The Good Terrorist

Hello Gentle Reader

I must have been sitting on this review for a while, though it was in certain need of some tweaking, re-wording, editing, and rewording in order, to make this review a little bit more acceptable, and up to my standards; which hopefully is up to your standards Gentle Reader. Being unemployed, leaves one feeling a certain bit of feeling helpless. Before being unemployed, was fine. It had been so long since the last job, which it felt just fine. It felt perfectly normal. But once one tastes, touches, smells, hears, and enjoys the rush and enjoyment of working once again. All of it once again is gone. But now in this limbo of life – a feeling of a need to live and have a purpose (most people you will find say that work gives them a purpose a meaning) and the slow descent into the feeling of simply existing; the drifting to and from each day; each one the same, never changing. Yet the one to blame is myself. One in such a case cannot victimize them self, and think: “oh poor me.” Such an attitude will not get anything done I shall inform you of that, right here right now. If one simply thinks to themselves, that it is all poor them, then no nothing will ever get done. They simply refuse to accept the fact of their life, and choose to wallow in their own self pity, will only remain in the current of the self pity, and can never come ashore, because they themselves refuse to buckle up and swim towards the shore.

On a quick off topic note – trust me all of this makes sense as the review comes; Margaret Atwood, often described as the Canadian Literature Legend, by many, recently held a campaign via twitter, to save budget cuts for Toronto Libraries. Margaret Atwood challenged the budget cut and the Mayor of Toronto’s brother who is a councillor of Toronto Doug Ford – who was quite happy to have the idea of closing down libraries. Though when Margaret Atwood stood up to the platform to fight such a notion – in which she took up towards twitter, and fought the Mayor of Toronto and his more outspoken hot headed brother. Margaret Atwood had directed all of her, two hundred thirty three thousand one hundred and twenty nine (in numerical form – 233, 129) followers, to an online petition which was temporarily shut down, because of the response. From my last research twenty three thousand signatures have been signed on the petition so far. But it is not the fact that the libraries that were being closed that had first interested me in this story. What had interested me was the comment that Doug Ford had mentioned of Margaret Atwood.

(The following comments come from: cnews on their website. I shall post a link after the quote has been written down)

“’Well, good luck to Margaret Atwood, I don't even know her. If she could walk by me I wouldn't even have a clue who she is," Ford told reporters on Tuesday. "But she's not down here, she's not dealing with the problems, and if she did, tell her to go run in the next election and get democratically elected and we'd be more than happy to sit down and listen to Margaret Atwood.”’

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2011/07/26/18472096.html

This coming from a Canadian does not surprise me personally. I can’t think of many people I have talked to – other than literary places; that know of Margaret Atwood here in Canada. Maybe I am just hanging out in the wrong place though also, to have discussions. But what is ironic is that the last bit of Doug Ford’s comments, is that almost says that he doesn’t give much a damn about Margaret Atwood’s freedom of speech, of a concerned citizen, who is working to save libraries – a symbol of knowledge, a symbol of freedom of speech, and the written word – all of the things an author like Margaret Atwood herself stands for. But that is just me twisting words – just like a politician. But perhaps what really sets the swirling anger in my mind, is not the dispute over the libraries itself – I do not live in Toronto, so the libraries are not my concern; what was my concern is that Margaret Atwood herself was insulted by some politician. That woman was writing and helping shape Canadian identity before the councillor and brother of the Toronto Mayor was born. His comments left a bitter taste in my own mouth. – This whole political, and economic and literary battle that has taken shape. The outcome will be interesting. But as Margaret Atwood pointed out, the entire battle is not about her, it is about the fate of libraries themselves.

What does the Margaret Atwood fighting for the safety of Libraries, and my own personal story of becoming unemployed, once more have to do with Doris Lessing’s two thousand and seven Nobel Laureate in Literature, novel “The Good Terrorist,”? Plenty to be honest. “The Good Terrorist,” centers around a group of rather pathetic and political or pseudo-political vagabonds, who are victims of themselves, and their own victimization, and refusal to move on in their life. They blame everything around them, not themselves. They blame the “bourgeois fascist,” for their circumstances, and their less than perfect – even less the normally acceptable lives. All the characters in some way or another, blame the outside world. They blame the system. They blame the council. They blame the government. They blame their families. They blame their pasts – and childhood traumas. But the person they really need to really need to look, towards to blame is themselves.

Doris Lessing, is quite good at sketching some very interesting characters – even if they are unlikable. Perhaps it is not only the characters that I find unlikeable but rather the vey theme itself. Or perhaps the word “communist,” and “communist ideological sympathizes,” is the same as biting into a rotten apple for me. It should be noted here and now that Doris Lessing once upon a time, belonged to the Communist Party. However the entire ideology of communism itself once upon a time appeared to have meant to do some good. But as everything and anything show itself, it is nothing more than a flawed political ideology. A political ideology that has shown itself to have failed, time after time again. During World War II the fight of Nazism and fascism (as in Italy) and all the atrocities that these two political ideologies had done. The tyrannical rule of it all. The mass murdering. The human rights violations. All of it, absolutely horrible. It was in this time that Communism became somewhat of a golden boy ideology. Especially for the more “creative,” type of people. The people who have a “heart,” so to speak. Care about the suffering of others, and wish for complete equality and fairness. However things changed in nineteen-fifty six (Hungary revolution). Doris Lessing herself, left the communist party after being disenfranchised in a more spiritual sense. Now everything has changed. Communism is no longer something of a golden boy, but a atrocity that still survives.

The entire character ensemble are all quite a pathetic lot really. Every last one of them, disgusts me. Their self-righteous sociopatholical ideals are farfetched. For some odd reason or another they believe in these ideals, as if they are still children. Children fighting against what? The bigger parent – the government? -- And who better to align oneself with then the group that is attacking the government head on The Irish Republic Army.

Alice Mellings is one of these characters. Many praise her for her complexity that Doris Lessing has drawn out of Alice. Her motherly skills. Desire to organize, to fix things up, and to make everyone live happily in one home – even if they are squatters. Here’s what makes me laugh at this. Alice Mellings, is university educated. She has a university education in political science and economics. However she chooses to live as a squatter, to help with the (fictional) Communist Center Union, and take care of all its members. How can they do is? How can they live the life they have? Why it’s quite simple really. Just like spoiled children, that they are, they have the government pay for everything – with their social security or whatever it’s called. Too lazy to hold jobs; and to rebellious to do much of anything, but whine, complain, and call the middle class fascist pigs – this is nothing more than spoiled children that refuse to accept what has happened in their lives, and move on with existence. Maybe they find their current situations always so much better. Perhaps they enjoy being what they are. Nothing more than a bunch of rag tag cretins, living off government money, complaining about the government, picketing and tagging. But what really happens is this slow rag tag gang of mischievous trouble makers – who only fool themselves, into thinking they are some form of revolutionary ideas. As if they are some form of freedom fighters. But eventually we watch them do some pretty horrible acts. How sad. But I couldn’t tell myself, if I cared or not. I suppose they get or got what they wanted. Not much of a moral tale though. It’s more of just how personal and political life mends together in some way or another. It’s about the group thought versus the individual. In the end it’s quite sad and rather disgusting. I couldn’t say I found any of these characters likeable. They are simply swine, and are a waste of time, in any way or shape or form. They simply are a bunch of “Rebels,” without a cause. An unlikeable bunch of characters. But I do applaud Doris Lessing for being able to tackle the hard hitting social problems. Maybe it was her goal to make such unlikeable characters. But I praise their complexity.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
*And Remember: Downloading Books Illegally is Thievery and Wrong.*

M. Mary