From the Bookshelf of Apocalypse Whenever…

Mara and Dann

Doris Lessing

Why we're reading this: Very interesting and well-written book about a brother and sister in a post-apocalyptic world, thousands …more
[close] Very interesting and well-written book about a brother and sister in a post-apocalyptic world, thousands of years after global warming has caused Africa to be the only inhabitable continent. The brother, Dann, and sister, Mara, are refugees who travel North from drought-ridden and warlike South Africa in search of a better life. They make friends and enemies along the way, and share incredible experiences as they travel.

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What Members Thought

Dec 10, 2009 Zach rated it did not like it

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, science-fiction

I cannot stand the way this book is written. I don't know if this is

1) Lessing's regular style
2) Because this book centers on children
3) Because it's supposed to feel like a folktale

or some combination of the above, but whatever the reason, it grates on me like you wouldn't believe. Like so, pages 31-32:

Suck, suck, suck. The sound was driving Mara quite wild with dislike of it, an irritation that made her want to hit her little brother, and she was ashamed of herself and began to cry. She had ha ...more

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Jun 08, 2010 Michele rated it liked it

Shelves: dystopia-apocalypse

You wouldn't think that anyone could make four-hundred-plus pages of trudging through dust and heat intriguing. And yet somehow Lessing does it. The very end was a bit of an anti-climax, and I didn't really find it credible that Certain People (who shall remain nameless to prevent spoilage) could successfully track the main characters across an entire continent that's decaying into anarchy and chaos. But if you can look past those two points, it's an interesting take on a distant-future slow-mot ...more

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