British science fiction and suspense author Doris Lessing was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature this week for her work, "The Golden Notebook."
Lessing, the author of dozens of novels and short stories, is best known for her psychological thrillers and science fiction stories. The Nobel committee praised Ms. Lessing for her "skepticism, fire and visionary power." For her part, the 87year-old Lessing told the Associated Press that "she couldn't care less." She did, however, concede that it would be nice to be exposed to new readers.
Lessing, the daughter of British parents, was born in Persia (now Iran) and spent most of her childhood in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where her parents had a farm.
Ms. Lessing is not about to retire. She just turned over to her publisher a new manuscript, "Alfred and Emily," a story about her parents and the paths they might have followed had WWI not impacted both of their lives. It is a passionately "anti-war" novel, explained Ms. Lessing.
The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded each year to a living author, based on lasting literary merit. The prize carries a $1.5 million award.
