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The Marriages Between Zones 3, 4 and 5

By Doris Lessing
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Marriages Between Zones 3, 4 and 5 by Doris Lessing explores the concept of social and emotional boundaries through the fictional regions of Zones Three, Four, and Five. An influential inter-zone marriage is arranged to unite these distinct, culturally diverse areas, leading to unexpected challenges and enlightenment. The narrative delves into themes of love, duty, and the fluidity of identity within societal structures.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you enjoy exploring themes of societal structure and relationships through a fantastical lens. It's a thought-provoking narrative where political allegory mixes with imaginative fantasy, providing deep insights into human behaviour and culture. The story's intricate world-building and complex characters might captivate your interest if you're a fan of speculative fiction with a philosophical twist.

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From Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, this is the second instalment in the visionary novel cycle ‘Canopus in Argos: Archives’.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

From Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, this is the second instalment in the visionary novel cycle Canopus in Argos: Archives.

This is the story of the kindly Queen of Zone Three, who rules a land free of all harshness, and her forced marriage with the soldier-king of Zone Four, which is hierarchic, disciplined, inflexible, and dutiful. This apparently difficult marriage, unwanted by both, requires a compromise between impulse and reason, between instinct and logic.

Ben Ata learns to accept and then to love the ruler of Zone Three and her alien ways; and she learns to love and to need him. But when the Queen is commanded by the Providers to return to her own realm, she must obey, shattering though it is to leave her husband and child. Ben Ata, in turn, is ordered to marry the savage beauty who rules Zone Five, a land that both unites and reverses the other two Zones.

In The Marriages Between Zones 3, 4 and 5, Doris Lessing uses science fiction brilliantly to investigate the conflict between men and women. Once again, invented planets allow her to deploy her unillusioned knowledge of the real world of the reader.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780006547204

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 23 May 1994

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Flamingo

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 19.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 210g

Pages: 304

Collections

Doris Lessing Fantasy Fiction General Fiction Sci-Fi & Fantasy Science Fiction

About the Author

Doris Lessing was one of the most important writers of the second half of the 20th-century and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature 2007. Her novels include The Grass is Singing, The Golden Notebook and The Good Terrorist. In 2001, Lessing was awarded the David Cohen Prize for a lifetime's achievement in British literature. In 2008, The Times ranked her fifth on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". She died in 2013.

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