Ben, In the World : The Sequel to the Fifth Child

Rating:
Summary: A throw-away kid
Review: This terse tome is a worthy sequel to Lessing's superb novel "The Fifth Child". Contrary to what some reviewers have written previously, I found "Ben, in the World", a wonderful epic which shows how Ben copes with humanity - or rather, doesn't - when he attains maturity. His effort at becoming more accepted by others is a struggle readers should find quite rewarding; I found most moving the passages where he discovers the pleasures of sex and befriends Rita, a prostitute, and the final chapters where he has to contend with a mad anthropologist who regards Ben merely as a unique scientific specimen. The downbeat ending may disappoint some, but is consistent with the overall emotional intensity and melancholy tone of this book. While this is not Lessing's finest work of fiction, it remains one worth reading.