The Sun Between Their Feet

Doris Lessing's Collected African Stories #2

by Doris Lessing

This much-acclaimed collection of stories vividly evokes both the grandeur of Africa, the glare of its sun and the wide open space, as well as the great, irresolvable tensions between whites and blacks. Tales of poor white farmers and their lonely wives, of storm air thick with locusts, of ants and pomegranate trees, black servants and the year of hunger in a native village - all combine to present a powerful image of a continent which seems incorruptible in spite of the people who plough, mine and plunder it to make their living. In Doris Lessing's own words, 'Africa gives you the knowledge that man is a small creature, among other creatures, in a large landscape.'

Genres: Short Stories, Africa, Fiction, Literature

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Doris Lessing was born into a colonial family. 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 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 later 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).

Reviews

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although familiar with Doris Lessing’s novels, I have never read any of her short stories before. The ones in this volume, which is volume 2 of her collected African stories, I found very readable and illuminating about a world she knew intimately. Lessing lived in Africa for 25 years and understands the complexities of African life and society. In these stories she explores racial, cultural, political and social issues from both white and black perspectives and brings to bear her considerable literary talent to portray that world.
To a certain extent I admired these stories rather than enjoyed them. Lessing’s skill as a writer is always in evidence and the stories are never less than thought-provoking and instructive. But I’m not a great reader of short stories anyway and find when I do read them that they need to be instantly gripping and involving to hold my attention – and on the whole these stories didn’t always work for me. However, Lessing’s work is so wide-ranging and diverse, and her African background is such an essential part of her that you need to read at least some of her African stories to get a full picture of her as a writer, so these two volumes are essential reading.

[Philip Tidman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all short story collections there are one or two that do not bear favourable comparison or provide any real interest, however most of these stories are very good indeed, providing a rare glimpse of life as a child growing up in Africa.
'Hunger', the novella at the end of the book is the only story that is not at least semi autobiographical, being the story of a village boy who ventures to the city and is seduced into a life of crime, but is exceptionally well written.

[Malvika · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I confess I'm pretty biased when it comes to Doris Lessing. Tbh, I do find her a little difficult to follow for some reason, but I appreciate the themes she chooses to deal with in her stories as well as her language which binds me to the book.
Her stories do not romanticise or present an exotic picture of the life in Africa. She is brutally honest about everything, including the lives of the white settlers. I especially love the autobiographical aspect of the stories because it makes them more relatable perhaps?
What I found was that each story had some symbolism or the other. The trick is to find them if you wanna enjoy the stories. For a casual reader like me who had no intention of thinking initially, this was a point I overlooked.and I did face my fair share of trouble, trying to understand what the stories were all about.

The last story, 'Hunger' imo was particularly good. Although I do not see Lessing romanticising any aspect of the African settler, I still feel that the narrative is a little forced, mainly because it is the story of an African man from the pen of a White author. Maybe I am overthinking, however I did feel a little uncomfortable. But as I said, I might as well be overthinking.

I loved the title story. Loved especially the message behind it and what I believe is the ecclesiastical touch to it. I also liked 'The Black Madonna' to the point that I ended up bawling in my dorm which was uhhh weird. These two stories are definitely gonna stay with me, along with 'Hunger'. The Story on two dogs also made me cry... Lol.

Anyway, I'd definitely suggest the book but mind you. This is not something for a quiet Sunday afternoon. It's a book you'd prefer reading during the winters, when wrapped in your bundle of wool, craving the sun and its warmth, you'd welcome anything that could transport you to a warm sunny day in Rhodesia.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not normally a bug lover of literary short stories, but this collection was simply outstanding. Lessing writes about a world that I've no experience of, and that probably no longer even exists with such vividness that it's hard to tell if any of these aren't things that actually happened. Most of these stories being set in Rhodesia, which no longer exists does help this

The last story, hunger, is particularly moving. It follows a native boy who wants more, as he travels from his traditional village to the city, and the problems he faces there. Considering this was published back in 64, 15 years before Zimbabwe would be formed this must have been a shocking, rallying cry of a novella at the time

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many hard-hitting stories, lots of complicated human emotion.
Writing was excellent and was bespoke to the protagonists of each story, some of them very unique (who would have thought I'd sit here empathizing with dung beetles.)
The last story was very complex but is more of a novella-length, not a short story.

[Silvija Almanaitytė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful short essays about life in South Africa after the war in 60's: demographic unjustis, historical details and pure children innocence.I think some stories are based on the experience of the author.

[Kavyasrestha Khatai · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was indeed an amazing idea to start 2017th Challenge with a Nobel prize winner's book.
"Africa gives you the knowledge that man is a small creature, among other creatures, in a large landscape."The book consists of several short stories of African bases. These stories stimulates memories from past and focuses on the beauty of Africa, the glare of it's sun and the wide open spaces. It contains the tales of poor farmers and their lonely wives, the storm air, the ant and the pomegranate and years of Hunger... But in total it gives a powerful picture of the continent, a place with p loughs, plunger and Dreams....

[Samiha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe my expectations were too high *sigh*