The Fifth Child (Paladin Books)
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Product Description
Review
‘“The Fifth Child” has the intensity of a nightmare, a horror story poised somewhere between a naturalistic account of family life and an allegory that draws on science fiction. Read it and tremble.’ Clare Tomalin, Independent
‘“The Fifth Child” is a book to send shivers down your spine, but one which it is impossible to put down until it is finished. Doris Lessing’s power to captivate and convince is evident from the first, and the effect of the odd, alien child on the family is conveyed with quiet understatement which adds to the mounting sense of horror.’ Sunday Times
‘A disturbing vision, “The Fifth Child” offers a faithful if chilling reflection of the world we live in.’ Sunday Telegraph
Product Description
A classic tale from Doris Lessing, Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 2007, of a family torn apart by the arrival of Ben, their feral fifth child.
‘Listening to the laughter, the sounds of children playing, Harriet and David would reach for each other’s hand, and smile, and breathe happiness.’
Four children, a beautiful old house, the love of relatives and friends, Harriet and David Lovatt’s life is a glorious hymn to domestic bliss and old-fashioned family values. But when their fifth child is born, a sickly and implacable shadow is cast over this tender idyll. Large and ugly, violent and uncontrollable, the infant Ben, ‘full of cold dislike’, tears at Harriet’s breast. Struggling to care for her new-born child, faced with a darkness and a strange defiance she has never known before, Harriet is deeply afraid of what, exactly, she has brought into the world…
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm really surprised at many of the other reviews I've read here, wondering what caused Ben to be the 'monster' he is, etc. and asking what the point is.
The whole time I read this book, I was thinking:
1) I related to some of Harriet's frustrations and unfairness toward the baby consuming all her energy while in her stomach - I thought, this doesn't have to be a monster; it could easily be any pregnancy at all, especially if it's her fifth one in six years!
2) Ben sounded very autistic. I have studied the subject quite a lot, I have been diagnosed with autism myself, and I know people with deeply autistic children in the family who have a habit of lashing out violently, not understanding human emotions, wo mimic others' ways of behaving in order to try to be what everyone else expects them to be, and who can't respond with love, etc. I spent this whole book thinking it was such a classic portrayal of this state of mind, and feeling absolutely horrified at the way people seem to have treated such children back at the time this book was written (the hospital scene).
3) The back of the book is misleading - I kept expecting this book to turn out to be 'The Omen' or 'Rosemary's Baby', but it isn't. It plays off that sort of story from the '70s and twists it into something else - the view society has of such children as 'monsters' when in fact all they need is love, just like anyone else. The ending to the book was heartbreaking in its understatedness.
I think this is such an important book...but only if you understand what she's actually saying. It is a horror novel, but the horror is really over our lack of understanding of children who don't fit our idea of what children 'should' be.
The whole time I read this book, I was thinking:
1) I related to some of Harriet's frustrations and unfairness toward the baby consuming all her energy while in her stomach - I thought, this doesn't have to be a monster; it could easily be any pregnancy at all, especially if it's her fifth one in six years!
2) Ben sounded very autistic. I have studied the subject quite a lot, I have been diagnosed with autism myself, and I know people with deeply autistic children in the family who have a habit of lashing out violently, not understanding human emotions, wo mimic others' ways of behaving in order to try to be what everyone else expects them to be, and who can't respond with love, etc. I spent this whole book thinking it was such a classic portrayal of this state of mind, and feeling absolutely horrified at the way people seem to have treated such children back at the time this book was written (the hospital scene).
3) The back of the book is misleading - I kept expecting this book to turn out to be 'The Omen' or 'Rosemary's Baby', but it isn't. It plays off that sort of story from the '70s and twists it into something else - the view society has of such children as 'monsters' when in fact all they need is love, just like anyone else. The ending to the book was heartbreaking in its understatedness.
I think this is such an important book...but only if you understand what she's actually saying. It is a horror novel, but the horror is really over our lack of understanding of children who don't fit our idea of what children 'should' be.
27 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this book because my 13 year old son was reading it at school and was finding it hard to relate to. I could not put it down. The three main themes of the book (the dangers of complacency, how society responds to those who do not or cannot conform, and the strength of a mother's love) are all hugely important. It made me appreciate my own children more than ever, but also forced me to realise that it could have been so different. I hope I emerged a more tolerant and understanding person; we all have hopes and dreams, but some of us end up lucky and some do not.
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Harriet and David met at an office end-of-the-year party. David Lovatt was a successful architect and they decided to marry the following spring. Soon they found a large Victorian house within commuting distance of London.
Their first son Luke was born in 1966. Then followed Helen, Jane and Paul in 1973.
Then Harriet was pregnant for the fifth time. But it was a difficult pregnancy, the foetus kicking and punching, but eventually their fifth child, Ben, was born. At four months, he already looked like an "angry, hostile little troll".
Later on, he became so aggressive and repulsive that Harriet and David had to protect themselves and other members of their family from his kicks and bites. Finally David decided to take him to an "institution". But soon Harriet could not tolerate the situation and on her own accord drove to the North of England to bring Ben back home. What she found there constitutes the most harrowing scene of the novel and is no doubt Mrs Lessing's sharp critique of the way such institutions used to treat mentally retarded children. Then follows Harriet's desperate attempts to re-educate Ben for social life, to the disgust of the other members of the family.
A moving and very disturbing novel in which Mrs Lessing brilliantly shows that a mother can love and devote herself to a child even if it is no more than a monster or an alien.
Their first son Luke was born in 1966. Then followed Helen, Jane and Paul in 1973.
Then Harriet was pregnant for the fifth time. But it was a difficult pregnancy, the foetus kicking and punching, but eventually their fifth child, Ben, was born. At four months, he already looked like an "angry, hostile little troll".
Later on, he became so aggressive and repulsive that Harriet and David had to protect themselves and other members of their family from his kicks and bites. Finally David decided to take him to an "institution". But soon Harriet could not tolerate the situation and on her own accord drove to the North of England to bring Ben back home. What she found there constitutes the most harrowing scene of the novel and is no doubt Mrs Lessing's sharp critique of the way such institutions used to treat mentally retarded children. Then follows Harriet's desperate attempts to re-educate Ben for social life, to the disgust of the other members of the family.
A moving and very disturbing novel in which Mrs Lessing brilliantly shows that a mother can love and devote herself to a child even if it is no more than a monster or an alien.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Hmm, not quite there, but gripping never the less
I enjoyed the writing style of this book, but found that the story lost its wasy after the first half of the book. Read more
Published 23 days ago by Manda Moo
First warm, than cold: a disturbing family drama
Harriet, 24 and David, 30 ignored the seductions of the roaring 60's and dreamed of a warm, happy future life with lots of children and family around. Read more
Published 3 months ago by P. A. Doornbos
Be careful what you wish for
Harriet and David are outsiders when they meet, with different views on life to those around them, and very different aspirations for their futures. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2010 by Rebecca
An unsettling read that will certainly affect you for many hours after...
This was my second Lessing novel, and though I liked The Grass Is Singing better, this novel is still a true Lessing novel: her pure and raw, naturalist writing style and voice is... Read more
Published on 29 Jan 2010 by Stella (Ex Libris)
an amazing story of family binds and their fragility
Starting from an idealized vision of family life, the author lead us to explore the failure of any possible anticipation of the future and to witness the decline of relationships... Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2009 by JCG Pveyo
Trading on a reputation
I wonder if anyone would have published this novella if it had not been written by Doris Lessing? The story starts with elaborate scene setting and character descriptions worthy of... Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2009 by CJ
my first
Dorsi Lessing and bought after an amazon recommendation on the back of "we need to talk about Kevin" Not as good as Shriver. Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2009 by karen bennett
She won me over
I had only read Lessing once before, and that was when I was given The Golden Notebook as a set book at University. Read more
Published on 21 Dec 2008 by María José García Ferrer
Mother's Little Hero.
In the relaxed mood of England in the late 1960s, Harriet and David Lovatt, face an unpleasant change of fortune when their fifth child is born. Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2008 by Jan Dierckx
thought provoking read
I'd never read Doris Lessing before and this was a really pleasantly surprised. This is a thought provoaking and disturbing tale, a horror story really. Read more
Published on 17 Aug 2008 by Ms. L. J. Armstrong
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