In her novel "The Golden Notebook," Doris Lessing writes, "We read to find out what is going on. One novel in five hundred or a thousand has the quality a novel should have to make it a novel - the quality of philosophy. I find that I read with the same kind of curiosity most novels, and a book of reportage. Most novels, if they are successful at all, are original in the sense that they report the existence of an area of society, a type of person, not yet admitted to the general literate consciousness."

In a Literature course, I was taught that an epic novel has several characteristics -
It covers an impotant event
It is broad in its coverage
It has at least one heroic character
There is a connection among the novel's characters
The movement from one character to another is seamless

OK - here is my last question. For you, was Piercy's novel consistent with the descriptions above?

Lynn

Yes, very much so. She certainly covered several broad topics (womens issues, war, prejudice) set in a certain time period (WWII). There was more than just one heroine, and the charactors were all connected in some fashion - although this developed over time and was not initially obvious.

I picked up another of Piercy's novels ("The Longings of Women") and am enjoying it just as much. She continues highlighting woman's issues especially inequalities with regard to economic and social status. She also tells the stories of 3 separate woman, whose paths eventually intertwine. Same concept as our current book.

Lyn