Alfred and Emily

Alfred and Emily, published in 2008, is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning, Iranian-born British author Doris Lessing (1919- ).

From Bookmarks Magazine: In Alfred & Emily, groundbreaking author Doris Lessing returns to the subject matter explored in her 1994 autobiography, Under My Skin. Fans will recognize common themes and details, but Lessing’s outlook and tone have softened. Critics were touched by her genuine attempt to understand her overbearing, self-absorbed mother, though her writing is still tinged with resentment. Lessing’s fictional novella is no fairy tale, but most critics found it unconvincing. Why invent a fictional life if it isn’t compelling? They much preferred the memoir: its somber tone and gritty details bring the unhappy couple wrenchingly and heartrendingly to life, its fractured, unconventional structure reminiscent of that of The Golden Notebook. While Lessing has penned a powerful and unsparing portrait of a marriage framed by the physical and psychological damages of war, a few critics suggest that general readers might do best to start with Under My Skin, The Golden Notebook, or another of Lessing’s novels.
Copyright 2008 Bookmarks Publishing LLC

Review

“A clever, moving coupling of fiction and nonfiction. ALFRED & EMILY is...a testament to [Lessing’s] ongoing literary vitality.” (Washington Post Book World )

“A stirring exploration . . . gently yet deeply moving” (Minneapolis Star Tribune )

“A truly intriguing piece of work...the book is also an interesting glimpse of an empire and an era.” (Christian Science Monitor )

“Alfred and Emily reveals why Lessing deserved literature’s highest honor. There is a remarkable level of courage, honesty, and wisdom in Alfred and Emily. . . . Lessing, nearing 90, continues to surprise.” (USA Today )

“An intriguing work . . . [that] shimmers with precisely remembered details.” (Michiko Kakutani, New York Times )

“An odd and powerful excursion into lost time. . . . a powerful reminder not only of Lessing’s past but also of how each of us can return to our own and come back with something precious.” (San Francisco Chronicle Book Review )

“Laced with the subtlest of observations and the wryest of wit...This unusual marriage of fiction and memoir (and family photographs) results in a book at once spellbinding, rueful, and tragic.” (Booklist (starred review) )

“Lessing’s taste for discomfiting truths is as evident as ever…as bracing and engaging as anything she has written.” (Kirkus Reviews )

“She has never displayed her potent imagination to better effect, or her gift for probing realism . . . a profoundly moving memoir and portrait of a marriage.” (Wall Street Journal )