The Fifth Child

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Creepy AF. @Rissreads and I came across a mountain of Doris Lessing novels in a secondhand store a while ago & vowed to read one/some. This is my first Lessing. Oh my goodness. An unsettling, disturbing & thought-provoking read.

charl08 I have quite a few of hers, similarly charity shop finds. Maybe 2025 will be the year I pick them up? 20h

Rissreads You were the inspiration. You asked if I had ever read her and I hadn‘t so then I googled her and she sounded fascinating! So is it a keeper or a book you will move on? 20h

MrsMalaprop @Rissreads Keeping for now. And I hope to read more of hers. Any recommendations Lessing fans? @Jeg 19h

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LeahBergen This was a crazy one! 😬 19h

LeahBergen Oh, and I believe that there‘s a sequel of sorts which was published many years later. 19h

Jeg Well interestingly enough I‘ve not read her much at all. I thought I had but turns out no. Just knew about her and admired her as a person. 18h

Rissreads The next one I‘m going to try is

Martha Quest

(edited) 18h

Billypar This was actually the first I tried of Lessing's too - agreed, definitely disturbing! @Rissreads my fav was Golden Notebook, which isn't really a hot take. But did the pile include Briefing for a Descent Into Hell? It's a wacky, fever dream of a novel that has stuck with me (technically a 'coma dream'). And it's pretty short too. 17h

Rissreads @Billypar that sounds very interesting. I‘ll stack it now. Thanks! I have The Golden notebook looking at me and will definitely get to it. It‘s what she is known for. (edited) 16h

38 likes9 comments

Jeg

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

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Thanks @Rissreads for your review. An interesting read. Library system did not have one hard copy. 🥲 . eBay rewarded us. Pic is from 2004 Edinburgh Book Festival. Doris was promoting her book about Grandmothers. The copies hadn't turned up so we got a small book about a cat for her to sign.

Rissreads Lucky you! I love cats! She was obsessed with them apparently. 4mo

Jeg @Rissreads I love cats too. Did you know she has left her diaries but they can‘t be looked at until all her children have died. I found a newspaper article Kathy had put with the book and photo. Interesting woman. I‘ve managed to request a couple of books from the library .Not ebooks either! 4mo

MrsMalaprop I‘ve just started reading this, a copy that @Rissreads gave me. It‘s my first Lessing. How thrilling that you met her! 4d

Rissreads I can‘t wait to see what you think of this @MrsMalaprop 4d

13 likes4 comments

Rissreads

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

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😬 This book is bloody terrifying! So brutal in so many ways! I haven‘t been able to stop thinking about it. Who is the monster exactly? The fifth child Ben or the mother, the family or society? It also made me think about motherhood and how you are damned if you do and damned if you don‘t. Someone always suffers. The depictions of the pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding of Ben made me feel really squeamish 🤮
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Jeg I have always loved Doris Lessing and did get to meet her once. I might have read this book but can‘t remember so will request from the library. I see there are two copies in our system. Glad they haven‘t disappeared like a lot of books. 5mo

Centique I need to get to this one 🤞 5mo

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Minervasbutler

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

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Ben, the fifth child, is, from the beginning, a horror story come to life. Lessing keeps it ambiguous exactly what Ben is - he's described at various points as a troll, a goblin, a throwback to some earlier, pre-human lifeform. And Lessing uses Harriet's unenviable predicament to explore issues such as the limits of maternal love and how society deals with its rejects. Most unsettling.

BarbaraBB Such an unsettling book! 2y

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TrishBovell

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

Enjoying! #recommendsday

2 likes

Onceuponatime

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

so-so

I liked the concept of this book...a loving couple gives birth to a creepy and unlovable baby who proceeds to destroy their lives...but it was fairly slow-paced and the language and story-telling seemed dated.

33 likes

EH2018

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

Wow. Pretty disturbing for such a short read...and I thought Baby Teeth was creepy....

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 😱😱😱 6y

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valeriegeary

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

More than once she woke to see Ben standing silently in the half dark, staring at them. The shadows from the garden moved on the ceiling, the spaces of the big room emptied into obscurity, & there stood this goblin child, half visible.

Go to sleep Ben, she would say, keeping her voice level because of the sharp fear she felt. What was he thinking as he watched them sleep? Did he want to hurt them?
#sinisterkid #Octoberxfiles
@Robothugs @Cinfhen

Robothugs 😱😱😱 6y

JennyM Creepy... 6y

Suet624 Ooohhhh... 6y

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BookDude

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

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Taken as it is, it is a story about a boy born to parents in the 1960's England who is so ugly, primal, different...that he tears the family apart. It is, however, a moral allegory. The Lovatt's are a couple who want a huge family, but can't afford it or manage it without a lot of help, and the fifth child puts a stop to their wishful lifestyle. They wind up sacrificing almost everything, and their fifth child becomes a societal problem.

9 likes

BarbaraBB

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

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David and Harriet buy a big house and want a big family with many kids and a house full of people and happiness. For a while their dreams seem to come true but then Ben is born.
Harriet really wants to love him and tries her best and exactly this is what's driving her away from the rest of her family. An impressive, chilling read in just 150 pages.

Pic: NYC

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suvata

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

Wouldn't want to live without my #Kindle. I sneak a hard copy in now and then though just so I don't forget the experience.

monkeygirlsmama I like your kindle case. 8y

julesG That case is gorgeous! I'm the same, by the way. I read on my kindle mainly. 8y

suvata @monkeygirlsmama @julesG thanks, ladies, it's a skin I designed myself and had it printed by https://www.decalgirl.com/ The images are of all of my favorite books. 8y

julesG That's cool. 8y

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Bookboss

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

My two last book purchases before Lent. I am attempting to fast from book purchases ( among other things). I love Lessing's short stories, but I have never read one of her novels. I had to get a copy of Goodbye to All That after hearing about it on the BBC podcast A Good Read. Great podcast!

auntie_jenn that may be the hardest Lenten sacrifice! 8y

Bookboss Yup. 8y

andrew61 Last year i read ' The grass is singing ' apparently her most accessible, i gave it 5 stars so would recommend. 8y

Bookboss Cool! Thanks! 8y

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emilyhaldi

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

Finished 5 books during #24in48 ! Winding down the night with wine and this creepy story. I will make it to at least 12 hours which was my goal knowing that 24 was going to be a stretch!

Reviewsbylola You rock! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 8y

Dragon 👍🐉 8y

Mdargusch Woohoo!🎉 8y

RadicalReader @emilyhaldi what are you thought on this book? 8y

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Mimi28

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

I'm still in the Halloween spirit, jamming to this playlist on Apple Music 🎃👻

16 likes

the_hibernator

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

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Did anyone else feel Harriet was acting out of selfishness when she saved Ben from the institution? My thoughts: http://hibernatorslibrary.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-fifth-child-by-doris-lessing....

rabbitprincess I thought she was selfish as well, also because they kept having kids and blithely assuming their family would support them. That seemed more horrific to me than the behaviour of Ben. But then I neither have nor want children, so I think that may affect my reading of the book. 8y

the_hibernator Nah, I want children but I think their behavior was really selfish....they just kept having kids even though they couldn't care for them. @rabbitprincess 8y

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the_hibernator

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

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Amazing! Disturbing! Profound! I'll be mulling this one over for a while. Wondering if I should risk picking up its sequel Ben in the World.

rachellayown I read this years ago, but now I want to reread it. 8y

the_hibernator @rachellayown It's nice and short! Read it in practically one sitting. 8y

rachellayown Yes, I'll have to check it out again! @the_hibernator 8y

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Texreader I had to do a double take. That looks like my cat! ❤️ #catsoflitsy 8y

the_hibernator @Texreader 😂Yeah, from some angles black cats can really look alike. I do a lot of double-takes too 8y

Bambolina_81 I tried to read this a couple of times but it has beaten me. I love Lessing but I found it very difficult 🤔 8y

the_hibernator @Bambolina_81 There are a lot of people who don't like this book. But, hey, Golden Notebook is supposed to be her opus, and I couldn't get a quarter of the way through. Sometimes books just don't appeal. 8y

Bambolina_81 The Grass is Singing is another challenging but fantastic read. 8y

the_hibernator @Bambolina_81 I've heard great things about it. I'll try it out as my next Lessing if I don't read Ben in the World next 8y

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the_hibernator

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

Speaking of #DisasterousKids I can't think of anything more disturbing than realistic psychopathic children. I'm about half way through and am thoroughly creeped out. #Octphotochallenge.

Well-ReadNeck Good pick! 8y

the_hibernator I can't stop reading! It's si disturbing it's fascinating. 8y

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the_hibernator

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

Finally starting my Halloween read! #gothic #horror #NobelPrize

charl08 Good luck! (Following from LT) 8y

the_hibernator @charl08 Great to see you here Charlotte! 8y

EmilyAnne Ooooooo I love this one!! 8y

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Kirstin

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

so-so

Sometimes a book touches on a fear that's just too real for me to enjoy it. The Fifth Child really disturbed me but, not in a good way. #numberintitle #somethingforseptember

RealLifeReading

17 likes

rabbitprincess

The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing

This post contains spoilers

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so-so

Not sure what to think of this one. My sympathies kept changing and the writing was good. Lots to think about. But the ending felt incomplete, and I don't think the sequel would resolve things either.

1 like

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