Doris Lessing's Science Fiction

[Thadlerian]

Hi there, I'm a new user, finding an interest for this forum as I passed by it at random.

Not unexpected, I notice that Ursula Le Guin has her fame here, but I wonder if any of you have read any SF written by Doris Lessing? She reminds me of UKL, but is even more abstract.

DL is not usually associated with the SF genre, but has written five books within it. Some say that's why she's never got the Nobel Prize, I don't know.

What we are talking about here is Canopus in Argus - Archives. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

Thad

[Tsujigiri]

Hi

[dwndrgn]

Welcome to the forum! No, I've not heard of this author. Could you perhaps give us a synopsis of her type of stories?

[Foxbat]

I've only read her Briefing For A Descent Into Hell many years ago.

Interesting but I found it very hard work. Perhaps it's time I hunted it out once again.

And welcome to our little e-niche

[Thadlerian]

Her style (I've only read her Science Fiction books) is very heavy, though I like it. Large parts of the books have very little dialogue, some places there is hardly any action at all, and there are almost no physical descriptions. Instead we have the toughts of the protagonist, slow and thorough, reciting of large-scale history, the balance between political forces, or the silent relationships to other characters.

The main work, Shikasta, is a tale in two parts about planet Earth, seen from the outside. The protagonist Johor is from an altruistic human-like civilization called Canopus, so advanced that there is no meaning trying to describe technology or society. Much of it remains untold of.

The book has two parts; a long, heavy story about Canopus projects to encourage human civilization on Earth, and a tale about Johor being born on Earth as a human being in the 20th century, to repair what has gone wrong. The second part is far more "mainstream"-like, with a focus on human feelings and relationships, with some touches of Science Fiction.

There are four more Canopus books:
The Marriages Between Zone Three, Four and Five, about a woman on an unknown planet, and her troubles.
The Sirian Experiments, about Canopus's inferior rival Sirius, who attempt to reach their greatness.
The Making of the Representatives, about a small planet trying to resist winter and stagnation.
and
The Sentimental Agents, the only humorous of the five, in which rhetoric and idealism are compared to diseases, muddling the societies of the small Volyen empire.

[knivesout]

I've rad Shikasta, wasn't sure what to make of it. It seemed to take off from various von Danichen-like theories, and take them quite seriously. It was well written, as you'd expect from Lessing, but I think I prefer her non-sf work.

[Thadlerian]

I'm taking the chance of reviving this long-dead thread, the first thread I started at this place, with the last post about one year old. Just to check in case any of the roughly 1500-2000 new members who've joined since then have read any of Lessing's SF novels.

[Brown Rat]

About fifteen or twenty years ago, I read Shikasta. I enjoyed it, so I went on to read The Marriages, which I enjoyed a bit less. I bogged down somewhere in the middle of The Sirian Experiments--it started to seem like too much work--and never finished it. Even though I had purchased the last two Canopus books, I didn't try to read them.

As you say, Thadlerian, her style is heavy. I, unfortunately, was weak. I appreciate her writing, and I admire her ability, ambition, intellect, and inventiveness. But she wore me out.

[Thadlerian]

Lessing can easily outwear anyone. I had to start both The Sirian Experiments and The Sentimental Agents twice to be able to complete them. Experiments, though, was highly rewarding.

If you've still got Agents lying around, give it a chance. It's a much easier read than the others, taking itself far less seriously. And just hilarious

By the way, would a passing mod perhaps move this to the slightly more appropriate Book area?

[Rosemary]

[quote=Thadlerian]Her style (I've only read her Science Fiction books) is very heavy

Shikasta - I tried to read this, but as you say, it is very heavy. I could find no pleasure in reading this book.

However I did enjoy reading two of her novels - 'The Sun Between Their Feet' and 'The Summer Before The Dark'...