TEMPTATION OF JACK ORKNEY - Harper Collins

Two marriages, both middle class, liberal and rather literary, share a shocking flaw, a secret cancer. A young, beautiful woman from a working class family is courted by a very eligible, very upmarket man. An ageing actress falls in love for the first time but can only express her feelings through her stage performances because her happily married lover is sadly unobtainable. A dedicated, lifelong rationalist is tempted, after the death of his father, by the comforts of religious belief. In this maginificent collection of stories spanning the last four decades, Doris Lessing's unique gift for obervation, her wit, compassion and remarkable abitlity to illuminate the coplexities of human life are all powerfully displayed.