Many will recall the powerful impact ‘The Fifth Child', DorisLessing's 1988 novel, made on publication. Its account of idyllic maritaland parental bliss irredeemably shattered by the arrival of the feralfifth child of the Lovatts made for unnerving and compulsive reading. Thatchild, Ben, now grown to legal maturity, is the central character of thissequel, which picks up the fable at the end of his childhood and takes ourprimal, misunderstood, maladjusted teenager out into the world, where againhe meets mostly with mockery, fear and incomprehension but with just enoughkindness and openness to keep him afloat as his adventures take him fromLondon to the south of France and on to South America in his restlessquest for community, companionship and peace. Doris Lessing, in this book, employs a plain, unadorned prose fit forfables; again, we have a childlike perspective at the heart of the book;again, the world in all its malevolence and misapprehenison swirls aroundat the edge, while, occasionally, a strong character steps forward to tryto stake out some values and practise some good behaviour.