Doris Lessing's new novel, the third volume of the series of five 'Martha Quest' novels to be known collectively as Children of Violence, describes how a Communist group blew into existence in a small town in Central Africa, as a result of the general mood of optimism, enthusiasm and admiration for the Soviet Union current in the years 1942, 1943 and 1944. Martha Quest, now divorced from her husband, becomes involved with this group and marries the leader of it, a German refugee.

A Ripple from The Storm is an attempt to describe the psychology of the group organised against society, the psychology of the individual in an individualistic society trying to behave as 'communal man.' By the end of the book it is apparent that the group has failed.

When Martha Quest appeared C. P. Snow wrote of Doris Lessing in the Sunday Times: 'She is one of the most powerfully equipped young novelists now writing," and of A Proper Marriage (the second Children of Violnce novel) John Davenport wrote in The Observer: 'Miss Lessing is extremely gifted. Her book combines sympathy and objectivity to a remarkable degree.' A Ripple from the Storm is of the same high standards, both in artistic achievement and in its humanity.

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© Nuria Soler Pérez, 2001