Book, Grandparents, As [LS]

Language: Brazilian Portuguese. Roz and Lil have been inseparable friends since childhood. They grew up, got married, had children, and live in the paradisiacal Baxter Basin, a place surrounded by rocks on all sides. The protected, "yawning" environment, beyond which the "real ocean roared and rumbled", is the ideal setting for an increasingly symbiotic relationship. Living in neighboring houses, they raise their children on their own - and they become charming teenagers. So charming and close, that Roz and Lil soon become involved with each other's son. In an ambiguous and disconcerting effect, typical of great literature, what could seem repulsive is treated with naturalness and good humor, making the breaking of taboos sound like a rule, not a dramatic exception. Themes such as friendship, motherhood and sexuality gain new contours as Doris Lessing unravels the complexities and pitfalls of the strong bond between these two women, and portrays the strength with which they confront the family and social conventions of their time.