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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Ben attacks and harms family members and animals; violence from an apparently inhuman child
Language
None
No profanity
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Extreme psychological horror of a seemingly inhuman child destroying a family
What this book is about
Lessing's 1988 novella follows the Lovatt family, whose fifth child Ben appears to be something inhuman — feral, violent, and impossible to love. Features violence (Ben attacks and kills pets, hurts family members) and the psychological destruction of a family. For mature readers.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Violence from an inhuman/feral child
Psychological horror
Reader Verification
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