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A review by magsphil
The Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing
2.0
This book was well written but I’m confused about the point of it.
First of all- not a single chapter break in the entire book, just a long stream of consciousness from the main character, Alice. I definitely missed physical breaks separating parts of the book, but not having the breaks reinforced the non-stop nature of her life, fixing one thing and then moving on to the next.
One of the major takeaways was how the revolutionaries ignore their own needs and their communities for the sake of their greater ideological goals. I was hoping the story would show how Alice’s efforts to care for her comrades would pay off somehow, but that never happens. And what motivates her to put in this effort? She seems to be a judgmental person who doesn’t care for most people, but isn’t 100% behind the ideological goals of the group either.
The revolutionaries don’t succeed in their mission either, and it fails (probably because they don’t consider one another, only the end goal). None of the characters are employed, and a lot of them sorta sit around all day. I feel like this isn’t a great depiction of revolutionary groups, though I’m sure there is truth to this from lessing’s own experiences.
First of all- not a single chapter break in the entire book, just a long stream of consciousness from the main character, Alice. I definitely missed physical breaks separating parts of the book, but not having the breaks reinforced the non-stop nature of her life, fixing one thing and then moving on to the next.
One of the major takeaways was how the revolutionaries ignore their own needs and their communities for the sake of their greater ideological goals. I was hoping the story would show how Alice’s efforts to care for her comrades would pay off somehow, but that never happens. And what motivates her to put in this effort? She seems to be a judgmental person who doesn’t care for most people, but isn’t 100% behind the ideological goals of the group either.
The revolutionaries don’t succeed in their mission either, and it fails (probably because they don’t consider one another, only the end goal). None of the characters are employed, and a lot of them sorta sit around all day. I feel like this isn’t a great depiction of revolutionary groups, though I’m sure there is truth to this from lessing’s own experiences.