The Real Thing: Stories And Sketches

Published in the UK as London Observed: Stories and Sketches. The Real Thing is the first new work of fiction from Doris Lessing since her highly acclaimed novel, The Fifth Child. The stories and sketches in this collection penetrate to the heart of human experience with the passion and intelligence readers have come to expect of Doris Lessing. Most of the pieces are set in contemporary London, a city the author loves for its variety, its populations from everywhere in the world, its transitoriness, the way it connects the life of animals and birds in the parks to streets so old they have forgotten they ever had anything to do with nature. In “Among the Roses”, a near chance meeting in Regent’s Park allows a difficult reconciliation of mother and daughter, while in “Sparrows,” an older couple argues over their daughter’s independence at a cafe table in Hampstead Heath, inspired by a fledgling making its first forays for crumbs. Another sketch takes us into a tower block of flats where a social worker observes a miracle when he confronts a loving Indian mother determined to protect her youngest daughter. Lessing’s fiction often explores the darker corners of relationships between women and men, illuminating the courage and resilience of women in particular. In “The Pit,” an independent-minded older woman is surprised by a visit from her former husband that sets off a flow of memory and fantasy, disturbs her hard-won equilibrium, and finally causes her to flee to Scandinavia on holiday. “Debbie and Julie” is a brilliant and compassionate depiction of a pregnant girl alone. And “The Real Thing,” the rich and emotionally complex title story of the collection, uncovers a more parlous reality behind the facade of the most conventional relationships between the sexes.