Doris Lessing's Story-

[mary_j_59]

The great novelist Doris Lessing wrote a beautiful story for the Waterstones charity book (the one for which Rowling wrote the infamous prequel.) The story is available on the website, but, since it is difficult to read her handwriting, I am typing it out for those who are interested.


A Book of His Own...
This story is told among people who want to get books to Africa, which so badly needs them.

In a poor part of Zimbabwe was a poor school with little in the way of equipment. There was a library with a few books that were always being stolen. After every class pupils had to file past the teachers, who checked to see if they had pilfered a book. In spite of this and other precautions, a large book was found, wrapped in brown paper, under the bed of a little boy, seven years old. He was made to stand before amazed teachers. The book was a tome on advanced physics."Why did you take that book? You can't even read it, let alone understand it," they demanded of the criminal.

"I wanted a book of my own, that's all. I wanted my own book."

Doris Lessing

Comments

[bohemianspirit.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting that. I shall try to resist making comparisons with another of the Waterstones contributions... really, I shall... and simply say how simple and powerful this is. And of course apropos for an auction sponsored by a bookstore!

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

All I can say to this comment is "WORD". That's exactly how I felt, and that's why I transcribed the story. Her handwriting is very hard to read.

[darkthirty.livejournal.com]

Have you read Briefing for a Descent into Hell? I absolutely love that book, and I have since first reading it in high school. It's about madness of some sort, I guess, and is also a kind of science fiction too.

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

No - I did read Lessing in high school, but the book I picked up in the school library was "The Grass is Singing" - which is amazing. As an adult, I read "The Fifth Child". She is very astute psychologically and also very intense - I was impressed, but also disturbed. The single author I knew she most reminded me of was Golding, and I was a huge Golding fan in my mid-teens and still like him a lot. I may give "Briefing" a try -

[nemesister.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I had no chance with the handwriting. Love it!

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. It is lovely, isn't it?