The Summer Before the Dark (Mass Market Paperback)

by Doris Lessing (Author) "A woman stood on her back step, arms folded, waiting..." (more)
Key Phrases: taxi man, Charlie Cooper, Mary Finchley, Global Food (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A splendid and serious novel that reminds one once again of just how much the fictive imagination can order and enrich experience." -- National Observer

"Lessing's prose has the nervous intensity and quick, impressionistic lightness of some of D. H. Lawrence's later work. We are caught up in a rush of strong feeling."

-- Walter Clemons, Newsweek

"(A) masterpiece...probably the best book she has written." -- The Economist -- Review

Review
"A splendid and serious novel that reminds one once again of just how much the fictive imagination can order and enrich experience." --National Observer

"Lessing's prose has the nervous intensity and quick, impressionistic lightness of some of D. H. Lawrence's later work. We are caught up in a rush of strong feeling." --Walter Clemons, Newsweek

"[A] masterpiece...probably the best book she has written." --The Economist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1st Vintage Books ed edition (March 12, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394710959
• ISBN-13: 978-0394710952
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #324,410 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's never too late - a tale of self discovery, October 27, 1999

By A Customer

I was going to attempt "The Golden Notebook" as an introduction to Doris Lessing but lost my nerve when I saw how voluminous it was. The Contemporary Reading List recommended "The Summer Before The Dark" as an alternative and I wasn't disappointed. The novel starts off promisingly with a vividly drawn portrait of a 45 year-old middle class Englishwoman (Kate Brown) at the crossroads of her life. Realising that she has devoted most of her adult life to her husband (Michael) and children without a thought for herself, she sets out tentatively on a journey of self discovery when decides she doesn't like whom she sees in the mirror. She throws herself into a temporary job translating for a global food conference, which leads to an affair with a younger man (Jeffery) and culminates in a startling confrontation with herself when she gets to know a young girl (Maureen) whom she shares temporary accomodation with while her family is away. Maureen may not know what she wants to be (she has proposals from suitors of all persuasion) but what she does know is that she doesn't want to end up like Kate and her own mother. While her good friend, the selfish and amoral Mary, isn't a role model, she has always retained that sense of self that has gone missing from Kate's life. A large part of Lessing's prose consists of internal monologue, words and responses from Kate's mind and soul, all tremulously spoken. The recurring dream sequence with the "seal" is deeply poignant and symbolic of Kate's search for her own identity. The novel is a wonderful example of feminist literature exploring issues that will have eternal relevance for women all over the world. Lessing's beautifully written prose often leaves me breathless. Read it !

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a midlife tale from one of the world's greatest writers, August 11, 1998

By A Customer

"You are young, and then you are middle-aged, but it is hard to tell the moment of passage from one state to the next. Then you are old, but you hardly know when it happened." Thus Lessing opens her novel, announcing that her character, Kate Brown will be the exception. Lessing has created a character who bridges the midlife transition in a single summer, from typical upper-middle-class British housewifery to corporate executive to older-woman-younger-man romance to denouncing the hair color that masks her age. By the end of Kate's summer, she is not entirely certain who she is, but quite clear who she is not. Lessing is recognized as one of the important writers in the English language, and the body of literature on midlife women is enriched by her genius and wisdom.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not her best, but readable, 3.5 stars, May 16, 2007

By	a. "devoted reader" (Upstate, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Summer Before the Dark (Flamingo Modern Classic) (Paperback)

I hate to give a less than glowing review of any of Lessing's work, but this book is not one of her best. At best she can be transformative to read, I'm thinking of The Four-Gated City, The Sweetest Dream, The Golden Notebook, The Good Terrorist, Love Again. She has written some stellar books. Here, she is full of brilliant ideas, but they aren't fully integrated into the novel, so it is a little clunky to read, story hung with politically astute insights. Also, it's a little bit dated, such as, the protagonist is 45, which was considered quite a bit older in the 60s and 70s than we consider it now that the "Baby Boomers" are well over 45. There is a recurring dream in the book that could have been edited completely out, or at least made not as intrusive. It didn't add enough to justify how much of it there was.