Memoirs of a Survivor
UK first edition
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| Author | Doris Lessing |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Octagon Press |
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Publication date
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1974 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 1208042 |
| 823/.9/14 | |
| LC Class | PR6023.E833 M4 PR6023.E833 |
The Memoirs of a Survivor is a dystopian novel by Nobel Prize-winner Doris Lessing. It was first published in 1974 by Octagon Press. It was made into a film in 1981, starring Julie Christie and Nigel Hawthorne, and directed by David Gladwell.
The story takes place in a near-future Britain where society has broken down due to an unspecified disaster, referred to as "The Crisis." The new society that emerges after the collapse retains many features of the old world, but is fundamentally different. What serves as a government in the post-crisis nation is unable to consolidate its authority and exercises little control over the populace. Newscasts can be heard and law and order is upheld by vigilantes and a handful of policemen. Education exists for those who pass as the wealthier survivors, while schools for the poor act as an apparatus of the army and are designed to control the population. Limited commercial activity continues, but scavenging is required to obtain rare goods.
By the start of the novel, the situation in the society is starting to deteriorate as the edifice of the past society crumbles. The narrator discusses people moving out of the city, and empty shelves indicate a food shortage. Rationing is in effect, and gangs migrate through the city block by block and attack residents. Many of the narrator's neighbors want to move out of the city as the situation becomes worse.
The narrator, a middle aged woman who lives a quiet life in a flat, unexpectedly ends up with 'custody' of a teenage girl named Emily Cartwright and her dog Hugo. The narrator seeks to please the new arrival, and works hard to ensure that Emily has a high opinion of her. She often comments on Emily's competence and neatness, and ponders the purpose of the girl's existence. Emily herself is intelligent and insightful, but also quite distant. The narrator and Emily somewhat enjoy each other's company, and seem to form a tacit arrangement of tolerance between them.
This idyllic time (in the words of the narrator) ends when a gang of young people take up residence in the community. Emily goes out to meet them, but retreats when they tease her and threaten Hugo. Later that evening she meets with the gang again, and this time enjoys herself. Upon returning home, she remarks to the narrator that the gang members are at least able to enjoy themselves. Many different gangs pass through the community in the next few months, and Emily always interacts with them. This, coupled with Emily's abrasive wit, creates friction between her and the narrator, though the latter weathers Emily's remarks and remains stoic.
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