El sueno mas dulce (The Sweetest Dream) Book

Granted, two stars to Doris Lessing is like four stars to anyone else. I just keep on picking up Doris Lessing books and hoping to get something as mind blowing as The Grass is Singing . While The Sweetest Dream was engaging and ambitious, I found the abrupt shift from the ensemble of characters to the focus on a single (supporting) character in the last part of the book hard to justify. I also have kind of a problem with staying focused when reading about hippie whiners, but I thought that the author did a great job contrasting the hero worship of the communist idol against the reality of his utter fecklessness as a human being.

The theme of the book? All too often, life just happens to reasonable people, especially people who don't abandon the moral responsibility to care for others, while the flashier and more selfish people justify leaving a lot of pain in their wake.