Ms. Hen reviews The Fifth Child

 

The Fifth Child

Doris Lessing

Grafton Books

1989

Ms. Hen picked up this book at a Little Free Library near where she lives, because she had read another book that the author had written, THE GOLDEN NOTEBOOK. She read the back of the book, and it seemed familiar to her, but she wasn't sure if she had read it. She decided to take it because she is running low on books to read.

This novel is about a couple who initially want to have a big family. They are old-fashioned for the Sixties, and they purchase a large house to fill it with children. They have four children, and every Christmas, Easter, and during summer, their family and friends come to visit, and have fun. Then their fifth child is born.

There's something wrong with Ben from the time he is in his mother's womb. He is born, and he's not like the other children. He's violent, and kills a cat and a dog, and the other children are afraid of him. The couple sends Ben away to an institution, but the mother goes to rescue him because she feels guilty. She thinks that Ben is like a goblin or a troll, but there is no explanation why he is this way.

Ms. Hen found it difficult to figure out the point of this book, even though she liked it. It's about a couple that wants to be happy, but their happiness is sidetracked by their unusual child. There might be a moral to the story, that you shouldn't want to be too happy because it's selfish, or that family life isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Ms. Hen thinks Ben might have been autistic, but that is not explained in the book.

Ms. Hen thought she had read this book before, but it reminded her of a book called THE TIME IS NOON by Pearl S. Buck, which she read many years ago. Even though Ms. Hen liked THE FIFTH CHILD, she thinks it's strange, and difficult to figure out. This book teaches that you can't always have what you want, and if you get what you want, you might realize that you didn't want it in the first place.