Ben, in the World - by Doris May Lessing & Doris May Lessing (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Far from resting on her laurels, Lessing goes from strength to strength. Ben's half-human ignorance, paranoia, and rage are magnificently imagined and vividly present on every page. The condition of the outsider has hardly ever before in fiction been portrayed with such raw power and righteous anger. Few, if any, living writers can have explored so many forbidding fictional worlds with such passion and conviction. -- Kirkus Reviews

The poignant and tragic sequel to Doris Lessing's bestselling novel, THE FIFTH CHILD.

At eighteen, Ben is in the world, but not of it. He is too large, too awkward, too inhumanly made. Now estranged from his family, he must find his own path in life. From London and the south of France to Brazil and the mountains of the Andes. Ben is tossed about in a tumultuous search for his people, a reason for his being. How the world receives him, and, he fares in it will horrify and captivate until the novel's dramatic finale.

From the Back Cover

At eighteen, Ben is in the world, but not of it. He is too large, too awkward, too inhumanly made. Now estranged from his family, he must find his own path in life. From London and the south of France to Brazil and the mountains of the Andes. Ben is tossed about in a tumultuous search for his people, a reason for his being. How the world receives him, and, he fares in it will horrify and captivate until the novel's dramatic finale.

Review Quotes

(A) fine new novel. Here is a work of great imagination with considerable sympathy for its strange subject. To write a novel based on a situation so improbable as this requires considerable courage, a quality that Doris Lessing possesses in plentitude. - The Newark Star-Ledger

As a work of art BEN, IN THE WORLD, like its predecessor [THE FIFTH CHILD], is a conspicuous success. It is, if anything, an even more controlled, finely honed and gripping work of fiction, a real pleasure to read. Lessing's audacity as an artist is undiminished. - San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle

Both [The Fifth Child and Ben, In the World] are the products of the same vigorous, audacious mind in battle against the status quo. - The Baltimore Sun

Far from resting on her laurels, Lessing goes from strength to strength. Ben's half-human ignorance, paranoia, and rage are magnificently imagined and vividly present on every page. The condition of the outsider has hardly ever before in fiction been portrayed with such raw power and righteous anger. Few, if any, living writers can have explored so many forbidding fictional worlds with such passion and conviction. - Kirkus Reviews

Lessing still takes quite extraordinary risks. A subtle meditation on what could possibly happen to a creature like Ben. He is more poignant than Frankenstein's monster just because he has hope. At times, Lessing's spare, sharp prose lets you see things as Ben sees them, as you have not seen things before. The book shares that uncanny effect with the best fiction. - The New York Times Book Review

Powerful writing from an author noted for dealing effectively with difficult human issues. - Library Journal (starred review)

Where [Lessing] excels is in the sheer power of her storytelling and in the visceral impact of the story she tells. - The Wall Street Journal