, bir "damızlık kadın" öyküsü. Benzerleri gibi distopik bir gelecekte geçmiyor. Şu anki "olağan" yaşantımızda bir doktorun ileri giden idealizminin deneysel sonuçlarını içeriyor. Bu idealizm elbette Nazilerin aryan ırk fantezileri ve insanlar üstünde yaptıkları deneyleri de hatırlatıyor.
3 yıldız vermemin sebebi karakterlerin biraz karikatürize görünmesi, gerçi bu Liz Jensen'ın tarzı muhtemelen. Olayları daha da trajikomik hale getirmek için karakterleri böyle inşa ediyor. Bir diğer sebep ise aralarda gereksiz laf salatasının çok olması. En azından bana fazla geldi. Örneğin annenin yazdığı mektupların bazılarını okurken sıkıldım. Gereksiz detaylar ve betimlemeler dikkatimi dağıttı. Yine de hikaye güzel ve okumaya değer bence.
Hikayedeki kadın karakterlerin aptallıkları yer yer asap bozucu oluyor ama sonunda bu aptallıklarını telafi edecek hamleleri yapıyorlar neyseki. Aslında hikayenin kendisi sinir bozucu çünkü bu olayların olabilmesi mümkün, hatta tıp ve psikiyatri tarihine baktığımızda bir sürü kurumsal örnek de mevcut. Yani çok da sıradışı ya da distopik olaylar değil bunlar. "Kusursuz" insanı yaratma fikri ilerlemeci ve verimlilik odaklı teknoloji ve ekonominin ana anlatısında zaten var, tıp da bu değerleri benimserse insan kolayca nesne haline getirilir, doğasından koparılır, ona yabancılaştırılır.
3 yıldız vermemin sebebi karakterlerin biraz karikatürize görünmesi, gerçi bu Liz Jensen'ın tarzı muhtemelen. Olayları daha da trajikomik hale getirmek için karakterleri böyle inşa ediyor. Bir diğer sebep ise aralarda gereksiz laf salatasının çok olması. En azından bana fazla geldi. Örneğin annenin yazdığı mektupların bazılarını okurken sıkıldım. Gereksiz detaylar ve betimlemeler dikkatimi dağıttı. Yine de hikaye güzel ve okumaya değer bence.
Hikayedeki kadın karakterlerin aptallıkları yer yer asap bozucu oluyor ama sonunda bu aptallıklarını telafi edecek hamleleri yapıyorlar neyseki. Aslında hikayenin kendisi sinir bozucu çünkü bu olayların olabilmesi mümkün, hatta tıp ve psikiyatri tarihine baktığımızda bir sürü kurumsal örnek de mevcut. Yani çok da sıradışı ya da distopik olaylar değil bunlar. "Kusursuz" insanı yaratma fikri ilerlemeci ve verimlilik odaklı teknoloji ve ekonominin ana anlatısında zaten var, tıp da bu değerleri benimserse insan kolayca nesne haline getirilir, doğasından koparılır, ona yabancılaştırılır.
August 23, 2019
This is a very strange and captivating book. I rarely knew for sure what was going on, but the language is so earthy and rich, the characters so tangible I could see and hear them as I read, and the themes are so grandiose and gleefully unpicked that the reading experience was a truly memorable one.
This was the first Liz Jensen book I ever picked up, so I wasn't used to her writing style - her prose is so distinct and her character voices so specific and realistic. It was a really impressive use of narrative voice, and the darkly comic undertones help to keep a lightness of touch during the darker periods of the book (of which there are many).
The first half is particularly impressive, but it loses something - momentum, dynamism, narrative nuance - as it reaches the climax, and everything felt almost too neatly parcelled up whilst simultaneously leaving a fair bit hanging. It's a strange read but a worthwhile one, if only to familiarise yourself with Jensen's delightful and sometimes perplexing narrative quirks.
This was the first Liz Jensen book I ever picked up, so I wasn't used to her writing style - her prose is so distinct and her character voices so specific and realistic. It was a really impressive use of narrative voice, and the darkly comic undertones help to keep a lightness of touch during the darker periods of the book (of which there are many).
The first half is particularly impressive, but it loses something - momentum, dynamism, narrative nuance - as it reaches the climax, and everything felt almost too neatly parcelled up whilst simultaneously leaving a fair bit hanging. It's a strange read but a worthwhile one, if only to familiarise yourself with Jensen's delightful and sometimes perplexing narrative quirks.
February 1, 2021
Vastly underrated writer. This is her first. Difficult to describe.
March 6, 2024
Picked this up in a charity shop years ago just because the cover jumped out at me, and I loved it! Absolutely insane but stick with it and it all makes sense in the end
March 25, 2017
About a mental asylum and creating the perfect baby.
Weird book.
Weird book.
August 21, 2014
There's nobody quite like Liz Jensen and this, her debut, ranks amongst one of the weirdest books I've ever read. Is it supposed to be about the destructive nature of families, how God and Mammon are scarcely distinguishable, or just because science can achieve something doesn't mean it should? It also has lots to say about the status of women over a certain age, with or without children. (It doesn't help that Linda, the older, childless sister is such a bitch that no one could stand to be in the same room as her, never mind procreate with her!) Hardly anybody's what you'd call likeable, but this being satire, that's the point.
I enjoy her books, but I do wonder at her persistently jaded view of the world. Sex is nearly always comical and disappointing, kids are a nuisance, families crosses to bear. Perhaps it's because she had yet to hit her stride, but it seems cruder and less nuanced than its successors. It was still good fun though, and made my lunch breaks fly by.
I enjoy her books, but I do wonder at her persistently jaded view of the world. Sex is nearly always comical and disappointing, kids are a nuisance, families crosses to bear. Perhaps it's because she had yet to hit her stride, but it seems cruder and less nuanced than its successors. It was still good fun though, and made my lunch breaks fly by.
March 12, 2013
I’m not really sure why I’m continuing on my read-every-book-by-Liz-Jensen quest – I suppose it’s because although I’ve realised all her books are essentially the same (zany plot, competent writing, “comedic” characters) and not anything I am going to elevate to the status of “instant favourite”, I know where I am with them. They are like having a baked tattie with cheese for dinner - unexciting but bound to be at least moderately satisfying (that’s the first and last metaphor in this review, honest.). This, her first novel, is the fifth Liz Jensen book I’ve read, and delivered what I was expecting.
[To read my complete review, please visit this blog post].
[To read my complete review, please visit this blog post].
April 8, 2014
Maybe 2.5.
It was OK. Genuinely OK.
I mean, if it's going to be a bit of a genetic tampering, over the top characterization, Jesus involved story and you're NOT going to involve zombies? It's going to be tricky to get above OK in my book.
And this book didn't.
I think maybe if Linda HADN'T given herself a manicure in the office (including clipping her nails) and I then pictured it, and I then cringed and I then lost interest in continuing the story or sympathizing with her, I might have bumped to 2.5.
Maybe if Hazel hadn't been called Hazel ... Maybe if Billy was a bit more ... described. If Ishmael hadn't emphasized every other word?
I don't know, little things.
The humor was a bit over the top, the story oddly at ends with itself.
It would make a good HBO special.
It was OK. Genuinely OK.
I mean, if it's going to be a bit of a genetic tampering, over the top characterization, Jesus involved story and you're NOT going to involve zombies? It's going to be tricky to get above OK in my book.
And this book didn't.
I think maybe if Linda HADN'T given herself a manicure in the office (including clipping her nails) and I then pictured it, and I then cringed and I then lost interest in continuing the story or sympathizing with her, I might have bumped to 2.5.
Maybe if Hazel hadn't been called Hazel ... Maybe if Billy was a bit more ... described. If Ishmael hadn't emphasized every other word?
I don't know, little things.
The humor was a bit over the top, the story oddly at ends with itself.
It would make a good HBO special.
July 28, 2011
Oh My God. How many writers have more than one style of writing? Narrow it down to modern writers, and Liz Jensen definitely makes the shortlist. One should read this book and The Ninth Life of Louis Drax back to back to get the full extent of her wonderful versatility with comedy and emotion. Let me just say that the scene in which Linda pelts Carmichael with eggs made me both laugh and cry at the same time. The last time the emotion in a book really got to me was in the last scenes of Solzhenitsyn's Cancer Ward, a veritable masterpiece. God bless Liz Jensen and may she continue to beguile us with her fantastic writing.
October 18, 2016
Well written satire by Liz Jensen author of the novel The Ninth Life of Louis Drax on which the recent film of the same name is based . I will be reading more of her work in the future . Very Good read !
September 18, 2017
A wrecked family story filled with revenge and delusions. The characters are well-developed and interesting. Towards the half of the book I kind of lost track. The story gets less solid from there on. A funny-ish, strange book about creating the Perfect Baby drug and the resistance to it.
August 10, 2007
The concept for this book was really interesting, but I felt myself constantly waiting for the book to get better (which it never did). I could take it or leave it. Probably just leave it.
April 27, 2012
It was an interesting read.
June 23, 2013
Bit of a rollercoaster read this one, but as previous experience with Liz Jensen, it was dramatic, funny and thought provoking. Although totally out of this world. Maybe?! One would hope.
April 26, 2014
Gave up after page 38. Really wasn't for me. I couldn't get my head around this one.
January 5, 2013
Gave up before the end because I got bored!
January 27, 2016
Hilarious so far ! cant wait to see how this one goes. Happy read
May 1, 2017
Genetic manipulation, mental health, born-again Christians, not-to-be-trusted spouses and revenge. Reminded me of Fay Weldon.
August 13, 2017
Can't say I didn't enjoy it since I liked the humor and zany conflicts, but because it was a rollercoaster read, it just didn't suck me in.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews