Doris Lessing
1983
Around 500 pages
This is actually two novels, The Diary of a Good Neighbor and If the Old Could. It is also our goodbye to Doris Lessing, who I never enjoyed as much as I expected to. This is definitely her best work, so at least she leaves at an all time high.
Jane Somers is a magazine editor whose mother and husband have recently died of cancer. Naturally, this causes her to reexamine her relationships. She befriends Maudie, an elderly woman who has always struggled with poverty, and in the second novel, explores love after grief.
It was interesting having an author focus on the latter phases in life as a woman, which doesn't get a lot of attention in literature. There is no female version of the Rabbit Run series. Lessing really captures how your perspective shifts as you enter new life stages.
The plot took a turn for the weird in the second novel, but Jane remains likable throughout the story. I guess Doris Lessing did this under a different name to see if her writing would find success without her famous name. I guess being a popular, esteemed author gets boring after a while.
So a good send off for Lessing, who I respect but wouldn't number among my favorites.
RATING: ****-
Interesting Facts:
Interesting Facts:
Lessing was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature.
UP NEXT: The Life and Times of Michael K by J.M. Coetzee
No comments:
Post a Comment