Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Protagonist archetypes
Themes
Synopsis
In the last years of his life, a contemplative Roman senator embarks on one last epic endeavor: to retell the history of human creation and reveal the little-known story of the Clefts, an ancient community of women living in an Edenic coastal wilderness. The Clefts have neither need nor knowledge of men; childbirth is controlled through the cycles of the moon, and they bear only female children. But with the unheralded birth of a strange new child--a boy--the harmony of their community is suddenly thrown into jeopardy. In this fascinating and beguiling novel, Lessing confronts the themes that inspired much of her early writing: how men and women manage to live side by side in the world and how the troublesome particulars of gender affect every aspect of our existence.
Is The Cleft appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 16 and up.
A philosophical exploration of gender, creation, and community that examines how an all-female society confronts the birth of their first male child. Contains mature themes about gender relations and childbirth but no graphic content.
What to know going in
This book has mild violence, moderate sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include childbirth and gender conflict.
Who'll love this
Adult readers interested in thoughtful explorations of gender and society through a mythological lens will appreciate this contemplative novel.