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El quinto hijo/ The Fifth Child

by Doris Lessing

3.49 · rating details · 2,407 ratings · 357 reviews

Harriet and David want the same things: a family and a happy home. They marry, and at first all is idyllic, but with the fifth pregnancy things begin to sour. After a difficult birth, he develops faster and grows bigger than ordinary infants; he is unloving and disliked by his siblings. Harriet finds herself faced with a dark sub-continent of human nature, unable to cope. ...more

Paperback, 224 pages

Published October 1st 2007 by Punto De Lectura (first published January 2nd 1985)

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Oct 14, 2007

Fenixbird SandS marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Recommended to Fenixbird by: NY TIMES

Shelves: wanna-buys, nobel-prize-winners, fiction

By recent Nobel literature prizewinner Doris Lessing...about Ms. Lessing, "Ms. Lessing, who turns 88 this month [09/08?], never finished high school and largely educated herself through voracious reading. She has written dozens of books of fiction, as well as plays, nonfiction and two volumes of autobiography. She is the 11th woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.....[further quoting NY Times reporters Motoko Rich & Sarah Lyall] "Ms. Lessing’s strongest legacy may be that she insp...more

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Jun 24, 2007

Julie rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: barren men

I believe the only reason Tom feels so strongly in favor of this book is due to the fact he is unable to give birth. As a female, it's terrifying!

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Jun 23, 2008

Josh rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: those who think the world is going to hell in a handbasket

I picked up this book completely randomly at the epicly awesome Green Apple Books in San Francisco. Anytime I do that, and think that maybe I'm finding some lost literary gem that I can then pass off to my friends and enemies alike, I am inevitably disappointed, or at least underwhelmed.
This was a short read (about 130 pgs), and I read it all in one travel day. So that was good. It has no chapter or even page breaks, so it all lends itself to that. Reviews on the book jacket call it ...more

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May 02, 2008

Doralyn rated it

· review of another edition

This novel was disturbing on so many levels. It was supposed to have started out with this great couple who had all these wonderful family ideals, until the fifth child came along who was really tough to take (and basically a commentary on society's reaction to such a different child). However, I never saw the couple as having a great marriage. The only testament to any sort of greatness I guess would be their coupled desire to have a lot of children. Simply because their house was constantly fi...more

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Oct 01, 2007

Adam rated it

· review of another edition

This is the first bizarre, disturbing, and haunting book in a bizarre, disturbing, and haunting series by Doris Lessing, all of which chronicle the life and times of "Ben", the fifth child in a family utterly unlike him. Truthfully, he's utterly unlike anyone else at all, as Ben seems to almost be a bestial throwback to some sort of pre-fully-human ancestor, a person who doesn't quite fit that descriptive very well in the eyes of this world.
This book describes the relationships ...more

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Jan 21, 2009

Beverly rated it

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Shelves: audio, horror, british

Novella of a couple who want to raise 8 children in a big, rambling Victorian house. They stop after five children though because the fifth child is a monster, variously described as an animalistic throwback to cave men or an inhuman beast. He winds up being raised by a street gang. Transparently didactic fable about the disintegration of society and the dangers of overpopulation. Takes a snarky tone toward the parents who, old-fashionedly, want a lot of children. Lessing is a finely skilled wri...more

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Jun 20, 2011

Daisy rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: well, I know who I wouldn't recommend it to

Shelves: england, house-as-character, autism

"It's crazy," said Dorothy. She was flushed with the hot tea and with all the things she was forcing herself not to say. p. 34

This is fascinating.
Yes this is about a bad seed, the last child in an otherwise happy family. But it also has a lot to do with perception and judgement, how the parents, Harriet and David, see themselves and how others see them and how they think others see them. And how they see others, particularly their fifth child. Who is criticized and h...more

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Jan 10, 2009

Katharine rated it

· review of another edition

This was a fine book. I'd been reading so much about Doris Lessing, went to the library and of the 5 or 6 books there, chose this one.
Not going to mention plot, that is everywhere, but the writing style was great. Lessing wrote non-stop, with no chapters or white space so I read it that way and finished it in one morning.
Enjoyed her writing, enjoyed my wondering what was going to happen and why. Enjoyed the many comments here by others who read it.

Going to read more Le...more

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Apr 30, 2010

Donna rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: book groups

Shelves: fiction, read-more-than-once

Wow!

This is the first Doris Lessing book I've read and she's a great writer. This is a true "horror" story...not in the classic sense, but in the real sense of a horrible situation that people must confront. It leaves the reader with the thought "what would you do if you found yourself in this situation?". Therefore it is a highly discussable book.

Interesting characters, interesting plot, great writing. What more can a reader ask?

Rere...more

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Apr 17, 2011

Eva rated it

· review of another edition

Bring on the creepy children! Or in this book's case, creepy child. This story is about an extraordinarily ordinary English couple who are determined to have 6 children during the turbulent late 60s. Harriet and David Lovatt seclude themselves to their mansion-like home in a far town from London and get to work. They have 4 children in quick succession. This family is happy beyond reason. Each pregnancy comes with some mild sickness or tiredness for Harriet, but each birth is a happy occasion. T...more

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Mar 19, 2009

Terry Earley rated it

· review of another edition

As parents of six children, Lessing's book is disturbing and important. Often the idyllic life we lay out for ourselves gets sidetracked and sometimes destroyed through no real fault of our own, though family friends and strangers judge parents as somehow culpable.

Harriet and David did everything right, and still, their handicapped child, Ben drove a dump truck through their perfect world. Lessing does not really provide a denouement. We are left to wonder if Harriet can resolve her...moreAs parents of six children, Lessing's book is disturbing and important. Often the idyllic life we lay out for ourselves gets sidetracked and sometimes destroyed through no real fault of our own, though family friends and strangers judge parents as somehow culpable.

Harriet and David did everything right, and still, their handicapped child, Ben drove a dump truck through their perfect world. Lessing does not really provide a denouement. We are left to wonder if Harriet can resolve her plight. Maybe that is the message. The damage is done and she can never really recover.

Late in the book, Harriet and David try to make sense of a senseless situation:

A scapegoat. She was the scapegoat—Harriet, the destroyer of her family.
But another layer of thoughts, or feelings, ran deeper. She said to David, "We are being punished, that's all."
"What for?" he demanded, already on guard because there was a tone in her voice he hated.
"For presuming. For thinking we could be happy. Happy because we decided we would be."
"Rubbish," he said. Angry: this Harriet made him angry. "It was chance. Anyone could have got Ben. It was a chance gene, that's all."
"I don't think so," she stubbornly held on. "We were going to be happy! No one else is, or I never seem to meet them, but we were going to be. And so down came the thunderbolt."
"Stop it, Harriet! Don't you know where that thought leads? Pogroms and punishments, witch-burnings and angry Gods—!" He was shouting at her.
"And scapegoats," said Harriet. "Don't forget the scapegoats.
"Vindictive Gods, from thousands of years ago," he hotly contended, disturbed to his depths, she could see. "Punishing Gods, distributing punishments for insubordination . . ."
"But who were we to decide we were going to be this or that?"

It is so interesting that I seem to read books in pairs. Not consciously, but it seems to work out that way. I am reminded of the wolf cub raised by the Chinese student on the Inner Mongolian grassland described in Wolf Totem . The wolf grows to be a wolf, unresponsive, intensely independent, and without any loyalty or affection, just waiting for an opportunity to escape.

Ben was Harriet's wolf cub. She had no control, and could only wait for the inevitable.(less)

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Nov 30, 2008

Arash Radmanesh rated it

· review of another edition

لسینگ از نویسندگان معدودی است که در طول دوران نویسندگی اش هرگز به یک سبک و اسلوب خاص بسنده نکرده و همواره درصدد آزمودن ژانرهای گوناگون یوده است؛ و جالب اینکه او تقریبن در همه ی این آزمون ها موفق بوده و در هریک از ژانرهای مختلفی که کار کرده،آثار مهم و قابل توجهی برجای گذاشته است.
این کتاب، "فرزند پنجم" به نوعی اولین تجربه ی مهم لسینگ در ژانر وحشت است. رمان مزبور داستان زن و شوهری را روایت می کند که پس از آشنایی و ازدواج،تصمیم می گیرند خوشبختی را به معنای عام آن در زندگی خود به منس...moreلسینگ از نویسندگان معدودی است که در طول دوران نویسندگی اش هرگز به یک سبک و اسلوب خاص بسنده نکرده و همواره درصدد آزمودن ژانرهای گوناگون یوده است؛ و جالب اینکه او تقریبن در همه ی این آزمون ها موفق بوده و در هریک از ژانرهای مختلفی که کار کرده،آثار مهم و قابل توجهی برجای گذاشته است.
این کتاب، "فرزند پنجم" به نوعی اولین تجربه ی مهم لسینگ در ژانر وحشت است. رمان مزبور داستان زن و شوهری را روایت می کند که پس از آشنایی و ازدواج،تصمیم می گیرند خوشبختی را به معنای عام آن در زندگی خود به منسه ظهور برسانند.خوشبختی که از نگاه آن ها در یک زندگی نسبتن مرفه به همراه بچه های بسیار و تبدیل کردن خانه شان به مرکز میهمانیها و جمع های دوستانه و خانوادگی خلاصه می شد. همه چیز بر طبق نقشه پیش می رود. آن ها یکی پس از دیگری صاحب فرزندانی زیبا می شوند... تا این که فرزند پنجم آن ها نوزادی کاملن متفاوت و غیرطبیعی به دنیا می آید، و از آن جاست که همه چیز عوض شده و حول محور فرزند جدید به سمت و سویی متفاوت به پیش می رود.
ساختار روایی رمان به زعم من بسیار ساده و بی نقص است، اما وقتی نام ژانر وحشت به میان می آید، یک مشکل بزرگ رخ ممی نماید. کجای این ساختار، این زبان و لحن این داستان از قواعد ژانز وحشت پیروی می کند؟ تقریبن هیچ کدام از عناصر این رمان درخدمت ایجاد دلهره و احساس ترس حتی از نوع نسبی آن نیست. اما درصورتی که این عنوان را که منتقدان آن زمان به رمان نسبت داده اند کنار بگذاریم، به نظر من این کتاب رمانی است ساده و همه فهم که قصه اش را به خوبی می گوید.
من به این رمان از 10 نمره ی 5 می دهم.
درضمن ترجمه ای که از این کتاب شده متأسفانه بسیار بد است و مانند بسیاری از برگردان هایی که اخیرن در حوزه ی داستان چاپ می شوند سرسری و شب امتحانی کار شده است. تا حدی که احساس مس کنم شاید این که رمان هیچ یک از عناصر ژانر وحشت را در خود ندارد به این دلیل باشد که در ترجمه لحن و فضاسازی کاملن تغییر کرده و یا حتی در جاهایی حذف شده باشد!!!! در اولین فرصت متن اصلی را خواهم خواند، آن وقت با اطمینان کامل نظرم را راجع به ترجمه ی این کتاب می دهم. (less)

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Jan 20, 2012

Emma rated it

· review of another edition

When I first read this I didn't really understand what made it so brilliant. It was only later, when I thought back to how I felt reading the book that I realised what an amazing piece it is. While I was reading about the early years, before Ben's birth, i shared the joy of the family with their large group of friends and children all playing together in some kind of idyllic lifestyle. With the arrival of Ben, the fifth child, that all changes. Even the pregnancy was different, the morning sickn...more

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Jan 20, 2012

wally rated it

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Shelves: lessing, favorites

this will be the 1st from lessing-doris for me...starts out: harriet and david met each other at an office party neither had particularly wanted to go to, and both knew at once that this was what they had been waiting for.

onward and upward

Characters

Harriet & David
Harriet is in the sales department of a firm that designs & supplies bldg material, she is the oldest of three daughters, left home at eighteen, went to an arts college, became a graphic designer, ...more

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Jan 11, 2012

Valerie rated it

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What an extraordinary book. First it starts quite ironically by this couple who believes that they can be happy and have this big family, in a giant house, having to work so much to make the dream live. Then Harriet has 5 children in 6 years, and this fifth one will be different, but no one agrees to name the difference, Ben is like the "call of the wild", he is like Nature dangerous, strong, he does not care of what is going on he's in his own world, he's nor good nor bad, he's a forc...more

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Dec 25, 2011

Emma Thompson rated it

· review of another edition

This one's short and pretty easy to read, really. The story of a traditional family who build a traditional family home together until it is torn appart by the arrival of Ben, the fifth child. Ben is violent, wild, he has no grasp of how to function in society and he pulls the family appart at the seams.

It's a strange kind of book, and as a scientist I found myself a bit puzzled at times by the idea of a throwback, as Ben is described, a neanderthal child being born out of the blue. I...more

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Dec 12, 2011

Ensiform rated it

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Shelves: fiction

A middle-class English couple buck the disapproval of both their families and plan to have “at least six” children, buying a huge house and becoming the focus of all holiday gatherings. The fifth child, however, Ben, after a difficult pregnancy, turns out to be some sort of evil throwback, horrifying and sending away the extended family.

This slim novel appears to be making a comment on social selfishness, as well as being a parable for our violent modern times --- “the barbarous eight...more

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Nov 15, 2011

Kara Bisceglia rated it

· review of another edition

The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing portrays a conventional couple in England in the 60’s and they are craving to have a larger family. The couple, Harriet and David, quickly finds and make the loving family they have always wanted. They had four children in which they bestowed a very heavy Christian background and this shows especially in their names. Doris does an excellent job at reinforcing the religious message with in her story through the festivals and celebrations the family participates in...moreThe Fifth Child by Doris Lessing portrays a conventional couple in England in the 60’s and they are craving to have a larger family. The couple, Harriet and David, quickly finds and make the loving family they have always wanted. They had four children in which they bestowed a very heavy Christian background and this shows especially in their names. Doris does an excellent job at reinforcing the religious message with in her story through the festivals and celebrations the family participates in. This repetition taught me that with my won writing if I want to portray or convey a message to my readers I can do so with the repeating of certain events.

Lessing really conveys to the audience that this family is very pro-christ and Christian. So the fact when Harriet becomes pregnant with the fifth child, Ben, and starts to feel that he may be evil or something of an anti-christ the reader is struck with suspense. Lessing is able to take a reader to the actual place in time with visuals and imagery. Lessing takes creative writing to another level when she reveals to readers that Ben is in fact something of a monster or alien of some sort and the family is in desperate need of help.

There was a theme in the beginning of the book where the family is tight knit and has a beautiful unity. They all share the same values and the reader has a true sense of humanity. But, as the book goes along the theme and tone completely change. Lessing takes her positive tone to one of a dark and sinister tone with the birth of Ben. Lessing unveils the evils the birth of this child has brought upon the family and their cohesiveness. Lessing plays the roles of humanity and non-humanity in her book. There is an extreme clash between two different worlds and forces that can change the nature of someone’s life.

Lessing is so concise and honest in her words and the energy of her language that just the way she formats and structures her book allows a reader to follow along. I was able to understand to the full extent the message of her subject. It gave me the feeling that she was trying to convey the struggles between humanity and harmony with chaos of wanting happiness. The book left me with so many questions I wanted answered. I was struck with the confusion of, well is the root of evil something that comes from wanting happiness so much? This was such a good story. It gave both aspects of fiction and horror.

Lessing left me with such a good first impression when reading this book. Her language is so strong and compelling and her words really come to life with the way she places them. This book taught me that I can convey a message, meanings and questions all at once with the way I use language, patterns, images and figurative language. This story is so good at keeping the reader interested. I just wanted to keep reading it and the suspense kept me intrigued, which is something I want to do for my readers.
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Nov 15, 2011

Natacha rated it

· review of another edition

Doris Lessing is a talented and sensational author. When I researched Lessing, I wanted to experience her writing firsthand. Lessing's writing is different and seems to have caused many different reactions. Lessing writes about the things that many like to keep quite or just ignore. I have experienced her boldness in her novel "The Fifth Child". This novel allows the reader to experience raw and terrifying emotions. There is so many mixed feeling about this novel and at times I find my...moreDoris Lessing is a talented and sensational author. When I researched Lessing, I wanted to experience her writing firsthand. Lessing's writing is different and seems to have caused many different reactions. Lessing writes about the things that many like to keep quite or just ignore. I have experienced her boldness in her novel "The Fifth Child". This novel allows the reader to experience raw and terrifying emotions. There is so many mixed feeling about this novel and at times I find myself having mixed feelings as well. This novel tells the story of a perfect couple that sets out to have the perfect family. Everything for Harriet and David was perfect until their fifth child was born.

Lessing novel "The Fifth Child" deals with the fact that nothing is perfect and we tend to learn that the hard way. Harriet and David are a matched made in heaven, two shy individuals meet by chance, and it is love at first sight. Life starts off perfect and they have four beautiful and normal children. Everything is somewhat perfect until their fifth child Ben joins the family. Ben is different from the others and it is painfully obvious. From this point on we see the demise of an entire family. Ben is wild, violent, and cannot seem to comprehend what society deems a "normal" child. Ben is institutionalized in a facility that keeps children that are like him heavily drugged and physically restrained in order to control them. Harriet struggles with being a mother and feeling scared and hateful towards her own child. One example of how twisted Harriet's feelings are toward her son is that from birth she refers to him as a "goblin". Ben's existence is the catalyst for self destruction in this family. Many argue that this novel is extremely disturbing and point out how our perception of what is normal is not always right.

When it comes to Lessing writing, I think she is amazing but her style in this novel is very different. I feel like at times it was not realistic enough and some parts of the book were uncomfortable to read. Reading this book evoked many mixed emotions in me. At times, I felt sympathy for Ben because he did not choose to be like he was. I wonder if there was more to Ben's problem that was not discussed in the novel or handled correctly. One aspect of the novel that I did favor was how it ended. Lessing does not give the readers a perfect ending but a realistic one. Lessing's ending is open for assumptions just like real life. If I were to place this novel under a certain genre it would be Horror because it truly is a terrifying situation. Lessing makes the reader question the love of a mother for her child and the love a family has for each member. One of the main issues in this novel is whether the family is selfish and cruel for excluding a member the way they did. Doris Lessing brings the reader into a world where love cannot conquer all.
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Aug 06, 2011

Laura rated it

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The irony of the "selfish" vs. "unselfish" characters was interesting, though I honestly don't know that I would have acted any differently than David, the children and the rest of the family. The lack of any real conclusion, but rather a series of questions as to what Ben is, is always something I fail to appreciate in a novel - I suppose I fail to think outside of the box and prefer my stories to be wrapped up in a neat little package, for better or for worse. I held my eye...more

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Jul 03, 2011

Shehab.saif rated it

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هذا ليس تلخيصا للرواية وانما مجرد مقدمة سريعة

رواية الطفل الخامس للكاتبة الحاصلة على نوبل (دوريس ليسنج) تتحدث بإختصار عن زوجين قررا الحياه كما ينبغى للإنسان أن يحيا. .عائلة سعيدة تمتلك الكثير من الأطفال، بعكس الفكر السائد فى انجلترا فى هذه الفترة أن كثرة الأطفال شىء سىء، حيث يرون أنه قد تم عمل غسيل دماغ للإنسان ضد الفطرة التى تجلب السعادة
بالفعل تتزوج هارييت بديفيد وينجبا الأطفال بشكل متسارع
وسط الإنتقادات الدائمة من المحيطين بهما الا أن الأقارب كانو يأتون فى عيد الفصح كل عام وي...more

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Feb 16, 2011

Augusta Jahrsdoerfer rated it

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Lessing, Doris. The Fifth Child
New York: Vintage International, 1989

Doris Lessing wastes no time drawing readers into her Pulitzer Prize in Literature winning novel, The Fifth Child. Lessing shows what it’s like when maternal instinct takes over and luck runs out in her seductively tragic horror story about losing it all. With stylistic prose and a complete lack of chapters, The Fifth Child propels the reader through page after page, making it impossible to put down until ...moreLessing, Doris. The Fifth Child
New York: Vintage International, 1989

Doris Lessing wastes no time drawing readers into her Pulitzer Prize in Literature winning novel, The Fifth Child. Lessing shows what it’s like when maternal instinct takes over and luck runs out in her seductively tragic horror story about losing it all. With stylistic prose and a complete lack of chapters, The Fifth Child propels the reader through page after page, making it impossible to put down until finished.

Beginning in England’s late 1960’s and ending in the 80’s, The Fifth Child tells the story of Harriet and David Lovatt, a young couple in a hurry to raise a family and start their fairytale lives. Making their home in a grand Victorian home, the Lovatts start reproducing while at the same time bringing their families closer together; something both had always wanted. So begins the cyclical lives that the Lovatts find themselves in; family from all over would come to stay at the Lovatt’s for Easter, Christmas, and Summer, sometimes staying for weeks at a time. With four perfectly healthy babies, it was a surprise that baby Ben came flailing out looking like a “troll, or a goblin or something.” The years after Ben’s arrival were the downfall of the Lovatts. Baby number five was exceptionally violent and clearly not a human; his inability to learn or behave like a normal human being strained the unity the Lovatts had worked so hard on. Family came less and less, and the children escaped to anywhere but home, with three of them eventually moving out. Alone with Ben and rarely David, Harriet realizes that all she has to do is wait; she had endured the past twenty years, and she would endure Ben until the day he left, just like the rest of her children.

Such a tragic story needs tragic diction, and with her decision to write in prose form, Lessing captures the essence that is rock bottom and complete misery. Her sentences, constantly broken up by commas, emphasize the broken life that Harriet Lovatt has found herself living. Even when it’s used in the beginning of the story, before everything went bad, the choppy syntax gave a sense of foreshadowing. The fact that chapters have been omitted completely speeds up the story; without breaks in the story, one is less inclined disrupt their reading. Just like how the Lovatts never take a break from family, the book never takes a break for chapters; it’s ironic that the Lovatts never experienced different chapters in their lives, they were just go, go, go from the start. Although I’ve established a new favorite book, one aspect of The Fifth Child absolutely slays me; the fact that the story is so fast paced makes it extremely difficult to keep up with all of the characters and I had to draw a diagram in order to make sense of it all. There are too many characters for such a short piece of work, and it makes it all the more confusing for the reader. I suppose, however, that this could all be part of Doris Lessing’s master plan to make the form of her plot match the form of the physical story.

I wish I could convey how horribly gut wrenching this story is, but I’m no Doris Lessing.
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Feb 02, 2011

Christie rated it

· review of another edition

The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing has been on my to-read list for quite some time, but I had a difficult time finding it. I finally happened upon it at a second-hand book store. It’s a short book, only 159 pages, but it took forever to read because Lessing writes dense, intense prose. Every single word counts.

About The Fifth Child, Newsday said: “I’d be willing to wager that if she never wrote another word, it would be The Fifth Child - and not, say, her famous The Golden Notebook- th...more

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Jan 14, 2011

Chana rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: british, philosophy, political, received-through-bookcrossing, fiction-family-drama, released-through-bookcrossing

I wasn't as horrified as most people seemed to be. First off, the poor woman was having a nervous breakdown, that may be an outdated term now but you know what I mean, she was emotionally breaking down, falling to pieces at the time she found herself pregnant with the 5th child. And she had negative feelings about the child. Honestly, I think an abortion at this point would have been a reasonable choice, but she and her husband weren't in that kind of mindset and the doctor was an idiot, comp...moreI wasn't as horrified as most people seemed to be. First off, the poor woman was having a nervous breakdown, that may be an outdated term now but you know what I mean, she was emotionally breaking down, falling to pieces at the time she found herself pregnant with the 5th child. And she had negative feelings about the child. Honestly, I think an abortion at this point would have been a reasonable choice, but she and her husband weren't in that kind of mindset and the doctor was an idiot, completely non-supportive and blind to this woman's situation and then just as blind to the child. Too bad, an abortion, and I'm not usually of this mindset either, but in this case, it could have saved a family. Now usually you don't know if you are going to give birth to a child with a serious disability. You aren't fighting with the baby in your womb like this woman was. Famous woman experiencing fighting in her womb was Rivka (Rebecca) but her children were twins who were fighting with each other, and yes one had some bad qualities. OK, so the book character doesn't abort and she has the pregnancy from the other side. Child is born. He is abnormal, everyone can see it, except the doctor of course. This book had me wondering about social services and medical services in England. But it was the 1970's and things have improved a lot since then I think. Now I have a child with a disability, not of this child's nature, more like the Downs child in this book, but still, things can get rough at times. Now listen, doctors are not all of the same opinion but there are so many doctors, and if one doesn't listen then there are others. We didn't get my son's diagnoses with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th doctor, but we did get it by the 5th doctor, and that was all by 3 1/2 months. I thought the woman in this book was foolish not to take that baby to London right after his birth and say, OK, what is wrong here, and keep asking until someone did some research and came up with a diagnoses. Also, that place the family puts him, THE INSTITUTION, is that for real? Did places like that really exist in the 1970's in England? Do they still exist? My child has been an in patient for a couple of months in a hospital and it was nothing of the sort although it did give everyone some breathing space and allow for some family healing time. I completely agreed with the woman's decision to take her child from that place; if there had been a safe, humane place to put him that would have been a different story. He was dangerous and continued to be throughout the book. It would have been to everyone's betterment if the child had not been at home, if he had in fact been supervised in a care facility. But the key word is CARE. All in all, a very sad story. Sometimes very hard to manage special needs kids or children who are very difficult in some way like a sociopath, or schizophrenic can kind of blow a family apart. And sometimes good options are not available. Oh also, the idea seems to be in this book, that if she hadn't had so many kids then she wouldn't have broken down, and she wouldn't have given birth to this child. The book is very judgmental on having a lot of kids. I have 8 kids myself, my son in law is the oldest of 10, my sister in law has 8 kids. I come from a community of people who tend to have a lot of kids. I have never seen anyone fall apart from having a lot of kids, not that I know everything, I am just speaking from my own experiences. Get stressed, of course, but unless there are underlying factors, the women I've seen are doing well. Now if you have a special needs kid, or a sick kid, physically or mentally, well that can make things a lot more stressful. But that can be your 1st child or any of your children!! There seems to be the "pushing your luck" idea here, but I think we all push our luck as soon as we are born. Anything can happen to anyone really. (less)

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Nov 13, 2010

Mrsgaskell rated it

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Shelves: 9-star, bookcrossing, british

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Harriet and David Lovatt seem somewhat out of synch with other young adults of the sexually liberated sixties. They marry quickly and set out to achieve their idealised vision of a large happy family. And at first it appears that they have succeeded in making a life that matches their dreams. They find a large rambling house with an overgrown garden within commuting distance of London, and four children arrive in quick succession. The Lovatts soon become the regular hosts for extended gatherings...moreHarriet and David Lovatt seem somewhat out of synch with other young adults of the sexually liberated sixties. They marry quickly and set out to achieve their idealised vision of a large happy family. And at first it appears that they have succeeded in making a life that matches their dreams. They find a large rambling house with an overgrown garden within commuting distance of London, and four children arrive in quick succession. The Lovatts soon become the regular hosts for extended gatherings of family and friends at Christmas, Easter, and summer vacations. Everyone looks forward to gathering around their large family table. But this dream relies heavily on the support of others. David’s wealthy father provides regular financial support, and with each additional child they rely even more heavily on Harriet’s mother for household support. When Harriet’s sister gives birth to a child with Down’s syndrome, the first indications appear that this family has trouble accepting and adapting to life’s reality. Soon, Harriet is pregnant for the fifth time, and probably due to exhaustion, and a very active fetus, the pregnancy does not go well. Harriet begins to take sedatives regularly in order to quieten her unborn baby. When Ben is born, he is different than the other children, but doctors appear to consider him within the normal range. Has this child been affected by the sedatives his mother took during pregnancy, or has his development been affected by the lack of maternal love almost from conception? Is Ben just different or is he monstrous? His addition to the family affects everyone, and especially the fourth child, Paul. There are troubling developments, as the still-infant Ben injures his brother, and kills a visiting pet. Is it malicious, or does the child just not know his own strength? Is the family’s view of events coloured by the fact that they do not love him, and has the family not bonded with him because of Harriet’s reaction to the child? Eventually, one set of grandparents finds an institution that will accept Ben, and he is sent there without his parents making any effort to check out this institution beforehand. They do not visit nor plan to. It is only after several months, prompted by guilt, that Harriet goes to see Ben. She does take Ben home immediately when she sees the conditions, but this seriously affects Harriet and David’s relationship. Ultimately, the other children ask to leave home, to attend boarding school or to live with grandparents. The family disintegrates because the family was not able to accept one of theirs who is different. Ben is not an appealing child, even to the reader, but perhaps our view of him is also coloured by the reactions of his family. Is the fault solely with the mother as the doctor’s seem to think? I don’t think so because none of the family has taken to him? Can the Lovatts just not accept that life does not always match up exactly to the dream and that families need to adapt and rally round all their members, even those that don’t fit in well? I enjoyed this book very much, even though it leaves you with a lot of questions. I was perhaps a little let down by the ending. It’s a disturbing and thought-provoking read, hard to put down. I alternately was repelled and felt sympathy for Ben, less sympathetic for his parents. (less)

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Jul 12, 2010

Diana rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: oh-the-horror-and-sci-fi

1960's England, Harriet and David are building their middle class suburban empire with 4 kids and counting . . . Though they initially appear to be the perfect family, scratching the surface reveals two selfish individuals that attempt to build some idealogical domestic life at the expense of family and friends. They are not as self sufficient as they deem they are. Then comes the fifth child, who before birth exhibits strange behavior, and upon entrance to the world, is described as grusome, ...more1960's England, Harriet and David are building their middle class suburban empire with 4 kids and counting . . . Though they initially appear to be the perfect family, scratching the surface reveals two selfish individuals that attempt to build some idealogical domestic life at the expense of family and friends. They are not as self sufficient as they deem they are. Then comes the fifth child, who before birth exhibits strange behavior, and upon entrance to the world, is described as grusome, uncharacteristically strong for an infant, constantly hungry, violent and unloveable. That's just the beginning. . .

This book will leave a chill in any room that its pages are opened. Wanting to expel it out of my home as soon as possible brought on new thoughts and spurred a twisted desire to keep it at hand for further inquiry. I found my self starting to wonder if Ben was truly as awful as they describe or if he represented something else all together between his parents or even society. Searching for more info about Doris Lessing, I stumbled on a transcript from an interview she gave about the book; in it she simply stated that she wrote a horror story, nothing more.
It is scary.
Nature vs. nurture, genetics, who knows, in either case; I am pondering if there is some sort of genetic house cleaning protocol to put my womb through to insure that no "Ben" will be conceived at this address.

Initially, I kept thinking about the book, Perfume, Grenouille's origin's seemed parrallel. Other things that ran through my mind were, the origins of western political thought . . . seriously, it was an excellent class. Thomas Hobbe's and John Locke's divergent philosophical perspectives on the social contract regarding human nature and governing. Are humans born inherently base or inherently good?

I didn't like this book, but that doesn't mean it wasn't well done or effective. Four stars because I will think about it for a long time; probably coinciding with a need to purge or find better birth control. (less)

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Jun 20, 2010

Gail rated it

· review of another edition

The was a compelling book to read, the kind that's hard to put down, but ironically something of a put-off at the same time.

Harriet and David were a young 20-something couple who were determined and indeed PLANNING to have the perfect home life, with a perfect group of at least six or eight children, a perfect house, along with perfect relatives who all wanted to come to share in the perfection. Everything was going well and according to plan until Harriet becomes pregnant with her ...more

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Apr 08, 2010

Stephen rated it

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This book will speak to all who have looked at certain misfits or delinquents and wondered if there might really be genetic throwbacks among us, modern-day Neanderthals so to speak. A very conventional English couple of the 1960's marries, moves into a large suburban house and proceeds to fulfill their happy ambition of producing one child after another. All goes swimmingly, or almost so, until the birth of the fifth child, who is quite literally a little monster. Their happiness shattered, t...more

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Jul 23, 2009

Robert Cooper rated it

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This is a nature-vs.-nurture novel. A young English couple defies the anti-bourgeois Sixties by marrying and attempting to achieve their middle-class ideal of unfashionably many children and a spacious home to serve as a holiday and vacation hub for their extended family. All goes well. Much to the dismay of everyone but themselves, they reel off four kids in a row; but somehow they make it work (albeit with the help of parents), and their home does indeed become the happy center of their la...more

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Apr 25, 2009

Jennifer rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: motherhood, horror

Overview
The Fifth Child is the story of David and Harriet Lovatt -- a young couple who meet, realize they have common values and goals, marry and decide to start a family -- a family with lots of children. They purchase a giant house they can barely afford and begin having children -- one right after another. Their life is full and busy and full of happiness -- their extended family regularly stays for long visits at Christmas and Easter. David and Harriet are living their dream, until Har...moreOverview
The Fifth Child is the story of David and Harriet Lovatt -- a young couple who meet, realize they have common values and goals, marry and decide to start a family -- a family with lots of children. They purchase a giant house they can barely afford and begin having children -- one right after another. Their life is full and busy and full of happiness -- their extended family regularly stays for long visits at Christmas and Easter. David and Harriet are living their dream, until Harriet gets pregnant for the fifth time. This pregnancy is different in a way that Harriet cannot describe to anyone -- it begins to change her and the way she feels about the unborn child. Then the fifth child arrives, and Harriet's worst fears come true when the baby arrives and changes the family dynamic for the worse -- ripping the family to pieces and causing Harriet to question whether a child can truly be unlovable and unwanted.

My Thoughts
I read this book because of an article in Cookie magazine that recommended unusual books about motherhood. It sounded intriguing and a little freaky, so I had to see what it was all about. When I got the book from Paperback Swap, there were two blurbs on the back. The New York Review of Books called it "Terse and chilling...a witch's brew of conflicting fears." The New York Times Book Review called it "A horror story of maternity and the nightmare of social collapse ... a moral fable of the genre that includes Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and George Orwell's 1984."

I wouldn't call this inaccurate as the book did indeed read more like a fable than a novel. There is not a lot of character development, and the writing is very terse and cold. And although the book is set in the 1960s, I could not shake the feeling that the story was taking place in the more distant past. It didn't have a modern feel about it. I was also unable to "buy" into the character of Ben -- the fifth child. I just couldn't imagine that this type of child would exist; I guess that explains the comparison to Frankenstein. I'm willing to accept the idea of the girl in the Bad Seed more than Ben because the character of Ben seemed so exaggerated. Because of all this I didn't love this book (but I suspect it isn't a book that anyone would fall in love with). If it wasn't a short read, I don't know if I would have stuck with it.

All that being said, you do kind of get sucked into the story and want to find out what happens to the family and Ben. At the midpoint, Ben gets sent away to an institution, and the description of what happens there just made me ill. I was also very uncomfortable with the Harriet character, but I suspect that is Lessing's point. She wants to make you uncomfortable. She wants to disturb you. The main questions of the book seem to be: Can a mother love any child -- no matter how awful? Can a mother's attention to one child ruin the lives of the others? Should a mother choose one child at the expense of the others? These are uncomfortable questions, and Lessing doesn't give the reader an easy answer. I really don't know what Harriet should have done or what I felt about her decisions. It was a strange and uncomfortable read.

The Bottom Line
If what I wrote about this book intrigued you, then you might want to check it out. It is not a long read, and the writing isn't bad. However, I did not fall in love with this book and I wouldn't really recommend it -- I'm not really sure who might be interested in reading this type of book. I'm listing it on Paperback Swap so if you want to snag a copy, head on over. (I couldn't, in good conscious, do a book giveaway of a book that I felt so ambivalent about.)
(less)

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About Doris Lessing

Both of her parents were British: her father, who had been crippled in World War I, was a clerk in the Imperial Bank of Persia; her mother had been a nurse. In 1925, lured by the promise of getting rich through maize farming, the family moved to the British colony in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Like other women writers from southern African who did not graduate from high school (such as Oliv...moreBoth of her parents were British: her father, who had been crippled in World War I, was a clerk in the Imperial Bank of Persia; her mother had been a nurse. In 1925, lured by the promise of getting rich through maize farming, the family moved to the British colony in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Like other women writers from southern African who did not graduate from high school (such as Olive Schreiner and Nadine Gordimer), Lessing made herself into a self-educated intellectual.

In 1937 she moved to Salisbury, where she worked as a telephone operator for a year. At nineteen, she married Frank Wisdom, and had two children. A few years later, feeling trapped in a persona that she feared would destroy her, she left her family, remaining in Salisbury. Soon she was drawn to the like-minded members of the Left Book Club, a group of Communists "who read everything, and who did not think it remarkable to read." Gottfried Lessing was a central member of the group; shortly after she joined, they married and had a son.

During the postwar years, Lessing became increasingly disillusioned with the Communist movement, which she left altogether in 1954. By 1949, Lessing had moved to London with her young son. That year, she also published her first novel, The Grass Is Singing, and began her career as a professional writer.

In June 1995 she received an Honorary Degree from Harvard University. Also in 1995, she visited South Africa to see her daughter and grandchildren, and to promote her autobiography. It was her first visit since being forcibly removed in 1956 for her political views. Ironically, she is welcomed now as a writer acclaimed for the very topics for which she was banished 40 years ago.

In 2001 she was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize in Literature, one of Spain's most important distinctions, for her brilliant literary works in defense of freedom and Third World causes. She also received the David Cohen British Literature Prize.

She was on the shortlist for the first Man Booker International Prize in 2005. In 2007 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

(Extracted from the pamphlet: A Reader's Guide to The Golden Notebook & Under My Skin, HarperPerennial, 1995. Full text available on www.dorislessing.org).(less)

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“While she strode rapidly through the ward to the door at the other end, she was able to see that every bed or cot held an infant or a small child in whom the human template had been wrenched out of pattern, sometimes horribly, sometimes slightly. A baby like a comma, great lolling head on a stalk of a body... then something like a stick insect, enormous bulging eyes among stiff fragilities that were limbs... a small girl all blurred, her flesh guttering and melting - a doll with chalky swollen limbs, its eyes wide and blank, like blue ponds, and its mouth open, showing a swollen little tongue. A lanky boy was skewed, one half of his body sliding from the other. A child seemed at first glance normal, but then Harriet saw there was no back to its head; it was all face, which seemed to scream at her.” — 1 person liked it

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