Pentapod reviewed Die Memoiren einer Überlebenden by Doris Lessing (Fischer-Taschenbücher, #5202)
Review of 'Die Memoiren einer Überlebenden' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Hrm. This book really didn't grab me. It's well written and describes a very believable not-far-future dystopia as civilization slowly decays, and I found that believable and interesting. However, Lessing also has a weird and never-explained parallel world that occasionally opens up, appearing through the wall of the narrator's flat. At first it seems like a heavy-handed metaphor but by the end of the book it seems as if it's genuinely real, a parallel dimension into which they can escape. This and various other parts of the story seemed to be deliberately NOT explained in any coherent way, which I found very annoying.
As a description of a future dystopia it's good. As an actual story with a coherent and interesting plot, it's lacking. And the characters aren't particularly sympathetic, nor is there much to the book OTHER than the description of the descent into dystopia. I still might have …
Hrm. This book really didn't grab me. It's well written and describes a very believable not-far-future dystopia as civilization slowly decays, and I found that believable and interesting. However, Lessing also has a weird and never-explained parallel world that occasionally opens up, appearing through the wall of the narrator's flat. At first it seems like a heavy-handed metaphor but by the end of the book it seems as if it's genuinely real, a parallel dimension into which they can escape. This and various other parts of the story seemed to be deliberately NOT explained in any coherent way, which I found very annoying.
As a description of a future dystopia it's good. As an actual story with a coherent and interesting plot, it's lacking. And the characters aren't particularly sympathetic, nor is there much to the book OTHER than the description of the descent into dystopia. I still might have decided I liked it if the ending had been different, but the ending was just an abrupt, unexplained deus ex machina. Disappointing and just not the type of book I particularly enjoy. I prefer a bit more direction and form to my fiction, I guess. Overall: meh.
