Why Didn’t You Just Do What You Were Told?: Essays Summary
Jenny Diski

Why Didn’t You Just Do What You Were Told?: Essays Overview

Why Didn’t You Just Do What You Were Told is a compilation of essays collected from reviews Jenny Diski wrote for the London Review of Books. Each of the essays is written from the first person perspective of Diski, and most contain at least reference to, if not significant summary of, the book she has reviewed. Major themes and motifs include inauthenticity, the inhumane nature of political conservatism and libertarianism, attitudes about death, the lasting effects of childhood trauma, and the ethics of treating the mentally ill.