Doris Lessing on right, with Beryl Bainbridge, 2008This is a collection of 4 short stories published in 2003 when Doris Lessing was I think 84. It is an excellent book, with very different stories, circumstances, people. It's as if she wants to convey the whole of her perception of humanity and her values, through these stories, which are very readable, clear prose. I think she wants to pass on what she knows and feels - about education, the value of culture, the different experiences of love, of the history she has lived through. I've always loved her books for this huge view she has, ranging from politics, prophecy, different countries, states of mind (mental illness included), much about relationships between men and women and love, spirituality in its broadest forms, the environment.. and all very clear-sighted. My favourite is the 'Children of Violence' series ending in 'The Four-Gated City'. I haven't read it for decades but I still remember it.
