Adore by Doris Lessing

4 Stars

Roz and Lil have been best friends since their parents moved to the same neighborhood when they were children. They went to college together, dated together, got married in a double wedding ceremony, bought houses across the street from each other and had their sons at the same time. Now they are in their 30s, each with a teenage son and find themselves single (albeit for different reasons). The beauty of their respective sons first finds the women in a conundrum of forbidden attraction and eventually committing the ultimate taboo with affairs that last for years.

Full disclosure here – I was stuck at work during my lunch hour yesterday so I decided to run down the street to the library around 2:00. I sent an e-mailing detailing where I was going and when I would be back. One of my smart a$$ bosses replied (to all, of course) that I was going to the library to check out pornography. Har-dee-har-har. I came back with "Adore" to show him that, yes, I do check out my porn from the library, but I make sure it is porn written by a Nobel Prize winner ; )

So, there’s the story of how I ended up reading "Adore" yesterday. As it turns out, I really loved this short story. I have never read Doris Lessing before, but now realize I probably should. She writes beautifully and told a tale that should be so shocking/disturbing/stomach-turning in the most polite way possible. If you are looking for some raunchy sex scenes, this is not your book (however, it’s also a movie and I have a feeling that the film version might get the blood flowing a bit). If you are looking for a story about forbidden love and its consequences, this is a good choice. Only complaint – it’s a novella and I wanted more of the story.