Items related to The Fifth Child
Synopsis
Doris Lessing's contemporary gothic horror story—centered on the birth of a baby who seems less than human—probes society's unwillingness to recognize its own brutality.
Harriet and David Lovatt, parents of four children, have created an idyll of domestic bliss in defiance of the social trends of late 1960s England. While around them crime and unrest surge, the Lovatts are certain that their old-fashioned contentment can protect them from the world outside—until the birth of their fifth baby.
Gruesomely goblin-like in appearance, insatiably hungry, abnormally strong and violent, Ben has nothing innocent or infant-like about him. As he grows older and more terrifying, Harriet finds she cannot love him, David cannot bring himself to touch him, and their four older children are afraid of him.
Understanding that he will never be accepted anywhere, Harriet and David are torn between their instincts as parents and their shocked reaction to this fierce and unlovable child whose existence shatters their belief in a benign world.
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Review
The married couple in this novel pull off a remarkable achievement: They purchase a three-story house with oodles of bedrooms, and, on a middle-class income, in the '70s, fill it to the brim with happy children and visiting relatives. Their holiday gatherings are sumptuous celebrations of life and togetherness. And then the fifth child arrives. He's just a child--he's not supernatural. But is he really human? This is an elegantly written tale that the New York Times called "a horror story of maternity and the nightmare of social collapse . . . a moral fable of the genre that includes Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and George Orwell's 1984."
From the Inside Flap
A self-satisfied couple intent on raising a happy family is shocked by the birth of an abnormal and brutal fifth child.
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The Fifth Child
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.76. Seller Inventory # G0224025538I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
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The Fifth Child
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.76. Seller Inventory # G0224025538I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
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The Fifth Child
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 53147412-6
Quantity: 1 available
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The Fifth Child
Published by
Jonathan Cape Ltd 21/04/1988, 1988
ISBN 10: 0224025538
ISBN 13: 9780224025539
Used
Hardcover
Seller: AwesomeBooks, Wallingford, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. . Seller Inventory # 7719-9780224025539
Quantity: 2 available
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The Fifth Child
Published by
Vintage Publishing, United Kingdom, London, 1988
ISBN 10: 0224025538
ISBN 13: 9780224025539
Used
Paperback
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. This novel tells the story of two people who want the same things - fidelity, love, family life and a stable home. They are out of line with the fashions of the 60s, but life seems to smile on them until Harriet's fifth pregnancy, when everything starts to go wrong.Doris Lessing is author of "The Grass is Singing", "The Golden Notebook", "Briefing for a Descent into Hell", "The Good Terrorist" and "The Sirian Experiment". The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR003028692
Quantity: 3 available
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The Fifth Child
Published by
Jonathan Cape Ltd 21/04/1988, 1988
ISBN 10: 0224025538
ISBN 13: 9780224025539
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Bahamut Media, Reading, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Shipped within 24 hours from our UK warehouse. Clean, undamaged book with no damage to pages and minimal wear to the cover. Spine still tight, in very good condition. Remember if you are not happy, you are covered by our 100% money back guarantee. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780224025539
Quantity: 2 available
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The Fifth Child
Seller: BoundlessBookstore, Wallingford, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. First edition. DJ will be clean and have at most light wear. Book will have been read but remains in excellent condition. Clean and tight binding. Cover may show slight wear. Contents will be clean and free from markings. Seller Inventory # 9999-99985693055
Quantity: 1 available
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The Fifth Child
Seller: The Oregon Room - Well described books!, Phoenix, OR, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1988 Jonathan Cape 1st U.K. Edition, Near fine/Very Good+ DJ in Mylar, dustjacket has very small blemish at head of spine, in Mylar with price intact, no markings found, thin remainder mark top edge. Seller Inventory # c00621
Quantity: 1 available
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The Fifth Child
Seller: BoundlessBookstore, Wallingford, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Good condition. Boards have some wear. Some spotting to end paper. Content has light age tone. Good DJ with light wear, toning. Seller Inventory # 9999-99985538956
Quantity: 1 available
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The Fifth Child
Seller: Better World Books Ltd, Dunfermline, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Ships from the UK. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 38710643-20
Quantity: 1 available