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Rufus
Swedish / Svenska
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
1 person is currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Doris Lessing
479 books3,216 followersDoris Lessing was born into a colonial family. both of her parents were British: her father, who had been crippled in World War I, was a clerk in the Imperial Bank of Persia; her mother had been a nurse. In 1925, lured by the promise of getting rich through maize farming, the family moved to the British colony in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Like other women writers from southern African who did not graduate from high school (such as Olive Schreiner and Nadine Gordimer), Lessing made herself into a self-educated intellectual.
In 1937 she moved to Salisbury, where she worked as a telephone operator for a year. At nineteen, she married Frank Wisdom, and later had two children. A few years later, feeling trapped in a persona that she feared would destroy her, she left her family, remaining in Salisbury. Soon she was drawn to the like-minded members of the Left Book Club, a group of Communists "who read everything, and who did not think it remarkable to read." Gottfried Lessing was a central member of the group; shortly after she joined, they married and had a son.
During the postwar years, Lessing became increasingly disillusioned with the Communist movement, which she left altogether in 1954. By 1949, Lessing had moved to London with her young son. That year, she also published her first novel, The Grass Is Singing, and began her career as a professional writer.
In June 1995 she received an Honorary Degree from Harvard University. Also in 1995, she visited South Africa to see her daughter and grandchildren, and to promote her autobiography. It was her first visit since being forcibly removed in 1956 for her political views. Ironically, she is welcomed now as a writer acclaimed for the very topics for which she was banished 40 years ago.
In 2001 she was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize in Literature, one of Spain's most important distinctions, for her brilliant literary works in defense of freedom and Third World causes. She also received the David Cohen British Literature Prize.
She was on the shortlist for the first Man Booker International Prize in 2005. In 2007 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
(Extracted from the pamphlet: A Reader's Guide to The Golden Notebook & Under My Skin, HarperPerennial, 1995. Full text available on www.dorislessing.org).
In 1937 she moved to Salisbury, where she worked as a telephone operator for a year. At nineteen, she married Frank Wisdom, and later had two children. A few years later, feeling trapped in a persona that she feared would destroy her, she left her family, remaining in Salisbury. Soon she was drawn to the like-minded members of the Left Book Club, a group of Communists "who read everything, and who did not think it remarkable to read." Gottfried Lessing was a central member of the group; shortly after she joined, they married and had a son.
During the postwar years, Lessing became increasingly disillusioned with the Communist movement, which she left altogether in 1954. By 1949, Lessing had moved to London with her young son. That year, she also published her first novel, The Grass Is Singing, and began her career as a professional writer.
In June 1995 she received an Honorary Degree from Harvard University. Also in 1995, she visited South Africa to see her daughter and grandchildren, and to promote her autobiography. It was her first visit since being forcibly removed in 1956 for her political views. Ironically, she is welcomed now as a writer acclaimed for the very topics for which she was banished 40 years ago.
In 2001 she was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize in Literature, one of Spain's most important distinctions, for her brilliant literary works in defense of freedom and Third World causes. She also received the David Cohen British Literature Prize.
She was on the shortlist for the first Man Booker International Prize in 2005. In 2007 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
(Extracted from the pamphlet: A Reader's Guide to The Golden Notebook & Under My Skin, HarperPerennial, 1995. Full text available on www.dorislessing.org).
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 24, 2020
This is a very good short story not just about Rufus but about all cats. It is told by a cat lover and cat expert. I’ll wager that her cats loved her as much as she loved them. Since the original, Rufus the Survivor, was written in English and first published in 1993, it has probably already been enjoyed by fans of both Doris Lessing and cats.
December 3, 2020
En till novell som är mellan 4 och 5 stjärnor men jag litar mest åt 5. Så fin, ömsint och rörande.
November 19, 2021
Får mig att vilja skaffa så många fler katter till!
March 25, 2023
En fin berättelse om Rufus och andra katter. En lite sorgsen underton anas i boken.
Om jag ska gnälla på något så är det att hon inte kastrerade Rufus när det bestämdes att de skulle behålla honom. Både att det förmodligen gjort Rufus lugnare och för att förhindra att fler oönskade kattungar blev till.
Om jag ska gnälla på något så är det att hon inte kastrerade Rufus när det bestämdes att de skulle behålla honom. Både att det förmodligen gjort Rufus lugnare och för att förhindra att fler oönskade kattungar blev till.
January 7, 2023
Doris Lessing berättar historien om hur hon fann och behöll den slitna, men tillgivna hittekatten Rufus. Väldigt fin, men med sorgsen underton; hittekatter finns för att människor behandlar djur dåligt och det gör mig illa berörd.
February 23, 2019
Fast jag läste den på Svenska.
April 8, 2023
An enjoyable read, even I could tell it was well-written. Quite short and I'm not sure what to say about it other than that I found it a good afternoon read.
May 8, 2023
Även om den är fin och jag märker att Rufus är högst älskad, så är det något i berättandet som känns saklig och skapar lite av en distans för mig…
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May 8, 2025En fin och berörande novell om Rufus, och säkerligen om andra katter som haft ett tufft liv <3
November 18, 2025
Kort och mysig, målande språk.
April 16, 2017
Insiktsfull och rörande.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews