The new novel from one of the greatest twentieth-century writers. Doris Lessing returns to the world of visionary fiction, last visited in her acclaimed 'Canopus in Argos' quintet of novels in the 1980s. It is sooner than you might think. And the earth's climate is much changed -- it's colder than ever before in the north, and unbearably dry and hot in the south. Mara, who is seven, and her four-year-old brother Dann find themselves somewhere very strange, not home, getting used to all these new names...They are taken in by a kindly, grandmotherly woman, to make a new life in this unforgiving rocky terrain. Their new guardian seems to be of their kin, and the caution and curiosity of her neighbours confirms to the alert Mara that she and Dann are in some way marked as notable, so special that many will come to seek them, many to suspect them, and disguise will often seem the best option. This new life is hard: hunger, dirt, thirst and danger are the children's constant companions as they grow into their selves.
Drought and fire carry off their adoptive home and force them to set off northward into the unknown, to experience a series of adventures, cultures, trials, revelations and crises that bring them through to an altogether altered world, where they can start to learn and build anew, to achieve a new kind of notability. Doris Lessing has written a compelling, troubling and entertaining novel that, through the remarkable odyssey of a brother and sister living in the imagined future, manages to tell us a great deal about the present we only dimly perceive and scarcely know how to value.
Recommended for anyone looking for a thoughtful read.
Shaped like an adventure fable, this book is rich with non flashy science fiction, environment and ecology focus, and social psychology. Slowly unfolding, this book sucked me into its world, forcing me to share its anxieties and tribulations. Exploring the world with Mara as my main companion was an emotional experience, showcasing the limitations of human understanding based on our individual experiences. I especially enjoyed the realism and layers of perspectives and references in the story.
For me this was a fast read of two days, as I could not stop thinking of this world and wanting to learn more. Definitely will be reading it again as well.
If you enjoy analysing how the environment (both physical and the cultural settings that follow from it) affects both individuals and communities at large, this is for you.
If you are looking for a non stop fast pace adventure or technology rich dramatic sci fi, this it's not your book yet. But i hope you do read it one day.
