Nobel prize winner Doris Lessing's first novel is as fresh today as when it was first published in 1950.Set in post-colonial Southern Rhodesia, it is a story of poverty, loneliness and murder. Most importantly, it tackles questions of white supremacy, the perceived role of the sexes and African displacement. Although stark, intense and often dark, this is a wonderfully crafted piece of literature that ultimately causes the reader to think and question the world we live in. The kind of book that stays with you long after the last page.