But immediately one has said it, he sees how much has eluded such a coarse-meshed net. Superficially, this is the story of Anna Wulf, a divorced English novelist, disillusioned with the Communist Party, and navigating the perilous “hazards and chances of being a ‘free woman.’” One might say, in a footless stab at simplification, that the book deals with the feminine predicament in a time when “women’s emotions are still fitted for a kind of society which no longer exists,” with particular emphasis on Anna’s duels with lover after crucifying lover. Lessing’s special genius lies in the particular observation, and a firkinful of scorching aphorisms could be culled from nearly every page. That aside, one can only salute and marvel at the staggering fecundity of idea and insight that turns almost every remaining paragraph into a hive of constellated meaning. Though her dissection of British Communism, which is part of each of her characters’ past or present, is clearheaded and most thorough, certain passages of lumpen-politics lie soggy and undigested.
In Doris Lessing’s new novel - her 12th book, fifth to be published here, and a coruscating literary event - she bites off only one thing that she doesn’t properly chew. THE GOLDEN NOTEBOOK by Doris Lessing | Review first published July 1, 1962
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