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When Lessing looked back at the 20th century and her own life, she saw a series of large-scale mass events, a dance of emotions, and a flurry of fanatical partisan enthusiasm. The constant occurrence of these things prevents us from thinking rationally. In this book, Lessing addresses the major question we as humans currently face: How often do we fall under the sway of our savage instincts? How can advances in psychology and technology be used by experts to turn them into tricks on us? How did we become prisoners of group consciousness, repeating the history of party unity and opposition? By sharing her life experience, political life, ideological process, and keen observation of society, combined with the latest psychological experiments and interesting historical anecdotes, Lessing drew a portrait of this divided era and also provided us with a new possibility of examining the world and ourselves.

The birth of the fifth child, Ben, shattered the dream of happiness for a middle-class British family. The premature and ugly Ben was born with brute force, extremely aggressive, and even bloodthirsty. The unbearable father sent Ban to the so-called "sanatorium", where he was imprisoned and treated inhumanely. The mother, who blamed herself and was uneasy, took "poor class" home again, causing the family to become turbulent again after a brief period of peace. Through how a normal family treats unusual children, Lessing explains the nature of evil and cruelly reveals the complex aspects of human nature.

"That's what marriage is like. The reason why her friends want to get married is to have a family, and no one tells them what to do. She vaguely feels that getting married is right and everyone should get married. Everyone she knows secretly and ruthlessly advises her to get married. She is about to live a happy life, but she has no idea what kind of life she is going to live..." Mary, a naive older white-collar worker, fantasizes that love can help her regain her confidence. Dick, a small farmer whose career is not going well, hopes that marriage can help him reverse his predicament. Two completely opposite people came together because of a beautiful misunderstanding. However, the reality after marriage is far from the vision-the countryside is barren and isolated, and the local ethnic conflicts are full of conflicts. Two people who are not good at managing relationships are heading towards a tragedy ignorantly...

"When we were young, an old woman told us that the biggest difficulty young people face is feeling small, powerless and insignificant. They feel that people live in a world controlled by powerful machines. No one should feel small and powerless. She said, remember, in the long history of mankind, what really plays a decisive role is the strength and courage of each person. "The 84-year-old Lessing is not old but wise and sharp. He comments on Jane Austen, Tolstoy, and Woolf, and discovers the buried masterpieces. In addition to literary criticism, this book also includes articles in which she talks about world affairs and shows her insights. In the eyes of this female writer who has always had a high spirit of fighting, times have changed and time has swallowed up many things that have disappeared, leaving only traces in literature. You might as well join Lessing in re-understanding the world through words.

"I don't expect my children to take care of me." "You are so stubborn now, but you won't say that later." "I will leave when I can't take care of myself." "Impossible." "Why do you judge me?" "Because I know that everyone says the same thing at all stages of life."... Jane is a capable magazine editor, a standard "independent new woman", and semi-actively became a DINK. After the death of her husband and mother, she lived a free and unrestrained life for a while, but found that the emptiness could not be filled. By chance, she met the old lady Modi. Modi's life was completely the opposite of Jane's. He devoted everything to his family, but ended up alone and helpless. The two women develop a wonderful friendship and a relationship that changes their attitudes toward each other's lives.