190 pages
English language
Published Oct. 29, 1976 by Pan Books.
Ich fühle mich, als ob ich das Buch nicht wirklich verstanden habe, und sehe mich deshalb nicht in der Lage, dieses Buch zu bewerten.
Allerdings hat mir die Geschichte alles in allem recht gut gefallen, allerdings gab es vor allem zum Ende hin einige Wiederholungen und Längen, die mich gestört haben.
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.
