Mara and Dann

This imaginative story is a straightforward adventure, set in the distant future in Ifrik (Africa) when climactic change has marooned remnant human societies, which have reverted to a pre-industrial culture.Unlike the ecstatic reviewers quoted on the back of the book, I did not find great depth or wisdom - but there is a certain compelling toughness. The characters are fairly wooden, though Mara, from whose perspective the story is told, becomes more complex.The narrative is episodic, as Mara and her brother Dann flee north (from southern Africa) to escape overwhelming drought. They stay or are enslaved in feudalistic townships, whose culture and peoples vary greatly and sometimes bizarrely.As the story progresses, I felt that each new scenario was less fully imagined or real than the one before. But the opening chapters in the desiccated and hostile village of the Rock People were very effective, notably the harsh landscape and the threatening, strange animals and people.The close relationship between Mara and Dann is at the heart of the story. Their mutual dependency and love, threatened by Dann's wild egotism, holds one's interest. At the end, incestuous desires almost take the story in a radical direction, but a somewhat perfunctory happy ending (at least for Mara) closes off this more dangerous avenue.

I normally don't enjoy science fiction at all but this was amazing. It had sufficient references to current reality, in terms of African geography and world events, for me to be able to handle it well. The two main characters were a great thread to hang the novel on. I really loved Mara, even though I was cross with her at times. I would like to read the sequel. Doris Lessing is a very clever author. I have read two other books by her and would like to read a lot more.

Lessing is one great writer imagining and reflecting the very concerns of today's and tomorrow's world in 1999. A truly gripping novel dealing with environmental and human issues all the same.

Very perceptive and original storytelling. But I wouldn't have expected less from Doris Lessing. I've already read the sequel and thought it outstanding.

Present for a friend. Its a very good read.

good condition

A good book for English lessons

The tale of an adventurous journey in a somewhat primitive future has become a staple of popular writing and cinema, it's interesting to find it tackled by a more substantial author. Lessing uses this framework to create an engaging tale with the character of a fable or folktale. At times it I felt that the fabulous approach gives the author an easy ride, but the quality of writing and the way characters develop lifts the material to a satisfactory diversion.