(Octagon Press, 1974) is a pivotal novel. It marks a transition from Doris Lessing's earlier preoccupation with psychological inner space (most apparent in

, 1971) to her space fiction series (

, 1979-83, featuring benevolent alien colonisation of earth).

is set in the near future at “a time of savagery and anarchy” (p.54), although it is never made clear what kind of global crisis brought about such anarchic conditions. In this respect,

is less explicit than the final dystopian section of the earlier novel,

(1969), which describes planet Earth as contaminated by the aftermath of war and radiation. In

, the degradation of the atmosphere, the…

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Citation: Scullion, Val. "The Memoirs of a Survivor". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 October 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3669, accessed 26 November 2024.]