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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle

Is a Neanderthal ‘throwback’ possible, as in Doris Lessing’s The Fifth Child?

Reconstructions of a Neanderthal man and woman at the Neanderthal museum in Mettmann, Germany.
Reconstructions of a Neanderthal man and woman at the Neanderthal museum in Mettmann, Germany. Photograph: Martin Meissner/AP

Doris Lessing’s brilliant novel The Fifth Child (1988) suggests that the boy, Ben, might be a Neanderthal “throwback”. Is it possible for someone to be a throwback, or has the idea been discredited?

Ashley Chantler, Wallasey, Merseyside

Post your answers – and new questions – below or email them to nq@theguardian.com

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