Well, our discussion was one of strong, opposing views and opinions.
Five of us met and two thought it was an awful book (one even said it was the worst we had ever read in our group and we have read over 60 books!). It was, she said, dull and dated (and Charles Dickens isn’t dated!).
Given that Doris Lessing has won the Nobel Prize for literature this was an unbelievable book – why did she write it? What was the point?
Another of our group hadn’t wanted to read this book at all because it was a terrible subject. And another had not come this evening because she had not enjoyed the read.
And then, some of us enjoyed the read.
One loved it and saw it as a brilliant, black comedy. The characters were hilarious because they were total ‘bullshit’. This is not a book to be taken at face value.
Added to this, another pointed out how cleverly the different stories were knitted together so no thread was left unfinished.
But still, it was a book about immature, idealistic, middle-classed, no good waste of spacers! Or, were they just lonely, vulnerable teenagers?
Whatever the opinion, we talked for almost an hour, flicking back and forth to find text that had made us think. We explored the politics (which, we all agreed, were interesting) and drew on our own experiences of terrorism and protests and brushes with people that may have had similar lives to Alice, the main character, and her housemates.
We concluded that despite her seemingly good, even motherly, intentions all around Alice was destruction. She didn't appear to notice and she was unlikely to change her ways.
Would we recommend this book? I think it’s fair to say it's a 50/50 Yes/No! But, we will try another Doris Lessing one day.
Our Summer read is The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman which we will discuss our thoughts on this one on Thursday 26th July at 8pm in The Hundred.
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