Adore: A Novella (P.S.)

The odd premise of this novella is that two women, best friends, lose their husbands to death and divorce and begin to have affairs with each other's teenaged sons. The consequences affect their lives, the lives of their sons, and the lives of the daughter-in-laws who never replace, nor are even able to compete with their husbands' original lovers. Besides physical beauty these four characters have no redeeming qualities. Lessing gives us nothing on which to base the intense love affairs between sons and mothers' best friends besides (one would presume) sex. The two women, unnaturally devoted to one another, even to the exclusion of their respective husbands, are selfish and superficial. And maybe that's the point -- people who behave like this have only selfish desires in life. Lessing, of course, writes well, but the plotting is so uneven and her story ends so abruptly, the work is less a novella than an unfinished novel in need of multiple revisions.

Though the subject may be a bit taboo for some, this is - to me - a wonderful story of how love doesn't fit into society's rules. Love is. And love will always be. No matter the circumstances that try to break it.

The subject matter might be a little taboo for some to endure, but I'm a fan of writers who aren't afraid 'to go there' and explore the nuanced depths of human emotion and desire. NOTE: Most of Lessings' work seem to be more about the 'thought' or 'topic' rather than a great literary cast of characters.

I say this story should be disturbing given the circumstances, but I found this story very moving. It is bond between four people that is so strong that I don't think it could have ever been severed. You can feel this bond in Ms. Lessing's writing and in the characters. I would have loved a follow up on this story.

I wasn't going to write a review of this book because I didn't plan to finish it, but when I realised it was too late to get my money back I thought maybe I could save someone else from making the same mistake.The most offensive thing about this book is the writing. It's simplistic and bland. The characters are cardboard cutouts and there's no psychological realism to be found within its pages. The decision by the two women to engage in what amounts to sexual abuse of boys they have known and nurtured as their own since infancy, is taken so lightly it's laughable. The idea for this story is an interesting one but the execution is so poor that I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It reads more like the outline for a story than an actual story. Save yourself the trouble and watch the movie instead, it's said to be much better

My husband found the book entertaining with a subject matter a little far fetched but well written.

Loved it. Loved the cast. Loved the story line.

I love Doris Lessing. This is not my favorite. Realize it is a long short story (i.e. novella) and therefore has less of a wrap up than a full blown novel

Fantastic book that asks you to question everything you believe about love and right and wrong. What is good behaviour, and where do those lines get crossed. Doris is a master at the top of her game. Highly recommended

Over-rated.