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The Grandmothers Doris Lessing 9780007152810 Books

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The Grandmothers Doris Lessing 9780007152810 Books

Recently I re-read "The Reason For It," one of four novellas in The Grandmothers, a collection by Doris Lessing.
It's the only one of the four in the style Lessing began writing later in life, dubbed "space fiction" by her, though most people, of course, call it science fiction. Her first foray into this genre was the five-volume Canopus in Argos series, by which time she'd published dozens of realistic novels and short stories.

In The Reason For It a government representative, the equivalent of one of our senators, realizes as he nears death the mistake that he and his co-representatives made by appointing DeRod their president many years ago. They had believed his amiability signalled great kindness, but now he sees that DeRod is what he calls "feeble minded." As he describes President DeRod who he can, at last, see clearly, he sounds exactly like someone who voted for a president based on his charm, his looks, his affability. Now he sees that the man they chose to rule their region is an incompetent idiot who never understood the senators' complaints, and who was surrounded by people who covered up for his stupidity. During his reign the infrastructure fell into disrepair, schools stopped teaching anything meaningful, resulting in a shortage of labor...and so forth. It's our world, people!

I adore this story, though the style is more emotionally detached than Lessing's realistic fiction. I can see what might make a brilliant author turn to dry story-telling, a "just the facts, ma'am" kind of delivery. Much of Lessing's work centers on upcoming planetary apocalypse, and she may have adopted space fiction out of desparation to get her message through. Perhaps she thought that, ironically, by removing all literary flourishes from her prose, the message would stand out in stark reality more than it does with literary realism.

The Reason For It is brilliant, as are the other three novellas; however, the title novella, The Grandmothers, stands uniquely alone. In it, this ninety-something author explores the sexual relationship between each of two best friends with the other one's adult son. Realistic indeed--and the most radical erotica you're likely to read anywhere.


Tags : The Grandmothers [Doris Lessing] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. With the four short novels in this collection, Doris Lessing once again proves that she is unequalled in her ability to capture the truth of the human condition. The title story,Doris Lessing,The Grandmothers,Harpercollins Pub Ltd,0007152817,English literature: fiction texts,Modern fiction,Short stories,Fiction

The Grandmothers Doris Lessing 9780007152810 Books Reviews

I found the first story a little hard to believe and rather bizarre. I really enjoyed the others. Ms Lessing really draws me into the story. I am not sure what will happen. Her stories are very compelling. I highly recommend this book
The book was all telling, no showing. I didn't connect with any of the characters in any of the stories. The author has a way of weaving words together that's incredibly beautiful, but they lack the power that comes with emotional connection.
Short and sweet I read this and watched the film adaptation "Adore". Both made me feel sad for all characters in this story, but still a good read that I could not put down.
This was a shocking book to read. The plot was not run of the mill though quite believable. Her characters, especially the women, are very strong, though the boys hold their own.
Doris Lessing is a gifted and subversive writer. Don't miss the movie version of The Grandmothers called "Adore," with Robin Wright. Women over a certain age with much, much younger men was never more beautifully done.
What is interesting about the story (The Grandmothers) compared to the film (Two Mothers) is how sparse the story is. The film makes the sexual relation between the mothers and sons quite explicit, and it also gives more depth of personality to the mother played by Robin Wright in the film. In other words, the personalities are explored a bit more. The story, on the other hand, has a bit more about Australia itself, what this cove might mean to these people. In the movie, you barely realize that the setting is Australia, whereas in the story this seems to me a major point. I have to admit that I found both the film and novella to be engaging and interesting
I was on a United flight when I happened upon this lovely movie. The book is actually better than the movie I think. Perhaps because some of the movie was a little confusing and maybe even a little hard to understand the relationship between two middle aged women and their sons evolving into a sexual relationship.

The book better explains this part and fills in the holes within the story including what happens next....
Recently I re-read "The Reason For It," one of four novellas in The Grandmothers, a collection by Doris Lessing.
It's the only one of the four in the style Lessing began writing later in life, dubbed "space fiction" by her, though most people, of course, call it science fiction. Her first foray into this genre was the five-volume Canopus in Argos series, by which time she'd published dozens of realistic novels and short stories.

In The Reason For It a government representative, the equivalent of one of our senators, realizes as he nears death the mistake that he and his co-representatives made by appointing DeRod their president many years ago. They had believed his amiability signalled great kindness, but now he sees that DeRod is what he calls "feeble minded." As he describes President DeRod who he can, at last, see clearly, he sounds exactly like someone who voted for a president based on his charm, his looks, his affability. Now he sees that the man they chose to rule their region is an incompetent idiot who never understood the senators' complaints, and who was surrounded by people who covered up for his stupidity. During his reign the infrastructure fell into disrepair, schools stopped teaching anything meaningful, resulting in a shortage of labor...and so forth. It's our world, people!

I adore this story, though the style is more emotionally detached than Lessing's realistic fiction. I can see what might make a brilliant author turn to dry story-telling, a "just the facts, ma'am" kind of delivery. Much of Lessing's work centers on upcoming planetary apocalypse, and she may have adopted space fiction out of desparation to get her message through. Perhaps she thought that, ironically, by removing all literary flourishes from her prose, the message would stand out in stark reality more than it does with literary realism.

The Reason For It is brilliant, as are the other three novellas; however, the title novella, The Grandmothers, stands uniquely alone. In it, this ninety-something author explores the sexual relationship between each of two best friends with the other one's adult son. Realistic indeed--and the most radical erotica you're likely to read anywhere.