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What are readers saying about The Golden Notebook?
| Reviews of The Golden Notebook - Page 1 of 4 |
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-05-20 02:53:54.
(Language: English)
  
Since Doris Lessing won the Nobel Prize last year, I was curious to read one of her best-known works. She does a great job developing her characters, and provides an interesting perspective into an era when being a "free woman" (i.e. not married, but having relationships with men) was not at all acceptable. She also offers interesting commentary on the Communist party, writing and art, and life in Colonial Africa. In the end, I'd say I liked this book, but didn't love it - somehow, even though the characters were well-developed, I didn't have that feeling of wanting and needing to know what would happen to them next.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-24 01:46:30.
(Language: English)
Possibly The Perfect Book. For me this was a book about being a woman, and I never ever thought I would like a book which was. But with Lessing the complexity of charcters and the honesty of their emotions just makes everything so thought provoking and real. This book really touched me, although more on a literary-philosophical level than on some nostalgic-entimental level. A profound reading expreience. Well, the more I write the more I seem to make the book seem something I wouldn't want to read. So just read it!
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-01-04 04:30:16.
(Language: English)
As always with Doris Lessing, i was completely consumed while reading this shockingly good book. Left me quite shaken up for a while too......a good book should make you question yourself though, and this did.......intensely !
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-12-27 12:58:27.
(Language: English)
Wow. A challenging book, as it has 6 different narrative threads, one of which is "the story," the others of which are stories being written by the protagonist. The main theme here is liberal intellectual disillusionment with Communism during the mid-twentieth century in Europe. It took me back to themes from Professor Gluck's classes at Brown. It's loooong, but well worth the effort.
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Clara posted a review at 2008-08-31 05:29:49.
(Language: English)
I bought this book because it was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. I had no idea what I was going to read when I opened the first page and then realized it was the story of a women claiming her freedom. What fascinates me the most is that at the time it was written and published, such ideas were just unheard of. It just makes you appreciatte the role of woman in society nowadays. Although in Latin America you still have to fight against macho-societies, it's not as bad as it used to be. I hadn't even been borne when all of this came about and I share Anna's views and ideas.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-04-03 09:37:38.
(Language: English)
I hated this book. It was so boring I could not bear to finish it during a month-long European train trip. Actually, maybe I did finally finish it, but it was so bad I can't remember.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-02-12 01:09:10.
(Language: English)
In short: Lessing is at her best when describing the conflicts between political-ideological beliefs and the harsh reality that forces her and others to rethink their commitment to Communism. The description of their encounter with the 'black' Africa is also interesting. Those upper middle class or upper class group of people believing they are so liberated but now apparently full of prejudice when confronting people from other cultures. Her relational stories describing Annas encounters with men or with other friends at home, are not particularly interesting and captivating,however. I loose interest anyway.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-02-04 03:58:40.
(Language: English)
If this hadn't been a book club book, I wouldn't have bothered to struggle through it. On p75 (of my copy), Lessing says that it's the quality of the philosophy that makes a good novel, and she seems to place less value on novels which act as sources for us to learn about differnt histories, cultures, countries etc. (which are generally my favourite type of books.) In short, the philosophy in this book was over my head, and the 'story'/'stories' certainly didn't keep my interest.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-06-29 02:00:12.
(Language: English)
What a lot of pretentious nonsense. A hard slog for the first 100 pages at which point I could not see the point in torturing myself further.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-06-16 07:49:04.
(Language: English)
Doris Lessing earned the Litterature Nobel Price, probably because of this book. She's writing about the history of communism, the woman condition, the art of writing, the human relationships. The way the book is organized is particularly interesting, switching from past to present. Smart women should definitely appreciate it :-) I own it in french.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-03-07 12:31:13.
(Language: English)
Written in 1962 The Golden Notebook is set in post WWII London, Anna Wulf is a single mother, communist worker, and written a successful novel based on her experience during the war that tells of an illicit love between one of a white male friend and a black girl. Would have been quite something in 1962 let alone in post war Britain ! Anyway Anna is suffering from writers block and is desparate to write a second novel but can't. She resorts to compartmentalising her life by keeping four diaries. A black one that deals with Anna the Writer, a red one concerned with her politics, a yellow one writing reflections of her experience, and a blue one in which she tries to keep as a diary. The novel opens with memories from Africa including the illicit affair that formed the basis of her bestseller. The we get into the various notebooks.... it is here that we really discover the real Anna. Anna is eventually drawn into a fraught relationship with an unsuccessful writer, and this inspires her to start a new notebook, The Golden Notebook, make notes and an outline for the next book... she writes again! Only to surrender the notebook to the lover as a parting gift from her, as she feels guilty that he feels a failure, this as the relationship breaks down. This is a long and mildly difficult read but it's pay off is (certainly from a male perspective) a real insight into the psychcology of women.... GUYS TAKE NOTE! We learn something of what it is to be a woman. A little of what makes the fairer sex tick. To the female of the species it will probably confirm what you already know that life's a crock and some men are bastards.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-10-05 01:51:44.
(Language: English)
I don't know what made Ms. Lessing call this tome "The Golden Notebook." Anna Wulf, the lead protagonist, never wrote another novel and fell into what she calls the normal English life, with her getting a regular job and signing up with the Labour Party--of all things after being Communist. Anna gave the Golden Notebook, the expensive notebook she bought, to Saul Green who used it for his novel which was a best-seller. Is this some sarcastic respect for the superiority of male writers over female ones? I don;t know but it makes me think of what I should surrender too. I can't just lead a "normal life" because I'm not that kind of woman. I can't try to be because I'll never be and I don't want to lie to myself. I go mad when I try to hide my real self from me. What do you all think?
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-12-08 04:34:36.
(Language: English)
***SPOILER ALERT***This is a multilayered novel that through a number of narratives tells the story of a young female novelist in the 1950s pioneering life as a free woman. The protagonist, Anna, is a writer with one published and successful novel a daughter, an ex-husband, a lover and a membership in the communist party. The novel recounts her experience after the publication of the novel and her attempts to find her way. She writes in four notebooks subdividing her experiences that led to her first novel, her political activities, a fictionalized recounting of her life and a diary. The first notebook gives us a background on her life in Central Africa and also the many funny encounters shed has with TV/movie people who want to make her novel into a screenplay - without the extramarital sex of the race question. Through the second we see her conflicted feeling on communism vs. Stalinism and a view into the decline of the left - strong similarities to my involvement with the NDP. She eventually leaves the party but finds ways to stay active finally joining the Labour party. The third notebook in a way is the most revealing as it recounts the affair between Paul and Ella a mirror of Anna's relationship with Michael. Both women have children, live with a woman friend, have affairs with married men and are subsequently dumped. The final notebook reveals the neurosis of the woman, discussing her visits to her therapist. Finally a new notebook - Golden in colour with wonderful paper allows her to bring all of these disparate elements back together.
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Enrique posted a review at 2009-10-27 09:07:50.
(Language: Spanish)
Escrito al principio de los 60s, es considerado un clásico por su estructura fragmentada y su defensa del feminismo en ese entonces. No sé si porque mucha agua ha pasado debajo del puente, estoy de acuerdo con la autora en que no es un libro feminista, sino un relato sobre mujeres independientes y decididas. Las historias de los cuadernos son entretenidas (en especial, la del grupo de pilotos y mujeres)y el Cuaderno Dorado es el mejor. Le valió un merecido Premio Nóbel a la autora.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-11-16 01:00:01.
(Language: English)
What a book. Phew.. But it's worth it once you get to the end! After around page 230 (Finnish translation) it starts getting really interesting.. Somehow this is addictive, I find it sometimes quite a slow read, and still can't really give up on it. (Last years nobel winner Orhan Pamuk's The Black Book was a similar, but much much much more boring, experience..)
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-09 10:39:30.
(Language: English)
Impressed by the writer especially when the book was written in the 50's. She's a sharp mind and writing skills to portray such a complex mental state of a woman writer in the 50's. The book is in fact, an autobiography. Stories within stories...very interesting yet pathetic. The difficulties encountered by a single mom were well articulated but not overdone. It's a book describing life in the 50s but it is so accurate applying to the modern era. Amazingly good. I have found many outstanding remarks from the book worth mesmerizing.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-01-16 11:36:20.
(Language: English)
2007. Lessing finally wins her Nobel. You go to this book to find out why. You disregard the warning she gives in her 1971 introduction about "never reading anything because you feel you ought, or because it is part of a trend or a movement." You end up sifting through 635 pages of angst, with Lessing disregarding the writing instructor's imperative to show and tells, tells, tells.You'd better trust this authorial voice because you're going to hear enough of it. She is so confident in her powers that she offers up a plot-stopping dream sequence somewhere around page 500 for your interpretation. Much has been made of this novel's unique four notebook structure, designed to capture and compartmentalize the politics, the writer's block, the news of the day, the emotions and the sexuality of the author. What we end up with is a book which barely ever leaves the author's living quarters, save for 150 pages of mucking about colonial Africa, and seems to written with an eye toward the stage. Maybe the emotions and neuroses play better there. That's all.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-31 03:22:14.
(Language: English)
Anna tient quatre carnets, journaux intimes pour raconter sa vie selon ses différents axes. Son métier d'auteur, ses rapports au Parti Communiste, sa vie sentimentale, sa psychanalyse. Grâce à ce système ambitieux et son écriture fouillée, Doris Lessing nous offre multiples approches et analyses en mouvement, portrait de femme, état politique de l'Angleterre des années 50, féminisme, rapports homme - femme, récit du colonialisme des années de guerre, plongée dans la folie. Un ouvrage touffu et fascinant.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-12-20 11:05:24.
(Language: English)
The process of discovery with respect to the main female character is complex and changing throughout the book. One is constantly led to adapt to the abrupt changes in style from notebook to notebook pieces, but the content within each frame are so carefully solid, sincere and therefore grounded that the more one reads, the more Anna becomes substantial, even though her thoughts and feelings are at times scattered within themselves and within the frame of the book. The peripheral figures are somewhat blurred and out of reach which somehow magnifies Anna. The female thoughts and issues raised are complex, extremely well developed. Very interesting book and I'm still thinking through it.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-10-11 11:38:28.
(Language: English)
A very poignant book about compartementalising the self to fit into the roles ascribed to you by society.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-02-08 10:49:44.
(Language: English)
Doris - take a little extra time next time and make this 3 books. Not one. Just can't get into it... Now, I\'m into it. It\'s challenging. But her writing is so riveting, so elegant. Could not finish this thing. It does have it's appeal - here and there.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-01 09:08:53.
(Language: English)
So awful I can't put words to it. Lessing sets up what could have been a lovely novel about women's liberation on all sorts of levels, and neither she nor her characters seem to be able to find any kind of completion. Nothing is settled (which in some novels is fine, but this only adds insult to injury in this book), the characters become stereotypically dull, and even the ending begins to unravel the point of the novel itself. Not worth it.
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Anton posted a review at 2010-05-12 02:21:11.
(Language: English)
disappointing
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-10-08 07:06:22.
(Language: English)
Well, if this novel - I use the term loosely - has taught me anything, it's that being a Nobel Prize winner counts for nothing. One of the most difficult, tedious and pointless books I've ever read.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-03-02 04:51:52.
(Language: English)
It's a bless to find a book whose very first page tells you to read slower than you usually do. It feels even better when you've read 66 pages out of 576 and it's been all fascinating communication (literally!) Plus, it's "unconscious" feminist writing. What else can I say?Lessing, D. (2007 [1962, 1972]), The Golden Notebook, London : Harper Perennial, pp. 59-60."Anna, what happened with Richard?""Nothing. You're making too much of it. I sat drinking coffee and looking at that stupid face of his and I was thinking, If I was a man I'd go to bed, quite likely simply because I thought he was stupid - if he were a woman, I mean. And then I was so bored, so bored, so bored. Then he felt my boredom and decided to reclaim me. So he stood up and said : Oh well, I suppose I'd better be getting home to 16 Plane Avenue, or whatever it is. Expecting me to say, Oh no I can't bear you to leave. You know, the poor married man, bound to wife and kiddies. They all do it. Please be sorry for me, I have to get home to 16 Plane Avenue and the dreary labour-saving house in the suburbs. He said it once. He said it three times - just as if he didn't live there, weren't married to her, as if it had nothing to do with him. The little house at 16 Plane Avenue and the missus.""As a matter of accuracy, a bloody great mansion with two maids and three cars at Richmond.""You must admit he radiates an atmosphere of the suburbs. Odd. But they all do - I mean those tycoons, they all did. One could positively see the labour-saving devices and the kiddies all in their slumber-wear, coming down to kiss daddy good night. Bloody complacent swine they all are.""You are talking like a whore," said Molly; then looked conscious, sming because she was suprised she had used the word."Oddly enough it's only by the greatest effort of will I don't feel like one. They put so much effort - oh unconsciously, of course, and that's where they win, everytime, into making one feel it. Well. Anway. I said Good night, Richard, I'm so sleepy, and thank you so much for showing me all that high life. He stood there wondering if he shouldn't say, Oh dear, I've got to go home to me dreary wife, for the fourth time. He was wondering why that unimaginative woman Anna was so unsympathetic to him. Then I could see him thinking, Of course, she's nothing but an intellectual, what a pity I didn't take one of my other girls. So then I waited - you know, for that moment when they have to pay one back? He said : Anna, you should take more care of yourself, you're looking ten years older than you should, you are getting positively wizened. So I said, But Richard, if I said to you, Oh yes, do come into bed, at this very moment you'd be saying how beautiful I was. Surely the truth lies somewhere in between?..."Molly was holding a cushion to her breasts, and hugging it and laughing."So he said : But Anna, when you invited me up to coffee you surely must have known what it meant. I'm a very virile man, he said, and I either have a relationship with a woman or I don't. So then I got tired of him, and said, Oh do go away, Richard, you're an awful bore..."And when you were typing it, you couldn't help laughing to yourself at least three times. You admired the author. You remembered how you had predicted the characters' lines and laughed some more. You thought you would surely read it all over again.
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| Reviews of The Golden Notebook - Page 1 of 4 |
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