The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five | |
 US first edition cover (Alfred A. Knopf) |
|
| Author | Doris Lessing |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Canopus in Argos |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Publication date | 1980 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 299 |
| ISBN | 0-394-50914-5 |
| Preceded by | Shikasta |
| Followed by | The Sirian Experiments |
The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five (1980) is one of a set of unconventional science fiction novels written by Nobel Prize-winner Doris Lessing. They are linked by the name Canopus in Argos, but each is a story in its own right and separate from the others. It is very different from the standard "space opera" approach.[citation needed] Shikasta, the first book in the series, gives an imagined history of the Earth in which superior aliens from Canopus and Sirius play a role.
This story concerns the interactions between "zones" connected to Earth but not quite part of it. The main differences between the "zones" are attitudes to sex, power and the rights of women (the advanced and enlightened zone three, the patriarchal and militaristic zone four, and the chaotic barbarian zone five). Some superior power forces the different peoples to interact and learn from each other (decreeing that a woman from zone three marry a man from zone four).
