tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post7108734391230755483..comments2024-02-10T19:58:20.327+00:00Comments on Stuck in a Book: The Fifth Child - Doris LessingStuckInABookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-69555134612265077592014-02-26T20:44:17.162+00:002014-02-26T20:44:17.162+00:00But I *did* like it!
And yes, perhaps you're r...But I *did* like it!<br />And yes, perhaps you're right about the political agenda. A lot of people at bookgroup hated the heroine for being smug, but I thought she was quite ordinary and understandable.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-17354165976055098042014-02-26T20:43:26.948+00:002014-02-26T20:43:26.948+00:00There you go! Didn't have that effect on me :)...There you go! Didn't have that effect on me :)StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-16651658504072518742014-02-17T12:32:31.589+00:002014-02-17T12:32:31.589+00:00Perhaps you don't like it because you don'...Perhaps you don't like it because you don't yet have any children. I'm one to whom it gave nightmares. And surely there's a political agenda, too, with the nice middle-class family almost destroyed by the kid who won't play by the rules.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-60403784580389609912014-02-14T14:53:14.946+00:002014-02-14T14:53:14.946+00:00I'm one of those that shudders when I think ab...I'm one of those that shudders when I think about the book. It practically put me off having children for a some years :PAlex (The Sleepless Reader)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03083761152675156469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-2887536526028274302014-02-14T14:37:12.184+00:002014-02-14T14:37:12.184+00:00Maybe so! I do like my fair share of odd and dark ...Maybe so! I do like my fair share of odd and dark - so long as it's not macabre. That's my line in the sand :)StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-51538150064595917822014-02-14T14:36:46.080+00:002014-02-14T14:36:46.080+00:00How funny! I can't decide if undecided after s...How funny! I can't decide if undecided after seven books is the sign of a brilliantly versatile writer, or simply one who doesn't know their own voice... but her autobiographies sound like a great way to get to know her better as a writer. Thank you for your insightful comment.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-70113132662072371862014-02-14T14:35:50.035+00:002014-02-14T14:35:50.035+00:00He's quite a star, isn't he? I must say I ...He's quite a star, isn't he? I must say I am very much enjoying his new blog, I'd recommend it if you haven't seen it. ;)StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-51276982796251518222014-02-14T14:27:01.320+00:002014-02-14T14:27:01.320+00:00Ha! I'm intrigued by the idea of them forcing ...Ha! I'm intrigued by the idea of them forcing it upon you... There are some recommendations for TGN and some anti here, so...!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-1269056015861162742014-02-14T14:26:30.312+00:002014-02-14T14:26:30.312+00:00Thanks Claire, I will keep an eye out for that one...Thanks Claire, I will keep an eye out for that one! Hopefully it'll help me realise whether I admire Lessing or enjoy Lessing - which don't always overlap, of course!<br /><br />Can't find problem with Twitter link, but thanks for mentioning...StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-46125962628101509812014-02-14T14:25:34.497+00:002014-02-14T14:25:34.497+00:00My mother warned me off The Golden Notebook many y...My mother warned me off The Golden Notebook many years ago, but she also warned me off Ivy Compton-Burnett at the same time and she's now one of my favourite authors, so maybe I should give TGN a whirl!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-71819780751681386812014-02-14T11:58:26.244+00:002014-02-14T11:58:26.244+00:00I'm surprised that you liked this as I thought...I'm surprised that you liked this as I thought you'd find it too odd/dark. It is beginning to look as though your reading taste is more similar to mine than I thought!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07698068501004755678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-38893607509631510552014-02-14T08:20:35.421+00:002014-02-14T08:20:35.421+00:00I still don't understand how I feel about Dori...I still don't understand how I feel about Doris Lessing, even after seven of her books. I love and struggle with her in equal measure. My recommendation would definitely be for her two autobiographies, Under My Skin and Walking in the Shade. Both are incredible and powerful, and also terrifying insights into a mind that is very different from the average. I think you would really like them. Also I recommend her early short stories, collected in This Was the Old Chief's Country, especially the ones set in Africa. When she writes about the bush she writes with a passion strangely absent elsewhere. Victoria (Eve's Alexandria)http://evesalexandria.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-5578013433725828562014-02-13T21:11:11.636+00:002014-02-13T21:11:11.636+00:00Thanks for the links, that Thomas at My Porch sure...Thanks for the links, that Thomas at My Porch sure writes a nice concise review. Too bad he doesn't write more of them. <br /><br />Ali, I think life may be too short for The Golden Notebook. I've read three Lessings that I quite liked and then I've read TGN. It's big, it's perhaps needlessly dense and complex, and it's political fervor is a bit dated.Thomas Hogglestockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14284352537015457974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-19000155456006620022014-02-13T20:44:10.377+00:002014-02-13T20:44:10.377+00:00The novel sounds very interesting. I have never re...The novel sounds very interesting. I have never read any Doris Lessing - I think I'm scared :) Someone forced a copy of The Golden notebook upon me a few years ago - it remains in my house unread. I think I feel that if one day I read Doris Lessing then I will need to tackle The Golden Notebook - and life might just be too short. Tell me I'm wrong?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-59784910875515426712014-02-13T20:27:36.611+00:002014-02-13T20:27:36.611+00:00I'd really recommend The Grass Is Singing, aft...I'd really recommend The Grass Is Singing, after finishing it I thought Lessing was a genius. I'd like to read another of her books, so thanks for your review as I'm not sure now The Fifth Child is for me (still recovering from Lionel Shriver's We Need To Talk About Kevin, read several years ago!). Might try The Golden Notebook next - thanks Karen!<br /><br />By the way, I couldn't get to this review via twitter, link didn't seem to work - for me anyway.<br /><br />Claire Thinkinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07405745202810426972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-55798977883416916262014-02-13T19:53:51.251+00:002014-02-13T19:53:51.251+00:00I had a copy of this knocking about somewhere once...I had a copy of this knocking about somewhere once, but I don't know if it's still there. I haven't read enough Lessing to really make any definite judgements, but the two I *have* read, The Golden Notebook and The Grass is Singing were both excellent in different ways. Golden is very complex, and Grass very moving and evocative. I have heard the Martha Quest books recommended so I may try to track them down. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com