The second in Lessing’s Canopus in Argos space fiction series, The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four, and Five shifts from the galactic view of human evolution, history, and the eventual chaotic upheaval on Earth (a.k.a. Shikasta) to an on-the-ground account of two regents—Al-Ith, the queen of Zone Three, and Ben Ata, the king of Zone Four—who are ordered by “the Providers” to marry.

As always in Lessing, the melodramatic arc here of the battle of the sexes is driven in, rather repetitively, but to succinct effect; almost like a chamber play, The Marriages… shows readers of the Canopus saga what happens to “humans” who travel outside their Zones; who are forced to acknowledge that they may have been ruling their people ineffectively; and who always seem to long and pine for more—in Al-Ith’s case, it is the longing for whatever Zone Two represents—and yet who are trapped in the script written for them by Providers they cannot name, describe, or even remember.

It is, very much, like a rewriting of the story of Genesis, of wondering how to get back to the garden without recalling what the garden even represents… or if one ever stepped foot in it in the first place. Lacking divine guidance, Al-Ith and Ben Ata descend into the myriad pathologies of being “human” which, in the world of The Marriages… means perpetuating mythologies or reasons for behaviors, deeds, and practices, while, at the same time, being wholly ignorant of their origins. While Al-Ith’s journey into Zone Four to marry the misogynistic and martial Ben Ata forces her to face a Zone unlike her more matriarchal and tranquil one, it also causes her to long for a Zone beyond her own Zone: a very human longing that Lessing describes achingly well, especially when she uses the Chroniclers’ and Memory Keepers’ to outline how stories get translated into visual art, song, and ritual—and also how distant from the original story such representations always are. The prose and the structure here are both very rooted in the Old Testament, but owe just as much to folk tales, philosophy, tribal history, and hybrid ethnographies.



The Marriages… is not as in-your-face or wide in scope as Shikasta, but, from a glance at the blurb for book 3 in the Canopus series, it seems that we are back to the galactic scale from that point forward. As such, it’s interesting to make conjectures about why Lessing feels the need to give us an on-the-ground account of “humans” and the war between Zones (as well as genders) in this second book. To say that humans have and always will long for something larger than themselves, for some cosmology to explain various phenomena, and to attain truth or knowledge (whatever that might mean for them) are, of course, philosophical questions that underpin much of The Marriages…, and yet these are human predicaments that the novel never fully fleshes out.

Some may prefer this book to Shikasta for its more straightforward narrative, its sheer chronology; but that’s where I found it to be the most problematic, after the literal chaos of Shikasta’s structure, and how well that worked for Lessing’s vision of how the world might have been created by alien races as an experiment that goes awry. While The Marriages… humanizes the Providers’ impact by focusing on on those living in and across the Zones, it also reads a bit dated and essentialist in its examinations of gender, marriage, and motherhood. Still, this feels like a stepping stone to book 3, and, after I’ve recovered a bit from this volume (these always take ages to read, for some reason), I certainly plan to see what else Lessing has up her sleeve in these space fictions of hers. ( )

Canopus in Argos: Archives 2

A fable, a romance but of a very human kind, where the savage breast is calmed by a wise woman from another culture. A novel full of optimism that has a feel good factor that made me smile in recognition of the potential for human beings to live fuller lives. But wait …this is fantasy isn’t it?

The second book in Lessing’s Canopus in Argos series - the science fiction/fantasy series she wrote to escape from the reality and gloom of the human condition that she had depicted in most of her previous novels. While this novel uses ideas from the series, particularly the various zones of existence that surround our planet, it is very much a stand alone book. AI-Ith is the leading citizen of zone 3; a matriarchal society where people are in touch with their feelings, can communicate with their animals and live a full and productive life. There is no war, there are no weapons and the standard of living is high and the people live contented lives, however something is wrong, they all feel it and reach back into their past through their story tellers and songs but find no answers. The Providers (a god like higher civilisation) rarely communicate with them, but unmistakably a message comes to AI-Ith that she must marry the war lord in zone 4. The zones are protected from each other by different qualities of air that make travel in another zone almost impossible, but a shield is provided for the military escort that comes up from zone 4 to take AI-Ith back down to her marriage with Ben Ata. The majority of the novel is about the love that develops between the sensitive, wise woman from zone 3 and the boorish military commander of zone 4. AI-Ith and Ben Ata recognise almost from the start that their union must be successful; the quality of lives in both zones depend on it.

Lessing is excellent in creating environments in which her characters can fulfil their destinies, her lyrical narrative captures a sense of place and provides an atmosphere that holds her stories in a satisfying conjunction. She makes the reader care about her characters who all show defining human qualities that make them seem real people in a fantasy world. There is both joy and sadness in the enforced marriage and a deep respect develops between the very manly man and the womanly woman, that permeates the book and provides that feel good factor. Lessing never descends into kitsch; there is always too much grit in the oyster and for her story to develop into a happy ending. She does however provide a sense of individual fulfilment as both AI-Ith and Ben Arta face challenges from zones 2 and zones 5 respectively.

It would be another nine years until the Berlin Wall would come down from the date when this novel was first published in 1980, and Lessings book is all about barriers that stop people achieving their full potential. The barriers seem all to real to the people enclosed within them, but with work and some help they are shown to be artificial and so a message of hope is obtained from a conclusion that fits the fantasy and brings it within reach of the real world.

Lessing tells much of her story from the perspective of the chroniclers from the matriarchal zone 3, and reminds the reader that perhaps this is not the full story, but one that has come down to future generations. She refers to artwork (not shown in the novel) expressing some of the key events that can provide different interpretations of the story. A fable of events dug out from the archives provides an overall framing device that leads the reader through this fantasy in a most delightful way. I was entranced, I am not sure that this would always be the case, perhaps when I read this I was feeling particularly mellow and receptive to Lessing’s promptings, but then again that could be down to the power of the writing. As of now a five star read. ( )

Thought vol. 2 might be better than 1 -- same tedious drivel... ( )

There is a scene particularly loved by our artists who embellish it with a vast yellow moon positioned so that it is close to, or behind Al.Ith's head. Or there is a delightful crescent set off by a star or two. and they oft add a large peacock, whose shimmering tail fills the orchard with reflected light.
But it is on the whole a realistic depiction, and I am saying this because it is the last of the truthful scenes.

The second in the Canopus in Argos: Archives series is an allegory about love and change rather than a science-fiction story. Al.Ith, the queen of Zone 5 and Ben Ata, the king of the less advanced Zone 4, receive an order from the Providers telling them that they must marry. Although it is generations since the last communication from the Providers, whose role appears to be to oversee the zones and prevent stagnation, no-one in either zone seriously considers disobeying the order, even though neither monarch is happy about marrying someone from another zone.

Interesting, but I think that I prefer "Shikasta". ( )