Ben, in the World
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Described as "one of the world's great living writers', Doris Lessing's fiction continues to compel, and surprise, her readers. In the context of Lessing's writing career, the tale of Ben, in the World, the sequel to Lessing's powerful The Fifth Child (1988), is a long, and complex, one. It goes back (at least) to 1957, and the appearance of her short story, "The eye of God in paradise" (included in The Habit of Loving). That story includes the description of a child, "a desperate, wild, suffering little creature", who bites if you get close to him. That child haunts both Mary Parrish (the protagonist of the story) and, it seems, Doris Lessing. She returns to him in The Fifth Child, a short novel dedicated to the problem of how to tell the difference of "Ben": the fifth child born to an idyllic middle-class family. Who, or what, is Ben? Beast, goblin, throwback, alien, or a "normal healthy fine baby"? Wrestling with that question--the ethical difficulty posed by the appearance of difference at the heart of "normal" life--The Fifth Child allows for a hesitation in knowing what, or how, to think about Ben. Ben, in the World pursues the theme, but with far more certainty. Now eighteen, but looking thirty-five, Ben is estranged from his family, forced to find his way in a basically hostile world: "And Ben left: he had no home in this world." By now, Lessing knows him well; the narrative voice constantly intervenes to direct the reader's response to Ben, to the people who surround him and his (sometimes unlikely) experiences in Europe and South America. The misery, and alienation, of Ben's life remains Lessing's preoccupation, offset only by the friendship of the odd individuals she depicts so skilfully--and, finally, the waywardness of Ben's quest to find people like himself. Vicky Lebeau
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
‘A wonderful novel, flawless as a black pearl.’ Daily Mail
‘Outstanding…A tour de force that poses stark questions about modern-day Britain and what it is to be human.’ Sunday Times
‘“Ben, In the World” is huge in scope, humanity and pathos. Lessing created a monster; her triumph is that he not only personifies the human yearning to belong, but that we also come to love him.’ Shena Mackay, Daily Telegraph
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First Sentence
This card had afflicted Ben with such a despair of rage that he took it from his mother, and ran out of the house. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
This card had afflicted Ben with such a despair of rage that he took it from his mother, and ran out of the house. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was looking forward to Ben's story and the epilogue to "The Fifth Child" by the same author. I have enjoyed this book even more than I had its predecessor. This is a book about being different. About acceptance and understanding. A book that pierces the heart.
Ben Lovatt. Who was he? What was he? As vulnerable as a newborn baby, yet at times very wild, instinctive, almost... feral.
May I suggest to read "The Fifth Child" first. This sequel stands on its own perfectly but I still feel that the reader would understand Ben's tale better by reading about his birth and family beforehand.
Once again I have admired Ms. Lessing's writing style (just like before, no chapters in this book, just a few pauses) and her ability to convey an emotional pathos with a simplicity that captivates deeply. This book was gripping, powerful and really sad. The quote from a newspaper on the book cover summarizes my feelings "A wonderful novel, flawless as a black pearl".
Ben Lovatt. Who was he? What was he? As vulnerable as a newborn baby, yet at times very wild, instinctive, almost... feral.
May I suggest to read "The Fifth Child" first. This sequel stands on its own perfectly but I still feel that the reader would understand Ben's tale better by reading about his birth and family beforehand.
Once again I have admired Ms. Lessing's writing style (just like before, no chapters in this book, just a few pauses) and her ability to convey an emotional pathos with a simplicity that captivates deeply. This book was gripping, powerful and really sad. The quote from a newspaper on the book cover summarizes my feelings "A wonderful novel, flawless as a black pearl".
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
'The Fifth Child' had a kind of haunting resonance that left you wondering 'what happened next' - but it would have been much better if it had been left at that. A useful long plane journey kind of read I suppose. It has to be said it's not at all well written - too hasty and casual - and the story is pretty hammy. You get the impression it was written more in the sixties than in 2000, the detail is just too naïve, superficial and cliched - certainly not what you'd expect from a Nobel prize winner. It's going to the bookshelf in the garage 'till I can find somebody to palm it off on.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This novel is somewhat picaresque, as it follows the fortunes of Ben, in London, France and South America. Ben is an outsider, he is human and also 'some kind of genetic throwback.' There are many people who feel alienated, alone, outside, and Ben speaks for them all. At the heart of the novel is Ben's increasing sadness and desperation at finding himself alone, 'his people' are nowhere to be found. The story is elegantly and subtly written, adding to its powerful effect. The novel is an allegory, is a mirror to an often cruel world, and is extremely moving and thought-provoking. It certainly puts many other recent self-indulgent novels to shame.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Disappointing sequel
Lessing wrote this book 12 years after her heart-rending novel "The Fifth Child". That book was written from the family perspective: the parents, their four children and other... Read more
Published 3 months ago by P. A. Doornbos
Good story, terrible use of English!
I read the fifth child and enjoyed it dispite the terrible use of English language, grammer, punctuation and sentences. I was keen to see what happened to Ben. Read more
Published 6 months ago by C. A. Phillips
Ben in the World Review
The Fifth Child is a brilliant book in which Ben seems to be a monster: tearing his huge 'happy' family apart. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Susan Askew
Hmmmm
I tend not to read sequels if I really loved the original but 'The Fifth child' was so amazing I couldn't resist. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Jacksy x
More enjoyable than the fifth child
Doris Lessing is a great writer. One of her marks of greatness is that she can write accessible novels that are easy to understand but at the same time thought-provoking. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2009 by María José García Ferrer
A rather disappointing sequel to "The Fifth Child"
Ben is now eighteen. Broad face, delineated features, a perpetual stupid grin on his face. Most people compare him to a kind of misshapen dog. Read more
Published on 9 Feb 2006 by HORAK
Compelling
This is a strong follow-up to Doris Lessing's story "The Fifth Child". And I must say that I am so glad she wrote it, as the first book ended suddenly with few explanations, so it... Read more
Published on 8 Jun 2004 by Ms. Sinnet A. Weber
Ben, in the World
Superb follow-up to 'The Fifth Child'. I never realised quite how involved I had become in the plot or how much I had come to care about the central character, Ben, until the... Read more
Published on 27 Nov 2003 by D. J. Harkness
Crude cliches from an author in terminal decline.
Doris Lessing has written some fine books, but really there is nothing to be said that can possibly redeem "Ben in the World". Read more
Published on 30 Mar 2001 by Mr. David R. Watson
wonderful storytelling
An incredible book filled with emotion and intelligence. Ben feels very real, you get to know and care about him. Then life intervenes. Read more
Published on 2 Sep 2000
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