Doris Lessing passes aged 94

[Devi]

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/17/doris-lessing-dies-94

 

"She is one of those rare writers whose work crosses frontiers, and her impressively large output constitutes a chronicle of our time. She has enlarged the territory both of the novel and of our consciousness."

 

The American author Joyce Carol Oates said: "It might be said of Doris Lessing, as Walt Whitman boasted of himself: I am vast, I contain multitudes. For many, Lessing was a revolutionary feminist voice in 20th-century literature – though she resisted such categorisation, quite vehemently. For many others, Lessing was a 'space fiction' prophet, using the devices and idioms of the fantastic to address human issues of evolution and the environment.

 

"And for other readers, Lessing was a writer willing to explore 'interior worlds', the mysterious life of the spiritual self. Though it is perhaps a predictable choice, my favourite of her many novels is The Golden Notebook. And my favourite of her many wonderful stories is her most famous – To Room Nineteen."

 

Sad to hear her pass but 98 is a pretty good age to live to. I've been keen to read more of her books since I first read one of hers thanks to the RC here. Edited November 18, 2013 by Devi

[Athena]

I've never read a book by her, but may she rest in peace .

[Ben]

Aw this is sad. I read Martha Quest last year for university, and although I didn't find it particularly fantastic or anything, we spent a lot of time studying Lessing and her background and contexts. She was some woman and deserves every last scrap of recognition for what she achieved in literature.

 

R.I.P.