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The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing - 3* - My Review

Published in 1962, this book is a character study of Anna Wulf, a divorced writer with a young daughter living in London in the 1950s. She keeps five notebooks. The black notebook documents her time in Southern Rhodesia before and during WWII, which inspired her successful first novel. The red notebook recounts her membership in the Communist Party, and her growing disillusion with it. The yellow notebook is an attempt to write a second novel based on a failed relationship. The blue is her personal diary. The titular golden notebook is Anna’s attempt to bring the other four together into one cohesive whole.

Excerpts from the notebooks are interspersed with segments called Free Women, which relate the lives of Anna, her friend Molly, their families, and relationship partners. It is a mix of autobiography, news clippings of the time period, and novels within a novel. It is written in a looping style, alternating segments from the different colored notebooks. Anna is attempting to compartmentalize her life. She is on the edge of mental instability and suffers from writer’s block.

I liked parts of this book and found other parts annoying. Anna’s mental struggles are moving. I especially appreciated her discussions with her therapist. The writing is elegant. There are several keen observations about human nature. Certain sections of the notebooks are engaging and memorable. I can understand why this is considered a literary classic, but…

I did not care for the repetition, which is part and parcel of the looping structure. I got tired of spending so much time in the head of a person that keeps engaging in self-destructive behavior. It appears to celebrate female independence, but the protagonist keeps getting involved in a series of unhealthy relationships. It would have helped if there had been something to lighten the mood. Parts of it have not aged well (e.g., the conversation about “real men.”) It eventually becomes unpleasant, and I was ready for it to end well before it did.

I considered this book a few times, but something always held me back. This is a really interesting review.

Have you read Sorrow and Bliss yet?

NancyJ wrote: "I considered this book a few times, but something always held me back. This is a really interesting review.

Have you read Sorrow and Bliss yet?"
No, but I am on a waiting list for it at the library. I'll be reading it in the next couple of months.

Joy D wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I considered this book a few times, but something always held me back. This is a really interesting review.

Have you read Sorrow and Bliss yet?"
No, but I am on a waiting list for ..."

Let me know when you're about to get it. Maybe we can start a buddy read. I really wanted to discuss this when I read it, and it's the kind of book I could reread.

NancyJ wrote: "Let me know when you're about to get it. Maybe we can start a buddy read. I really wanted to discuss this when I read it, and it's the kind of book I could reread.."
Sounds good! I took a look at the waiting time, and it appears to be about 4 weeks. We can setup a thread here in PBT and invite others to join us.

Nancy, I got the book earlier than expected off the library waiting list, so I will need to read Sorrow and Bliss within the next 21 days. I setup a thread under Footnotes for the buddy read. Here's the link to the thread. I've invited anyone interested to join us:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...