|
|
4.0 out of 5 stars
truly fine, if a bit long-suffering, Jul 8 2002
This is a wonderful novel about an extended, 60s-style household: for one reason or another - damaged families, poverty, even laziness - people congregate to heal and party. There are two strong women at the center of it: a German immigrant and her daughter-in-law, whom her do-nothing, Marxist son abandoned. The reader follows all of their fates over a period of about 40 years, from war-torn London to a fictional developing country near S Africa. It is vivid and moves very swiftly.The characters are extremely well developed and exist in a kind of static balance even as they change and grow: there is always at least one angry and presumptuous taker, one giving and loving soul who is saving someone, one person healing and ready to move into a do-gooder role themselves. Etc. When one leaves the nest, another seems to take her place in rapid succession, and most of them tend to return as if to their own families. The balance of personalities is well thought out and realistic. What distinguishes this novel from those that are similar is that, rather than romanticizing the characters, Lessing is simply relentless in showing their shortcomings and limitations. Fate does not deal kindly with any of the characters, though some (not necessarily the nice ones) do better than others; the evil ones rarely get theirs, though they lead rather sad lives, and the good ones must struggle very hard just to tread water. Lessing is also very hard on all the ideologies that are floating through the plot: she goes after communists, hippies, feminists, the internationalist development elite, journalists, and even Third World leaders. In other words, there are no simple answers; instead, the questions just get tougher. While there is a lot of humor in this, it is very dense, a kind of reverse history of idealism, showcasing the self-serving egotism that underlies the motives of virtually all the characters. What is amazing is how well it succeeds in bringing these ideas to life through the characters, though I found the second half of the book, much of which takes place in Africa, less strong than the first half. Finally, the people are all extremely English. This means that there are many levels to read the book on, with subtexts implied rather than stated outright. Far more tedious than that is the patience of those suffering or being taken advantage of: I wondered what martyr complex led them to tolerate real jerks who turned around and betrayed them in horrendously destructive, cruel, and selfish ways. (I would have kicked them out without a thought.) That is the only tedious bit in this truly fine novel. Warmly recommended.
|
by Doris May Lessing
by Simon Winchester
by Anne Enright
by Debra Dean
by Oliver Sacks
