Most of this novel's events unfold in the twentieth century, pivoting around the 1960s, and centering on a family that spent a decade in daily conflict and arguments over whose principles were supreme. The youth of that era severed all old ties in their quest for freedom, leading their elders to view them as corrupt—a stark contrast to their own self-perception as romantic idealists. Grandma Julia, the family's matriarch, understands why: "You can't have two hideous wars," she says, adding, "We're finished now, we can go back to how we were." "Our children are failures; they are the children of war."

Julia and Frances, the grandmother and mother, are two remarkable women fighting for "the children" against all obstacles, the worst of which is Comrade Johnny, an unforgettable portrayal of a figure from our recent past. "The revolution comes before personal matters," is his mantra as he gathers abandoned wives and suffering children in a communal house. Its humanity is centered around the dining table, the cornerstone of a 1960s household, where everyone gathers in the evenings to eat, joke, boast of their petty thefts, and trade the violent ideologies of the time—ideologies that lead some to the Third World, and one to a village in South Africa to die of AIDS.

This novel reflects our recent history like a multi-faceted mirror, filled with unforgettable characters, both good and bad, shaped directly or indirectly by war. In "The Sweet Dream," Doris Lessing, one of the most prominent writers of our time, returns to the world she knew best: London of the sixties and the Africa of today.

• Publishing House: Arab Scientific Publishers/Lebanon
• Author: Doris Lessing
• Number of Pages: 472
• Year of Publication: 2008
• ISBN: 978995387651