So sometime in the early 1980s Doris Lessing decided to become anonymous again and try her hand at publishing without the benefit of being Doris Lessing. She explains in the opening introduction to the collected volume of these two novels that in part she was feeling somewhat pigeon-holed or labeled, not necessarily as a particular type of writer so much as herself. And if you’re familiar with her writing, many of her novels are similar in a lot of ways, but many of them go off in wildly different directions. I read a dozen or so of her novels last year and between novels about communism, feminism, living in Africa as a white woman, marriage, she also writes about space, invading and colonizing forces, etc.
So she wrote the novel Diary of a Good Neighbour and worked to get it published under the pseudonym Jane Somers. And her reviews were mixed; some really liked the novel, some didn’t. She found out that Jane Somers is a lot like Doris Lessing, and also a lot different from Doris Lessing.
The novel itself is about a woman in her 40s, named Jane Somers, who is recently widowed. We find her in this new stage of her life, but rather than dealing with grief, she is dealing with a kind of sheepish guilt that it turns out that when her husband died, she didn’t really miss him, and she didn’t really love him, or at least hadn’t for a long time. But this is an interesting turn for the reader, because unlike in many novels, he wasn’t a bad guy, or didn’t treat her poorly, or anything like that. They fell apart and that gap and distance became the defining force of their lives. Anyway, he died, and now here we are. Jane Somers is a writer and publisher working for a small press feminist publication. She’s also recently met an older woman with whom she forms a small but meaningful friendship. Often confused for a “Good Neighbour” a volunteer caretaker ala say Meals on Wheels, she checks on Maudie from time to time.
But this novel is not about a radical reformation of one’s life; in fact, she doesn’t spend all that much time with Maudie. The is much much smaller than that.
The second novel, unfortunately is both more of the same and less strong. In fact, I’d have preferred if it didn’t act as a sequel in that way. Though for the most part it’s quite different. In this novel we find Jane Somers on the brink of publishing a long historical novel. She has chosen to represent the story thematically and fictively, rather than realistically, setting a tone for the novel we are reading. In addition, she seems to have fallen in love with Richard, a man she meets on the street. This novel deals with the emotional turmoil of romantic relationships and how these interact with people older than traditional romantics. And in classic Doris Lessing style, this relationship is not abusive and not really bad, but also not great and not dynamic. It’s real feeling, it’s fraught with emotional dangers, and it’s completely unexceptional.
I would read these novels if you’ve read a lot of Doris Lessing and liked her books. It’s very much in the middle of her work, but more interesting with some familiarity. I can’t speak to how it must be to a newer reader.
(Photo: https://www.amazon.com/Diaries-Jane-Somers/dp/0394729552/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=dairy+of+a+jane+somers&qid=1554649104&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spell)