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The Fifth Child
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
Doris Lessing's contemporary gothic horror storycentered on the birth of a baby who seems less than humanprobes society's unwillingness to recognize its own brutality.Harriet and David Lovatt, parents of four children, have created an idyll of domestic bliss in defiance of the social trends of late 1960s England. While around them crime and unrest surge, the Lovatts are certain that their old-fashioned contentment can protect them from the world outsideuntil the birth of their fifth baby. Gruesomely goblin-like in appearance, insatiably hungry, abnormally strong and violent, Ben has nothing innocent or infant-like about him. As he grows older and more terrifying, Harriet finds she cannot love him, David cannot bring himself to touch him, and their four older children are afraid of him. Understanding that he will never be accepted anywhere, Harriet and David are torn between their instincts as parents and their shocked reaction to this fierce and unlovable child whose existence shatters their belief in a benign world. From the Trade Paperback edition.
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vivastory
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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This is a brilliant work about a couple, out of step with their times, who decide to have six children. Their home becomes a center for friends & family & everything is fairly idyllic until the birth of their fifth child, Ben. Ben does not fit into the family unit, but the reason why is difficult to put into words & it is this elusiveness that makes this a work I can't stop thinking about. It includes quite possibly the most harrowing scene (cont)

vivastory I've read this year.
Book 8 of #MidwayBOTY23
9mo
Suet624 Ah, Lessing. She is so good. 9mo
vivastory @Suet624 This was the first one I'd read by her, will definitely be reading more! 9mo
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Billypar I liked how she doesn't give into the temptation of creating devil-child melodrama or push any particular theory to explain Ben's behavior. It really captures how this situation plays out in real life. 9mo
vivastory @Billypar I completely agree! I had so many theories about Ben while reading it. I'm curious to read the follow up from Ben's perspective 9mo
BarbaraBB I read Ben earlier this year, thank to you Scott! 9mo
vivastory @BarbaraBB Your review has def made me even more curious, Looking forward to it. 9mo
Branwen I love love LOVE Doris Lessing! 9mo
vivastory @Branwen Are there any particular favorites? 9mo
Branwen @vivastory The Golden Notebook, for sure! Have you read that one? 9mo
vivastory @Branwen It's on my tbr shelves. I was thinking about it the other day. 9mo
69 likes5 stack adds11 comments
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vivastory
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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#weeklyreport
Three books finished this week. I loved all 3, but the tagged one was my favorite. I just know that it will make my best of the year list. Also dipping into other books that I've been making my way through for a bit: Ray Bradbury's 100 Stories & The Complete Poetry of Dickinson. Don't have a deadline for either but I will probably finish both in the next couple of months.
@cinfhen

Cinfhen Gorgeous illustration 🤩I still haven‘t read any Doris Lessing 🙈 13mo
jlhammar Have you tried Lessing‘s short story To Room Nineteen yet? One of my favorites. 13mo
vivastory @Cinfhen This was my first one. It's only around 130 pages but it feels like a 300 page book because of how carefully constructed it is & the arc of the story. 13mo
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vivastory @jlhammar Thanks for the recommendation! 13mo
LeahBergen Yeah, The Fifth Child is a weird one, isn‘t it? 13mo
BarbaraBB I found a cheap copy Scott. Will read it soon! 13mo
vivastory @BarbaraBB Looking forward to your thoughts! I will definitely be reading more of her work in the next couple of months 13mo
sisilia I have the Dickinson… untouched 🫣 I was planning to bring it to the office and to read piece every day before I start the day, but somehow I forgot about this plan 😅 13mo
64 likes2 stack adds9 comments
review
vivastory
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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Pickpick

I love a well told story about children behaving badly. William March's Bad Seed & Zoje Stage's Baby Teeth come to mind. Even more, I like an atypical, complicated evil children story such as Tryon's The Other, or Highsmith's Edith's Diary. Lessing's The Fifth Child firmly falls into the latter category. Lessing's book charts the meeting & subsequent marriage of David & Harriet Lovatt, their purchase of a large house outside of London, an (cont)

vivastory unorthodox plan to have at least 6 children. Despite financial constraints everything is going well until the titular child, Ben, is born. Clocking in around 130 pages Lessing's book is packed with both incident & reflection as she masterfully portrays the flourishing & destruction of a loving family. The NY Times blurb on the back reads, “A moral fable of the genre that includes Mary Shelley's Frankenstein & George Orwell's 1984.“ (cont) (edited) 13mo
vivastory There is one scene in particular that, although not graphic, is the most harrowing scene that I have read all year. 13mo
sarahbarnes Oh this sounds very intriguing. 13mo
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Aimeesue Great review! 13mo
BarbaraBB Such a creepy book. 13mo
vivastory @sarahbarnes I think at the end of the year it will be on my best of list. 13mo
vivastory @Aimeesue Thanks! I have been meaning to read Lessing for awhile now & this was the perfect entry point. 13mo
vivastory @BarbaraBB I noticed that there is a sequel which follows Ben later on. Have you read it? 13mo
batsy Great review. I'm super intrigued, especially with the other books you referenced. The only Lessing I've read is this one and it was excellent 13mo
BarbaraBB No! And I didn‘t know. Yet I‘d like to know more about Ben! 13mo
Aimeesue @vivastory Same. I have several of her books on my shelves. Maybe this year? 😋 13mo
vivastory @batsy That's on my TBR shelf. I'm really looking forward to it. I know that it has been an important book for many. 13mo
BarbaraBB Oooh. Must have!! 13mo
69 likes2 stack adds14 comments
review
Minervasbutler
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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Pickpick

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! 1y
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TrishBovell
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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Enjoying! #recommendsday

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Onceuponatime
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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Mehso-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.

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EH2018
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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Wow. Pretty disturbing for such a short read...and I thought Baby Teeth was creepy....

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 😱😱😱 5y
26 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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valeriegeary
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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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 😱😱😱 5y
JennyM Creepy... 5y
Suet624 Ooohhhh... 5y
46 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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BookDude
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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Pickpick

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.

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BarbaraBB
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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Pickpick

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
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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. 7y
julesG That case is gorgeous! I'm the same, by the way. I read on my kindle mainly. 7y
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. 7y
julesG That's cool. 7y
30 likes4 comments
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Bookboss
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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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! 7y
Bookboss Yup. 7y
andrew61 Last year i read ' The grass is singing ' apparently her most accessible, i gave it 5 stars so would recommend. 7y
Bookboss Cool! Thanks! 7y
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emilyhaldi
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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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! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 7y
Dragon 👍🐉 7y
Mdargusch Woohoo!🎉 7y
RadicalReader @emilyhaldi what are you thought on this book? 7y
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Mimi28
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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I'm still in the Halloween spirit, jamming to this playlist on Apple Music 🎃👻

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the_hibernator
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
This post contains spoilers
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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. 7y
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 7y
4 likes2 comments
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the_hibernator
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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Pickpick

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. 7y
the_hibernator @rachellayown It's nice and short! Read it in practically one sitting. 7y
rachellayown Yes, I'll have to check it out again! @the_hibernator 7y
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Texreader I had to do a double take. That looks like my cat! ❤️ #catsoflitsy 7y
the_hibernator @Texreader 😂Yeah, from some angles black cats can really look alike. I do a lot of double-takes too 7y
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 🤔 7y
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. 7y
Bambolina_81 The Grass is Singing is another challenging but fantastic read. 7y
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 7y
37 likes7 stack adds9 comments
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the_hibernator
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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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! 7y
the_hibernator I can't stop reading! It's si disturbing it's fascinating. 7y
38 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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the_hibernator
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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Finally starting my Halloween read! #gothic #horror #NobelPrize

charl08 Good luck! (Following from LT) 7y
the_hibernator @charl08 Great to see you here Charlotte! 7y
EmilyAnne Ooooooo I love this one!! 7y
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Kirstin
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
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Mehso-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

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rabbitprincess
The Fifth Child | Doris Lessing
This post contains spoilers
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Mehso-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.