Doris Lessing's contemporary gothic horror story-centered on the birth of a baby who seems less than human-probes society's unwillingness to recognize its own brutality.Harriet and David Lovatt, parents of four children, have created an idyll of domestic bliss in defiance of the social trends of late 1960s England. While around them crime and unrest surge, the Lovatts are certain that their old-fashioned contentment can protect them from the world outside-until the birth of their fifth baby. Gruesomely goblin-like in appearance, insatiably hungry, abnormally strong and violent, Ben has nothing innocent or infant-like about him. As he grows older and more terrifying, Harriet finds she cannot love him, David cannot bring himself to touch him, and their four older children are afraid of him. Understanding that he will never be accepted anywhere, Harriet and David are torn between their instincts as parents and their shocked reaction to this fierce and unlovable child whose existence shatters their belief in a benign world.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Random House USA Inc
ISBN-13
9780679721826
eBay Product ID (ePID)
94445786
Product Key Features
Book Title
The Fifth Child
Author
Doris Lessing
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Topic
Books
Publication Year
1989
Number of Pages
144 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
203mm
Item Width
131mm
Item Weight
147g
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Doris Lessing
Series Title
Vintage International
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States
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