A study of a man beyond the verge of a nervous breakdown, this is a brilliant and disturbing novel by Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Penniless, rambling and incoherent, a man is found wandering at night on London’s Embankment. Taken to hospital and heavily sedated, he tells the doctors of his incredible fantastical voyage, adrift on the ocean, landing on unknown shores, flying on the back of a huge white bird.
Identified as Charles Watkins, a Cambridge Classics professor, he is visited by family and friends, each revealing clues to the nature of his breakdown. As the doctors try to cure him, Watkins begins a fierce battle to hold on to his magnificent inner world, as it gradually acquires a greater reality than the everyday...
‘Briefing for a Descent into Hell’ is one of Doris Lessing’s most brilliantly achieved novels, linking her early work, which explored the nature of subjectivity, with her later experiments in science fiction. Its indictment of the tyranny of society is powerful, disturbing and, as always, magnificently rendered.
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‘A brilliant, disturbing book...her most adventurous, imaginative experiment. She allows her didactic, satirical ideas about our civilization memorable expression.’ TLS
‘Doris Lessing breaks through the semantic barrier into speculative areas of psychic geography like some returned traveller, drawing new, real maps. She is alert to more of the crucial questions than most of us and, by describing their contours so exactly, comes nearer to the slow progress towards solution.’ Observer
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. A study of a man beyond the verge of a nervous breakdown, this is a brilliant and disturbing novel by Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Penniless, rambling and incoherent, a man is found wandering at night on Londons Embankment. Taken to hospital and heavily sedated, he tells the doctors of his incredible fantastical voyage, adrift on the ocean, landing on unknown shores, flying on the back of a huge white bird.Identified as Charles Watkins, a Cambridge Classics professor, he is visited by family and friends, each revealing clues to the nature of his breakdown. As the doctors try to cure him, Watkins begins a fierce battle to hold on to his magnificent inner world, as it gradually acquires a greater reality than the everydayBriefing for a Descent into Hell is one of Doris Lessings most brilliantly achieved novels, linking her early work, which explored the nature of subjectivity, with her later experiments in science fiction. Its indictment of the tyranny of society is powerful, disturbing and, as always, magnificently rendered. A study of a man beyond the verge of a nervous breakdown, this is a brilliant and disturbing novel by Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780006548089
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9780006548089
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 256 pages. 7.56x5.04x0.63 inches. In Stock. This item is printed on demand. Seller Inventory # __0006548083
Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. A study of a man beyond the verge of a nervous breakdown, this is a brilliant and disturbing novel by Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Seller Inventory # B9780006548089
Book Description Condition: New. A study of a man beyond the verge of a nervous breakdown, this is a brilliant and disturbing novel by Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Num Pages: 256 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 196 x 129 x 17. Weight in Grams: 210. . 1995. Paperback. . . . . Seller Inventory # V9780006548089
Book Description Condition: New. A study of a man beyond the verge of a nervous breakdown, this is a brilliant and disturbing novel by Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Num Pages: 256 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 196 x 129 x 17. Weight in Grams: 210. . 1995. Paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # V9780006548089
Book Description Condition: New. Book is in NEW condition. Seller Inventory # 0006548083-2-1
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 6666-HCL-9780006548089