Irene Dische
Encyclopedia
Irene Dische is an American
author
and journalist
, responsible for several international bestsellers.
district of New York City
. As a teenager, she fled the regime of her stepfather Sig, only to end up in Libya
during Col. Gaddafi's
revolution. From there, Dische backpacked to Kenya
, where she worked for famed paleontologist Louis Leakey
. She returned to the United States in 1972. Back in her home country, she enrolled at Harvard University
, majoring in Literature and Anthropology. After graduation, Dische worked as a freelance journalist, publishing in The New Yorker
and The Nation
. In the early 1980s, Dische moved to Berlin, Germany, a place where she still spends a considerable amount of time.
In 1986, Dische produced the documentary film Zacharias (1986). The film was based on her own script about her father, a Jew from Lemberg, who – having grown up in Vienna – fled to America through France to become one of the most distinguished biochemists of his generation. It was broadcast on the ZDF.
In 1989, Dische published her first novel Pious Secrets. The book became a Bestseller throughout Europe, and ended up being translated into 15 languages. In 1993, Dische made her first appearance as a children's author alongside co-writer Magnus Enzensberger, publishing Esterhazy, the tale of a hare searching for love in the Berlin of the late 1980s. Her next children's book, Zwischen zwei Scheiben Glück (1997; Eng. Between Two Seasons of Happiness, 1998) tells the tale of a young Jewish boy who, following Kristallnacht, was sent into exile by his father, to stay with his seemingly stern grandfather in Hungary. The novel was awarded the German Young People's Literature Award
and was also released as an audio book. Dische's most recent novel was also her most successful one. "The Empress of Weehawken", Dische's autobiography told from the point of view of her grandmother, was released in 2005 to significant critical acclaim.
The book was also a notable commercial success, selling over half a million copies in Germany alone. In 2007, she released a collection of short stories, entitled Loves.
In 2008 her book The Job was made into the German television movie, Ein Job
starring Vanessa Redgrave
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, responsible for several international bestsellers.
Biography
Daughter to Jewish refugees, scientist Zacharias Dische and doctor Maria Renate Dische. Dische was born and raised in the Washington HeightsWashington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
district of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. As a teenager, she fled the regime of her stepfather Sig, only to end up in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
during Col. Gaddafi's
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
revolution. From there, Dische backpacked to Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, where she worked for famed paleontologist Louis Leakey
Louis Leakey
Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey was a British archaeologist and naturalist whose work was important in establishing human evolutionary development in Africa. He also played a major role in creating organizations for future research in Africa and for protecting wildlife there...
. She returned to the United States in 1972. Back in her home country, she enrolled at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, majoring in Literature and Anthropology. After graduation, Dische worked as a freelance journalist, publishing in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
and The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
. In the early 1980s, Dische moved to Berlin, Germany, a place where she still spends a considerable amount of time.
In 1986, Dische produced the documentary film Zacharias (1986). The film was based on her own script about her father, a Jew from Lemberg, who – having grown up in Vienna – fled to America through France to become one of the most distinguished biochemists of his generation. It was broadcast on the ZDF.
In 1989, Dische published her first novel Pious Secrets. The book became a Bestseller throughout Europe, and ended up being translated into 15 languages. In 1993, Dische made her first appearance as a children's author alongside co-writer Magnus Enzensberger, publishing Esterhazy, the tale of a hare searching for love in the Berlin of the late 1980s. Her next children's book, Zwischen zwei Scheiben Glück (1997; Eng. Between Two Seasons of Happiness, 1998) tells the tale of a young Jewish boy who, following Kristallnacht, was sent into exile by his father, to stay with his seemingly stern grandfather in Hungary. The novel was awarded the German Young People's Literature Award
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
The Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's literature. It is Germany's only state-funded literary award. In the past, authors from many countries...
and was also released as an audio book. Dische's most recent novel was also her most successful one. "The Empress of Weehawken", Dische's autobiography told from the point of view of her grandmother, was released in 2005 to significant critical acclaim.
This book does a number of things beautifully, even brilliantly. It looks at the America of the 1950s and 1960s from a European refugee's point of view, in all the infant superpower's naivete, self-importance and glistening material success, as the refugees struggle to make the dream work for them too. It explains how life can appear to a person who is both a believer and a painfully practical realist. It also shows how character is inherited yet subtly altered over the generations.
The real grandeur of The Empress of Weehawken, however, lies in the narrator's voice. Pure as a bell, always unerringly true to character, Frau Rother is drawn as accurately as the slice of a surgeon's scalpel. And that's what the author is doing here, performing autopsies on the characters of her family. The writer is the real medical examiner.
The book was also a notable commercial success, selling over half a million copies in Germany alone. In 2007, she released a collection of short stories, entitled Loves.
In 2008 her book The Job was made into the German television movie, Ein Job
Ein Job
Ein Job is a 2008 German television film based on Irene Dische's novel The Job. It was directed by Christian Görlitz and stars British actress, Vanessa Redgrave. The German-language production was filmed in Hamburg.-Plot:...
starring Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
.