The price of diamonds

by Dan Jacobson

Lyndhurst, South Africa, is a declining diamond-mining town, much like Kimberley where the author of the novel grew up. As long-term business partners and friends, Mr Fink and Mr Gottlieb find themselves tempted away from the straight and narrow towards the devious ways of trading in illicit diamonds. In this compassionate and humorous novel, Jacobson reveals the serious themes hidden beneath the comic life of his characters.

Genres: South Africa, Contemporary

255 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Dan Jacobson (born March 7, 1929 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a novelist, short story writer, critic and essayist. He has lived in Great Britain for most of his adult life, and for many years held a professorship in the English Department at University College London. He has also spent periods as a visiting writer or a guest-professor at universities in the United States, Australia, and South Africa, and has given lectures and readings in many other countries.

His early novels, including The Trap, his first published novel, focus on South African themes. His later works have been various in kind: they include works of fantasy and fictional treatments of historical episodes, as well as memoirs, critical essays, and travel books. Among the awards and prizes he has received are the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize 1959 (A Long Way from London and Other Stories); Somerset Maugham Award 1964 (Time of Arrival and Other Essays); The Jewish Chronicle Award 1977 (The Confessions of Josef Baisz); the J. R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography 1986 (Time and Time Again). In the year 2000 he edited and translated from the Dutch Een mond vol Glas by Henk van Woerden, an imaginative re-creation of the circumstances leading to the assassination of a South African president, Dr Hendrik Verwoerd, in the country's House of Assembly.

Dan Jacobson has received an Honorary D. Litt. from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and on retirement from his position at University College London was elected a Fellow of the college. Collections of his papers can be found at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, Austen, Texas; Oxford University, England; and, in South Africa, at Witwatersrand University Library, Johannesburg, the National English Literary Museum, Grahamstown, and the Africana Museum, Kimberley.

Reviews

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Jacobson’s writing is just so readable. While The Price of Diamonds, a comic novel, has little in common with the tales of psychological suspense in The Trap and A Dance in the Sun, all share a brisk, elegant style that makes the prose feel timeless. Here, the focus is on Gottlieb and Fink, two Jewish businessmen in the small South African town of Lyndhurst; their bickering relationship resembles that of a married couple who seem miserable together but couldn’t live without each other. When a strange man turns up at their office and hands a parcel of diamonds over to Gottlieb, he sees it as an opportunity to antagonise Fink, who’s obsessed with the Illicit Diamond Buying (IDB) laws. As time passes, Gottlieb finds endless excuses not to tell Fink about the diamonds, and they become more and more of a burden. The ‘price’ turns out to be nothing to do with the diamonds’ value, but rather their effect on Gottlieb’s marriage, peace of mind, and friendship with Fink. I only picked this up because it was written by Jacobson, and it’s very slow-paced. I liked it a lot, though – the characters and setting are vividly drawn and the book is funny without ever being ridiculous.

[Ebenmaessiger · Rating 3 out of 5]

strange of us humans, no, to spend precious hour upon precious hour working on things like this, a thing which is hardly a thing — a thing which nearly shushes itself off the stage, which isn't nearly droll enough to pull off 'light comedy', and which engaged this reader primarily as historical artifact rather than literature? and then we just stop.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Jacobson is a pleasure to read. This book is set in an imaginary South African town, clearly based on diamond-rich Kimberley. His character sketches of two Jewish businessmen and the love-hate relationship that develops between them are delightful achievements.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Lyndhurst, South Africa, is a declining mining town; two business partners find themselves drawn into the illicit diamond trade.