The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing

The Fifth Child is a British novel first published in 1988. So as both a foreign and an older book I was quite surprised at how much I like it. Doris Lessing is extremely talented, creative and sick in the head. The book was terribly disturbing. It was the direct cause of several nightmares.

Harriet and Jack meet at the very beginning of the novel, which sets the quick tone for the rest of the book. Doris Lessing moves quickly and skimps on the detail. At first I found this hard to deal with but it allowed me to use my own imagination for much of story. Harriet and Jack share similar interests, ideas on life and the desire to have a large family. A game of scrabble with a bowl of clam chowder would be their ideal evening spent. They marry quickly and buy an over-sized house for just the two of them. They do so because they plan to fill it with 9 kids! Immediately! Everyone around them is outraged. They insist that 9 children are too many and it’s not fair to the kids or to the family as a whole. However, Harriet and Jack are determined. They begin their family anyhow. Four kids later they are as happy and anyone could have imaged. They regularly fill the house on holidays with all their family and friends. It is the birth of their fifth child, as the title preludes to, which the story turns. The love of a mother can go a long way. It can go to the ends of the earth. But what if your child scares the bujeezus out of you, your husband and all your other kids.

It is never clear what the exact problem is with the fifth child. A great imagination would come in handy here. The ending was mildly believable, but lacked closure. As a mother I am extremely blest. The most outrageous problem we have is a mild case of ADD. Other than that my kids are beautiful, loveable, and healthy. Doris Lessing gave me a reason to thank my lucky stars!