The sweetest dream doris lessing pdf

Categories: Fiction Books Literature. Buy Used - Good. The novel begins in the s leading up to the s and is set in London and the fictional African nation, Zimlia, a thinly veiled reference to Zimbabwe. Cited by: 9. The book has been awarded with, and many others. SoundCloud may request cookies to be set on your device.

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The first edition of the novel was published in August 21st , and was written by Shana Abe. The book was published in multiple languages including English, consists of pages and is available in Hardcover format. Jul 22, Virginia rated it liked it. Can I give 3 stars to a book that I didn't finish? Well I say didn't finish but with pages to go as Gloria the dictator seducer is introduced I started to skim forward to see if anything interesting was going to happen to wrap things up.

So I got the gist of the ending. This was a book that started out enthralling me. I was completely engaged by the depiction of Francis and the world of the Hampstead household. There was a multitude of characters to sort out, but the drama and conflict with Can I give 3 stars to a book that I didn't finish? There was a multitude of characters to sort out, but the drama and conflict within and between the children, and the household was brilliantly drawn.

At half way I continued to be quite entertaining, although there was a clear drift in the narrative as the children dispersed. I expected some continuation of their stories, but it was cursory at best, although all remaining bizarrely connected through Johnny.

I know that at every appearance at the table the kids were super impressed by whatever he was on about, but really? That none of them would grow up to have their own different opinions? Handy plot device, not particularly realistic. Then, three quarters in and focus shifts to Africa.

The didactic tone weighs heavily on the human stories and the characters became little more than vehicles for opinions. I did my best, but it wasn't good enough to get through this. Especially when all the same characters are conveniently popping up running the global investment money. I call bollocks on that. None of the characters introduced in the African portion interest me in the least, stereotypes as they are. So my evaluation - the novel starts as a marvelous and complex human relationship saga in the fascinating cultural landscape of mid 20th century London.

I loved it. It kept me up night reading. It ends as a tired, poorly done tale of African politics and white saviour complex. I now know that Lessing wrote this book as a substitute for an autobiography, which might explain why the narrative is unfocused.

But that's not helping my reading experience. It is a shame that the second half of the book wasn't cut away to salvage what for me would have been a 5 star effort. Apr 17, Laurel-Rain rated it really liked it. In this testament to a time long ago, "The Sweetest Dream: A Novel" reminds us of a colorful era when the boundaries were blurred, the issues were paramount, and many young people and some older ones were celebrating the revolution.

Frances Lennox is trying to make it on her own, raise her two sons, and manage to maintain a household for the seemingly ever-growing group of hangers-on that shows up regularly at the house owned by her former mother-in-law Julia, whose generosity she depends upon.

Neither of them are very happy when ex-husband Johnny and black sheep son shows up frequently, expecting the king's treatment.

During one of these moments, Frances gives in to the feelings she often hides. Her ex has just savagely put down his son Colin, whose first novel is being published; in his rant, Johnny reams his son out for his bourgeois beliefs and attitudes. Frances calls him to task for his behavior, which goes against the grain for her and wrings her out emotionally.

Following this dramatic scene, Frances gives in to her feelings, showing them freely, for the first time ever: "And then, a surprise to herself, Frances laid her head down on her arms, on the table, among all the dishes. She sobbed. Andrew waited, noting the freshets of tears that renewed themselves every time he thought she had recovered. He was white too now, shaken. He had never seen his mother cry, never heard her criticize his father in this way. Throughout this tale, I wanted to shake this woman; but I also knew that she was, in a way, a victim of her times.

The book was long, with relentless moments such as these, which I found tedious, despite being able to relate to the story. Nevertheless, the most I can offer is four stars at this time. View 1 comment. Aug 15, Kim rated it liked it. This is a book which tells the story of one family pretty much through the 20th century. Julia, the matriach, is a German woman who is young in the First World War.

Between wars she marries a British soldier and moves to London. The book has as a central character the house she and her extended family live in. The strong characters are almost entirely female, as too are some of the weaker ones. Her rather useless son, Johnny, is a communist in the 60s and his ex-wift Francis lives inthe house with This is a book which tells the story of one family pretty much through the 20th century. Her rather useless son, Johnny, is a communist in the 60s and his ex-wift Francis lives inthe house with their sons.

There is the daughter of the second wife, Sylvia who enters the book as a disturbed annorexic teen and leaves it a doctor workign in rural Zimlia, a ficitious African country post independence which is essentially a mix of Zimbabwe and South African now.

The book, for me, seemed to be about how we all travel through life, doing what we do and thus affecting the people behind us and how they expereince the world. It also includes the way women see the world, and how they interact with it, and how that has changed in the decades since Julia was a young women. The book is full of characters you will remember, even, or maybe especially, the ones you do not like. They are all very real as are their lives and their decisions.

At times I was frustrated by the characters and at others I felt their helplessness as they simply tried to make the best of what life offered them. Definately a book filled with women doing what women do - raising families and trying to give the individuals they are 'responsible' for a little more than what they had.

I will certainly take another Lessing out of the library - I am new to her but have been meaning to read some of her stuff for ages. Apr 10, Liz rated it liked it. I was actually pleasantly surprised to find that I enoyed this book. I recently also read "The Grass Is Singing," which really disappointed me in that, while it was clear that the ideas Lessing was putting forth and the themes she was exploring were probably rather revolutionary at the time they felt rather dated for a post postcolonial theory world.

I had similar issues with the last third of "The Sweetest Dream," which sort of spirals off into another diatribe about the problematic relationshi I was actually pleasantly surprised to find that I enoyed this book.

I had similar issues with the last third of "The Sweetest Dream," which sort of spirals off into another diatribe about the problematic relationship between Africa and Europe. But the rest of the book was a compelling, fun read. The way Lessing presents London in the sixties really made me reexamine my own conception of that era and see more deeply the complexity of some of the issues feminism, communism, ideas of family that I often take for granted as being rather black and white.

Nov 16, Christine rated it it was ok. I really have no idea what I ended up reading here. It was way more interesting to discuss with book group than it was to actually read it, though at one point I felt the story became very compelling. For a good bit through, I just felt extremely disoriented by the the characters and setting. The discussion pulled some themes from the book mostly about women, work, gender equality, the role of women in the family 60's vs. Ultimately I really have no idea what I ended up reading here.

Ultimately this was just not my kind of book but I'm very curious about the accolades that Doris Lessing has gotten for all her work. I just don't connect. May 19, Janene rated it it was ok. Just Meh. I will read another Lessing so I know what all the fuss is about. Maybe its just my mood, but this was boring, lacked humor and was not all that insightful.

Feels like she scolding everyone. Yes, communism sucks. Hero worship is a weird thing among the mucky much of everyday life. Selfish men cause chaos and care giving women pick up their messes. The 60's was about an idealism that ended up disappointing. Young people's morals and motivations are bizarre and ever changing, yet they al Just Meh. Young people's morals and motivations are bizarre and ever changing, yet they all mellow into less opinionated regular folk. The writing is nice but I don't care where anybody's going.

It is too long. Oct 25, Ruchita rated it did not like it Shelves: did-not-like. Awful book. Narrative all over the place, characters are a haze of blurry, one-dimensional, half-hearted caricatures, who seldom ever feel like real characters. The story is also outrageously lacking in terms of real plot development. I can understand that, especially when it comes to 'literary fiction'; however, as much as it pains me to say this, I found nothing literary about this book. Horribly over-rated.

Dec 04, Daniel Krolik rated it really liked it. A challenging but rewarding read, and maybe not the best introduction to Lessing I hadn't read her. Still, it's a gripping examination of the limits of idealism and the challenges of the s. The book shifts focus and locales midway to a secondary character. It's very jarring, but it puts forth the one person in the book who follows through with the notion of making the world a better place. Frances and her brood feel comfortable and real, which make the tedious stretches and the horrors of A challenging but rewarding read, and maybe not the best introduction to Lessing I hadn't read her.

Frances and her brood feel comfortable and real, which make the tedious stretches and the horrors of the passages set in Africa worth it. I really like Doris Lessing's books.

I knew very little about the life in the 60's but I think this book painted a good frame of that time. An unconventional family facing the main problems of a surviving society of two world wars. Then, we had the Africa issue. That broke my heart until the end. I can't deny I got bored with the first pages but I gave it a try I really like Doris Lessing's books. I can't deny I got bored with the first pages but I gave it a try and it worth it!

Dec 18, Rachel rated it really liked it. If a book stays with my thoughts over time the rating increases, but for now I'm giving four stars. Great writing, but choppy in certain ways. Her writing about Sylvia in Africa was more inspired and captivating than her writing about Frances in London, and when the setting returned to London it seemed like Lessing was over it before the story was finished. Still, she wrote many powerful scenes and characterizations here, brilliant overall.

Mar 04, Sarah rated it really liked it. I read this book in my twenties and bought it in hardcover after reading and being wonderfully disturbed by The Golden Notebook, borrowed from the library. Easier reading with similar themes. I recall a kitchen table and radical, heartwarming conversations if pessimistic at times.

For those interested in politics past and present leaning toward socialism. Jun 29, Tamsin Lorraine rated it really liked it. Good, once I adjusted to the writing style. This book is a story wrapped around the political history of the mid 20th century, and each character represents a different perspective, or response to the events affecting the English-speaking world post WWII.