The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four, and Five by Doris Lessing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Simultaneously a high-fantasy with highly stratified zones of consciousness and social development (different zones = primitive to high culture, sometimes vital to stagnant) and a hard look at sexual-social context, with all the sadness, misunderstanding, violence, and yes, love that's involved, the novel is both ambitious and highly unsettling.

It's mythical and even slightly satirical, but less so because it's painfully honest and clear-eyed.

The higher zones are more rarified, well-off, balanced, while the lower zones are increasingly war-like and even barbaric. The fact that the "providers" (call them orders from angels or whatever) demanded that the queen of Zone 3 marry the king of Zone 4, comes with a lot of shocking baggage and a wake up call to both societies.

None of these marriages are made in heaven. But it did break up the stagnation between them, allowed people to hope for better in zones 4 and 5, while bringing pain and suffering to zone 3, which was ostensibly MUCH better off and happy before.

Seen as an allegory, it's pretty obvious, but as a fantasy, it's a bit more interesting, complicated, and multi-faceted than anything a normal allegory might attempt. Indeed, I finished this book over 2 hours ago and it has had me re-evaluating everything about it, making me appreciate it even more.

It's really about the hierarchy of needs, and more than that, a hierarchy of spiritual development. Sometimes we have to get in the mud to appreciate the finer things, and sometimes the finer things must give way to finer refinement--even if it leads to massive unhappiness.

It's not an easy or happy book. But it sure as hell feels honest.




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