About the book
In this ambitious novel of madness and release, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Doris Lessing imagines the fantastical \"inner-space\" life of an amnesiac.Charles Watkins, a Professor of Classics at Cambridge University, has suffered a breakdown, confined to a mental hospital as his friends and doctors attempt to bring him back to reality. But Watkins has embarked on a tremendous pyschological adventure that takes him from a spinning raft in the Atlantic to a ruined stone city on a tropical island to an outer-space journey through singing planets. As he travels in his mind through memory and the farther reaches of imagination, his doctors try to subdue him with ever more powerful drugs in a competition for his soul. In this provocative novel, Lessing takes us on a harrowing voyage into the rarely glimpsed territory of the inner mind.
Editions of Briefing for a Descent Into Hell
- Paperback
- ISBN 9781400077267
- Paperback
- ISBN 9780307390615
- Paperback
- ISBN 9780394746623
- EBook
- ISBN 9780307777638
Read an Excerpt
In this ambitious novel of madness and release, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Doris Lessing imagines the fantastical \"inner-space\" life of an amnesiac.Charles Watkins, a Professor of Classics at Cambridge University, has suffered a breakdown, confined to a mental hospital as his friends and doctors attempt to bring him back to reality. But Watkins has embarked on a tremendous pyschological adventure that takes him from a spinning raft in the Atlantic to a ruined stone city on a tropical island to an outer-space journey through singing planets. As he travels in his mind through memory and the farther reaches of imagination, his doctors try to subdue him with ever more powerful drugs in a competition for his soul. In this provocative novel, Lessing takes us on a harrowing voyage into the rarely glimpsed territory of the inner mind.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Briefing for a Descent Into Hell about?
In this ambitious novel of madness and release, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Doris Lessing imagines the fantastical \"inner-space\" life of an amnesiac.Charles Watkins, a Professor of Classics at Cambridge University, has suffered a breakdown, confined to a mental hospital as his friends and doctors attempt to bring him back to reality. But Watkins has embarked on a tremendous pyschological adventure that takes him from a spinning raft in the Atlantic to a ruined stone city on a tropical island to an outer-space journey through singing planets. As he travels in his mind through memory and the farther reaches of imagination, his doctors try to subdue him with ever more powerful drugs in a competition for his soul. In this provocative novel, Lessing takes us on a harrowing voyage into the rarely glimpsed territory of the inner mind.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Briefing for a Descent Into Hell?
Fiction > Thriller / suspense fiction > Psychological thriller
Where can I read a sample of Briefing for a Descent Into Hell?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781400077267
Is Briefing for a Descent Into Hell part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?
Yes it is a part of series Vintage International
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Briefing for a Descent Into Hell?
Doris Lessing
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Briefing for a Descent Into Hell is available as paperback(ISBN 9781400077267) and paperback(ISBN 9780307390615) and paperback(ISBN 9780394746623) and ebook(ISBN 9780307777638)
Where can I buy Briefing for a Descent Into Hell online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Briefing for a Descent Into Hell from below
Where can I buy Briefing for a Descent Into Hell?