THE SIRIAN EXPERIMENTS (Canopus in Argos--Archives) ~ The Report by Ambien II, of the Five [Hardcover]

Doris Lessing (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 1980

The third in Doris Lessing's visionary novel cycle "Canopus in Argos: Archives". It is a mix of fable, futuristic fantasy and pseudo-documentary accounts of 20th-century history.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

'The story Ambien tells is a panorama of the posibilities of civilisation and barbarism, ranging from a matriarchal version of Atlantis to the Aztec cult of human sacrifice. Doris Lessing's interests are strictly terrestrial an the figures from outer space are there to serve as tellers of an earthly tale providing a new, sometimes startling, perspective on earthly affairs and a largeless of vision beyond the horizon of the conventional novel.' - Robert Alter, New York Times

'One of our greatest contemporary writers...Doris Lessing has invented a new cosmology to look at the world in new way: she is attempting to tackle nothing less than all human life on Earth.' - Financial Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Doris Lessing is one of the most important writers of the twentieth century and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature 2007. Her first novel, "The Grass is Singing", was published in 1950. Among her other celebrated novels are "The Golden Notebook", "The Summer Before the Dark" and "Memoirs of a Survivor". She has also published two volumes of her autobiography, "Under my Skin" and "Walking in the Shade". Her most recent novel is "The Cleft". --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; 1st edition (December 12, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394512316
• ISBN-13: 978-0394512310
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,589,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Experiment successful, October 22, 2001

By 

Philip Challinor - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sirian Experiments (Paperback)

The Empire of Sirius, formerly the enemy of Canopus, has now for some time been its uneasy and mistrustful ally. Though highly advanced technologically, and despite being sophisticated social engineers, the Sirians are suffering some upheaval because of the many members of their population who feel that their life lacks a worthy purpose. Ambien II, a member of the Five who govern the Empire, is befriended by Klorathy, an agent of Canopus, in the course of their mutual dealings upon and around the planet Rohanda. Ambien II's education in the means and motives of Canopus, and her eventual realisation that, doubtless unique in the history of galactic diplomacy, Canopus means what it says and does what it promises, is the major subject of The Sirian Experiments. Doris Lessing has written, "I could like Ambien II better than I do;" which is a pity, for Ambien II, along with Rachel Sherban in Shikasta and the incensed innocent Incent in The Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire, is one of the most appealing characters in the quintet. Her growth from efficient, obedient social scientist (who deplores the changing of our planet's name from Rohanda (Fertile) to Shikasta (Wounded) as showing "a mixture of poeticism and pedantry typical of Canopus") into willing pupil, sometime rescuer, and eventually into that amazing paradox, the clear-headed visionary, is a triumph of characterisation. Her report - careful, thorough, just and drily humorous - betters Shikasta in its fusion of the personal with the cosmic, and contains one of the most spectacular set-pieces in the whole series, as well as some of its most poignant personal encounters. The ending is quietly ironic, without the sense of definite progress which was present at the end of the previous two books - the major breakthrough here takes place inside Ambien II herself, though further, exterior victories may just possibly be on the way. This book (not to mention the quintet as a whole) is the kind of thing science fiction was meant to be all about.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Earth through an Alian's Eyes, January 7, 2000

By 

Eve Clements (APO, AA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sirian Experiments (Paperback)

This was the first Doris Lessing book I ever read. Because the protagonist is a dry technocrat, the writing is written in that style. Nevertheless, I found the book gripping. Lessing gives a fascinating and enlightening perspective of the development of human society as a whole. Of course, the awakening that takes place in the protagonist's mind as she works with the Canopeans has its own gems of wisdom buried in it. Of the five books in Canopus in Argos: Archives, this one is my favorite.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A first-person tale of transformation, October 20, 2003

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sirian Experiments (Paperback)

At heart, this book is about how people see themselves and each other. The form of the story is a first-person journal, written in a deliberately academic tone.

The content, though, is one person's total change of her place in her world. The writer's initial view looks down on the world around her, as filled with inferior beings. After some time and much confusion, she learns to look up towards the higher qualities she might aspire to.

The crucial moment in the book may be the phrase, "They should be treated as they treat others." Of course, the author (at that point) can not say "I should be treated ..." From then on, the author's broadening of view accelerates. Lessing may romanticize personal advancement, but is brutally honest about the costs that it can entail.

Lessing carefully paces the book to end at the highest point of the story. It's a pleasant change from authors who run out of things to say 50 or 100 pages before reaching the back cover. A small accident of history mars the book only slightly. Many years after the book was written, a new sleep medication was put on the market: Ambien, the name Lessing coincidentally assigned her protagonist. This book has a few slow moments, when that accident of name seemed apt. Still, this is an excellent book for unhurried reading.