Doris Lessing — The Good Terrorist

Harper Perennial 2007 Paperback, 397pp. A hugely significant political novel for the late twentieth-century from one of the outstanding writers of the modern era. In a London squat a band of bourgeois revolutionaries are united by a loathing of the waste and cruelty they see around them. These maladjusted malcontents try desperately to become involved in terrorist activities far beyond their level of competence. Only Alice seems capable of organising anything. Motherly, practical and determined, she is also easily exploited by the group and ideal fodder for a more dangerous and potent cause. Eventually their naive radical fantasies turn into a chaos of real destruction, but the aftermath is not as exciting as they had hoped. Nonetheless, while they may not have changed the world, their lives will never be the same again! Foxing to page edges. (ISBN: 9780007247219). Good.