An interesting, engaging story, with lots of relevance for today as we continue to ignore the signs of climate change. The ending is too tidy and there are no hints of how we might approach our environmental crisis differently, but the book still captivated me. ( )

I loved this story about a brother and sister, last of a royal family, travelling the length of Ifrik. This is an Africa that is thousands of years in the future, when another ice age is retreating North and most of Ifrik is blinding heat, famine and drought. They are constantly in danger, from human enemies to mutated deadly Animals and insects. I immersed myself in their world while reading this, and was feeling empty when it abruptly ended. But now I see there's a sequel! ( )

Interesting, but very, very bleak. Only showing the horrible side of human nature, nothing else. One chapter in (a very long one) and I don't know how much more I can take.

Dystopias seem to be very much in fashion these days, so it's quite possible that other authors have covered the sort of themes dealt with in "Mara and Dann," and it's even possible that they've done a pretty good job. But what really sets this novel apart from the average world-gone-all-to-hell tale isn't its science fiction elements but the crushing, desperate sensation of being trapped in a world that's no longer friendly to human life. "Mara and Dann" is set in a world defined by drought, and Lessing makes you feel how physically punishing and nerve-wracking it is to try to survive in a landscape that's rapidly drying up. This novel contains astonishingly vivid, wrenchingly physical descriptions of the heat, the fear, the physical discomfort associated with the single-minded pursuit of semi-drinkable water that long-term drought causes. It isn't a comfortable read. Heck, I came close to quitting it entirely more than once. Lessing's novel may in fact touch on some primal fear of extreme thirst: I wouldn't be surprised if more than one reader felt too uncomfortable with the world described here to reach the last page.

Like most dystopias, "Mara and Dann" also speculates on how human relationships would change in a world where modern technologies and social structures have become the stuff of ancient legend. Lessing does this very effectively, providing very plausible descriptions of the mental and logical gaps that might separate us from this book's "future primitives," who, like the Italians of the Middle Ages, live among the ruins of a civilization far grander than their own. But the nicest touch here is that Lessing doesn't necessarily feel obligated to provide answers to every question she asks here and the road that describes how we got from here to there is left largely uncharted. Certain elements of the book seem to have modern analogues, but not all of them: Lessing seems to be forcing the reader to come to terms with the fact that in a world in which societal disintegration has erased so much, large chunks of human knowledge can be permanently lost. Even the book's most intellectually curious characters have to grapple with significant blank spaces in their knowledge of the world. In a genre -- which hadn't, admittedly, hit top gear when Lessing published this one -- denying readers neat answers can be something of gamble. Kudos to Lessing for taking it and making it work.

It shouldn't come as a surprise, since Lessing's a Nobel Prize winner who's published dozens of volumes, but the other thing that sets "Mara and Dann" apart from similar dystopian tales is the quality of the writing. As a writer, Lessing seems to be merely exercising her craft here: "Mara and Dann" isn't, from a technical standpoint, a hard read. But the gentle ebb and flow of her finely wrought sentences, the telling details about the book's setting she includes, and, as mentioned above, the excruciating physicality -- and psychological torment -- of a world where a finding a few gulps of water can mean the difference between life and death, shows that we're in the presence of an accomplished writer. I don't much like talk of "world-building," but the effortlessness with which Lessing seems to construct the mental and physical boundaries of the setting in which "Mara and Dann" takes place is breathtaking. Better than the average quest narrative or dystopian horror-show, this one is actually recommended devotees of literary fictions who'd never dream of settling down with "The Hunger Games" or "The Maze Runner." "Mara and Dann" presents a frighteningly tangible future. Well, perhaps not, when one considers that some of the many millions of people living in the present day without ready access to drinking water might not consider "Mara and Dann" all that hard to relate to. Now there's a sobering thought. ( )

Lessing once again plunges her readership into the world of science fiction, or dystopia to be more precise. She imagines a far distant future on earth when succeeding ice ages have had their effect on animal and vegetable life. Climate change is still happening but the people on earth have long ago lost the science to enable them to alleviate the effects. Machines from the past have been vandalised for raw materials; magnificent cities now lie under water and the present in habitants of the earth exist in a sort of civilisation akin to our middle ages, where a glorious past has been largely forgotten. A new drought is affecting the continent of Africa or “Ifrik” where the story takes place.

Lessing has subtitled her novel as “An Adventure” and it tells a story of a brother and sister fighting for survival as they travel North to escape the drought that is decimating the Southern continent of Ifrik. In some ways it reads like science fiction from the nineteen sixties as Mara and Dann keep heading north experiencing adventures in the towns and cities that are always their next destination. Most of the towns are dominated by a distinct racial group and are based on a slave culture, but this is under threat because of the changing climate conditions, wars and rebellions, spies and totalitarianism are the building blocks as factions fight for power and survival. Mara and Dann are Mahondis a race of tall straight haired and elegant people who were once powerful rulers, it soon emerges that brother and sister have a destiny that seems to be managed by others; they are children of a powerful family that are not only in danger from the extreme conditions but also from would be assassins. Brother and sister dimly recognise that their futures are inextricably linked and although their trials and tribulations cause separations, they find themselves re-united on the road to the next adventure. They fight off mutant insects, they narrowly escape a drug culture that threatens to overwhelm Dann, they find themselves on different sides in a war in the centre of the continent and they battle refugees and slave traders on a river boat expedition to the promised land. There is an opportunity for Lessing to portray different societies all living without the aid of motor power or machinery: corruption and greed are rife almost everywhere, little pockets of a more gentle, human lifestyle are always under threat as resources are scarce and man’s natural instinct to fight for control always leads in the end to most of the downtrodden people fighting over the scraps. Lessing does not paint a pretty picture, although humans do not quite degenerate into societies portrayed in the Mad Max movies.

An adventure first and foremost with the protagonists always in danger and constantly fighting to survive, and so the book does take on the aspects of a page turner, or a road movie/book. Like much of this genre there are unlikely coincidences and grand escapes from danger and although Lessing handles this well enough her readers might be looking for something more. This might be what she wanted to achieve with the characterisation of Mara and Dann, where Mara the older sister is the strongest character. Dann seems to suffer from a restless, split personality and is more liable to lead the two of them into danger. There is also the fable aspect to the story as two siblings set off in search of their destiny, which most readers will pretty much guess early on in the novel, but Lessing does have a surprise in store. Really the science fiction/dystopia aspects of the novel are much to the fore and Lessing can create that sense of wonder that is so important to carry her readers along. An enjoyable read that probably does not need to be scrutinised too much for deep and meaningful messages. We all know human beings are basically shit behind a veneer of civilisation and Lessing gives us some hope, but not much 3.5 stars. ( )