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nerissassippi's review against another edition
2.0
It's an interesting idea to retell the lives of your parents, but this story never escaped from the weight of the chip on Lessing's shoulder. It felt like it was written from the couch in her therapist's office.
susanbrooks's review against another edition
2.0
Doris Lessing's premise was interesting. She wrote a fictionalized version
of her parents' lives - if they were not scarred by WWI (Alfred was a vet, Emily a nurse.) It was a more melancholy view than I'd expected. The second part was supposed to be an exploration of their lives as they really were.
It was a nonlinear jumble, jumping from their life on a farm in Rhodesia to events of later years.
of her parents' lives - if they were not scarred by WWI (Alfred was a vet, Emily a nurse.) It was a more melancholy view than I'd expected. The second part was supposed to be an exploration of their lives as they really were.
It was a nonlinear jumble, jumping from their life on a farm in Rhodesia to events of later years.
crazytourists_books's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
Το τελευταίο βιβλίο της Lessing και το πρώτο της που διαβάζω.
Το πρώτο μέρος το βρήκα υπέροχο, όμορφος λόγος, που έρρεε αβίαστα. Την ιδέα το να χαρίσει στους γονείς της τη ζωή που ονειρεύονταν (και ποτέ δεν έζησαν) τη βρήκα εξαιρετική.
Το δεύτερο μέρος, (αυτο)βιογραφικό, αρκετά ενδιαφέρον και πολύ προσωπικό παρότι αποσπασματικό και ασυνεχές.
Σίγουρα θα υπάρξει κι άλλη συνάντησή μας.
Το πρώτο μέρος το βρήκα υπέροχο, όμορφος λόγος, που έρρεε αβίαστα. Την ιδέα το να χαρίσει στους γονείς της τη ζωή που ονειρεύονταν (και ποτέ δεν έζησαν) τη βρήκα εξαιρετική.
Το δεύτερο μέρος, (αυτο)βιογραφικό, αρκετά ενδιαφέρον και πολύ προσωπικό παρότι αποσπασματικό και ασυνεχές.
Σίγουρα θα υπάρξει κι άλλη συνάντησή μας.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Mental illness
Minor: Colonisation and Racism
z_reads4's review against another edition
3.75
"All her talents, all her energy, was narrowed down to one graceless, angry girl who one had one idea, which was to leave her." (184)
This book is a love letter to the life Lessing's mother might have lived, had she not suffered during the war, and crucially, had she not married her father and had her. Emily's imagined, alternate life is no fanciful bed of roses, but simply, a life where she is able to maintain her energy, her wits, and her mind, and channel them onto productive measures, rather than on the obstinant Doris. The contrast between the Emily of the novella and Emily of the second part of the book is stark; I wonder if wondering is the lot of every daughter. Happy mothers' day I guess.
Some technical aspects of this book were not ideal. Firstly, it was not clear that this book would be set up in the way that it is, and so, the novella is confusing in terms of timelines. It might have been more interesting if the real story was told before the fantasy. Secondly, while the writing is lucid and readable, it flows from one idea to another quickly, with scenes slipping through my fingers. Maybe it is a particular style of Lessing's- I am not familiar with her work. There is no third criticism, but I am thinking about the extremely detailed novella Lessing wrote about her parents (that she was not close with) without any old friends or family near her. I wonder who told her about them. I must also say that while my review has been focused on Emily, Alfred also plays a large part- I just wasn't as taken by him.
A fascinating piece of family history! (in a loose sense of the term)
This book is a love letter to the life Lessing's mother might have lived, had she not suffered during the war, and crucially, had she not married her father and had her. Emily's imagined, alternate life is no fanciful bed of roses, but simply, a life where she is able to maintain her energy, her wits, and her mind, and channel them onto productive measures, rather than on the obstinant Doris. The contrast between the Emily of the novella and Emily of the second part of the book is stark; I wonder if wondering is the lot of every daughter. Happy mothers' day I guess.
Some technical aspects of this book were not ideal. Firstly, it was not clear that this book would be set up in the way that it is, and so, the novella is confusing in terms of timelines. It might have been more interesting if the real story was told before the fantasy. Secondly, while the writing is lucid and readable, it flows from one idea to another quickly, with scenes slipping through my fingers. Maybe it is a particular style of Lessing's- I am not familiar with her work. There is no third criticism, but I am thinking about the extremely detailed novella Lessing wrote about her parents (that she was not close with) without any old friends or family near her. I wonder who told her about them. I must also say that while my review has been focused on Emily, Alfred also plays a large part- I just wasn't as taken by him.
A fascinating piece of family history! (in a loose sense of the term)
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
3.0
Alfred & Emily by Doris Lessing is two stories in one. She combines a fictional tale of what the lives of her parents, Alfred and Emily, might have been if World War One had never happened--if her father had not come home wounded both physically and emotionally and if her mother had not be damaged as well through caring for a wounded man who suffered from shell shock and who took her from England to a farm in Zimbabwe. The novella which begins the book gives her parents their ideal life. Her father becomes the farmer in England he always dreamed he could be, successful with a wife who enjoyed living on the farm and with two brawny sons. Her mother still becomes a nurse, but after marriage to a doctor who dies in middle-age and leaves her well-off she is able to fund schools and then a refuge for women in trouble. Through her fiction, she allows her parents to become what she imagines might have been their best selves.
The second half of the book tells the real-life story of her parents' struggles with life after the Great War. It shows in detail just how devastating that war was not only for those who lost loved ones, but for those who came home and those who loved them. The despair and depression the parents fought deeply affected Doris and her brother. Doris grew up hating her mother--in part because she pitied her and didn't know how to deal with those emotions as a young girl. Processing her emotions and reactions to her parents' plight may have sent her into therapy later in life, but it also fueled her fiction. It's likely that Alfred and Emily may have been happier if the war had never happened, but would Doris Lessing have been the author she became had she grown up in England? Of course, we'll never know for sure--but it certainly seems like the struggles she experienced in dealing with her parents molded her in ways that shaped her writing.
Each section of the book is interesting in its own right. But I'm not entirely sold on the combination in one volume. The transition between the two sections is inadequate and doesn't quite make a smooth connection. There are hints in reality towards the fictional biography Lessing writes for Alfred and Emily, but she doesn't fully explain some of the choices she made for them.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
The second half of the book tells the real-life story of her parents' struggles with life after the Great War. It shows in detail just how devastating that war was not only for those who lost loved ones, but for those who came home and those who loved them. The despair and depression the parents fought deeply affected Doris and her brother. Doris grew up hating her mother--in part because she pitied her and didn't know how to deal with those emotions as a young girl. Processing her emotions and reactions to her parents' plight may have sent her into therapy later in life, but it also fueled her fiction. It's likely that Alfred and Emily may have been happier if the war had never happened, but would Doris Lessing have been the author she became had she grown up in England? Of course, we'll never know for sure--but it certainly seems like the struggles she experienced in dealing with her parents molded her in ways that shaped her writing.
Each section of the book is interesting in its own right. But I'm not entirely sold on the combination in one volume. The transition between the two sections is inadequate and doesn't quite make a smooth connection. There are hints in reality towards the fictional biography Lessing writes for Alfred and Emily, but she doesn't fully explain some of the choices she made for them.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
sarah1984's review against another edition
4.0
8/4 - I don't really know which shelf to put this on genre-wise. It's almost historical fiction, but it's not because almost none of it actually happened, it's Lessing's idea of how her parent's lives might have gone if WWI never happened (I liked the inclusion of the political landscape after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand didn't happen). So if it's a fantasy life for Alfred and Emily does that mean it goes on the fantasy shelf? Well, that's not really right either, because then it would be in the company of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series and the Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde, and they would make strange bedfellows with Alfred and Emily. I would always feel like I'd made a categorising error by putting it there. Maybe when I continue reading it'll reveal itself to be contemporary literature, that would make life easier for me. To be continued...
11/4 - As soon as the fantastical fiction part ended and the biographical part began I became more interested in the story of Alfred and Emily. I find the true story of relatively random people's lives surprisingly intriguing and more engrossing than the fictional story that their daughter created for them. To be continued...
12/4 - Another book related dream?! You've got to be kidding me! This time I read a brief anecdote about bugs sitting on the outside of Doris' mosquito netting and them terrifying her, causing her to scream until Alfred came to knock them off. A few sentences later there is an even briefer mention of hornets being one of the many types of insects that invaded their house on a regular basis. That's all it took to send me into a nightmare about being stung by a swarm of bees and not being able to pull the stingers out of my legs, leaving them feeling like cacti.
Alfred and Emily's real life story is even more depressing and full of unfulfilled desires than the "what if?" life Doris created for them. The first half of the book might have been a fantasy, but it was no dream come true for her parents. In neither time do either seem particularly happy and I find that dreadfully depressing. The idea that even with the worst experience (one would imagine) of their lives removed they still can't have a happy existence, instead of one tragedy or obstacle there is another. It almost feels like Lessing is saying something about fate and how it doesn't matter what road you choose, fate will have its way. You can't change your destiny, even if the circumstances are slightly different.
When I realised the first half of the book is a fantasy she wrote for her parents I thought it would be just that, a fantastical alternate reality where everyone's happy and no one dies prematurely. I never expected Lessing would use evidence from her parent's lives and their personalities to write an entirely possible and thoroughly researched life for each of them. I was very impressed, but can't help but wonder what Alfred and Emily would have thought of the 'other them' and the way their lives turned out.
11/4 - As soon as the fantastical fiction part ended and the biographical part began I became more interested in the story of Alfred and Emily. I find the true story of relatively random people's lives surprisingly intriguing and more engrossing than the fictional story that their daughter created for them. To be continued...
12/4 - Another book related dream?! You've got to be kidding me! This time I read a brief anecdote about bugs sitting on the outside of Doris' mosquito netting and them terrifying her, causing her to scream until Alfred came to knock them off. A few sentences later there is an even briefer mention of hornets being one of the many types of insects that invaded their house on a regular basis. That's all it took to send me into a nightmare about being stung by a swarm of bees and not being able to pull the stingers out of my legs, leaving them feeling like cacti.
Alfred and Emily's real life story is even more depressing and full of unfulfilled desires than the "what if?" life Doris created for them. The first half of the book might have been a fantasy, but it was no dream come true for her parents. In neither time do either seem particularly happy and I find that dreadfully depressing. The idea that even with the worst experience (one would imagine) of their lives removed they still can't have a happy existence, instead of one tragedy or obstacle there is another. It almost feels like Lessing is saying something about fate and how it doesn't matter what road you choose, fate will have its way. You can't change your destiny, even if the circumstances are slightly different.
When I realised the first half of the book is a fantasy she wrote for her parents I thought it would be just that, a fantastical alternate reality where everyone's happy and no one dies prematurely. I never expected Lessing would use evidence from her parent's lives and their personalities to write an entirely possible and thoroughly researched life for each of them. I was very impressed, but can't help but wonder what Alfred and Emily would have thought of the 'other them' and the way their lives turned out.
eunicek82's review against another edition
3.0
I think the idea of this book was better than the actual experience of reading it. I kinda wish the memoir portion (which I found more interesting) came before the novella. Despite the upbeat nature of the fictionalized history, there is an underlying sense of melancholia knowing what the truth was. I found both sections to be a bit disappointing though.
ant's review against another edition
2.0
Some nice quoteable passages and obviously well written, but the self absorbed content just didn't float my boat.
larabobara's review against another edition
3.0
What a strange read!
I must admit that I was a little intimidated to read it. Let's face it: the whole Author Was A 2007 Nobel Laureate thing is a bit overwhelming for a girl whose last couple reads were a YA novel and a poorly written mystery. For the first half, at least, though, the book is downright delightful. I loved it - I was ready to go out and read everything Doris Lessing has ever written. Then, abruptly, the beautiful fiction ends and some seemingly random nonfiction begins. The book jacket tells me that the book is about Lessing's parents - the first half is what their lives would have been like if there had been no war, and the second half is an examination of what their lives really were like. Um, okay....but I don't know of many readers who can switch gears like that or who would want to even if they could. Besides, the nonfiction part...well, I'm not quite sure what to say about it. The part that really was an examination of Lessing's parents' lives felt a bit dull. (Then again, that could have been because I absolutely didn't want to leave the fiction part.) The thing is, though, that part of non-fiction section wasn't really about the parents at all and was almost more like an autobiography.
I'm wondering - was this book simply over my literary head? Did other people find this to be a tour de force of sorts? To me, it was just kind of weird.
Don't get me wrong - I still want to try a few more of Lessing's books, but I'll stick with the full-fledged fiction ones, thankyouverymuch.
I must admit that I was a little intimidated to read it. Let's face it: the whole Author Was A 2007 Nobel Laureate thing is a bit overwhelming for a girl whose last couple reads were a YA novel and a poorly written mystery. For the first half, at least, though, the book is downright delightful. I loved it - I was ready to go out and read everything Doris Lessing has ever written. Then, abruptly, the beautiful fiction ends and some seemingly random nonfiction begins. The book jacket tells me that the book is about Lessing's parents - the first half is what their lives would have been like if there had been no war, and the second half is an examination of what their lives really were like. Um, okay....but I don't know of many readers who can switch gears like that or who would want to even if they could. Besides, the nonfiction part...well, I'm not quite sure what to say about it. The part that really was an examination of Lessing's parents' lives felt a bit dull. (Then again, that could have been because I absolutely didn't want to leave the fiction part.) The thing is, though, that part of non-fiction section wasn't really about the parents at all and was almost more like an autobiography.
I'm wondering - was this book simply over my literary head? Did other people find this to be a tour de force of sorts? To me, it was just kind of weird.
Don't get me wrong - I still want to try a few more of Lessing's books, but I'll stick with the full-fledged fiction ones, thankyouverymuch.