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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i really love lessing's writing style and i was completely gripped by the story
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
No. I read a little over half of this. The characters are so unlikable without any redeemable qualities. I couldn't continue.
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When Doris Lessing died in 2013 I decided to go out and buy a copy of her first novel, The Grass is Singing (1950). Since then it has sat on my bookshelf, almost forgotten. It wasn’t until last night, when I was just casually looking at my shelves that I spotted it and decided to give it a go.
Mary has been murdered by her house servant Moses. He has been found at the scene of the crime and just hands himself over to the police. The Grass is Singing is the story of how Mary got herself murdered. Mary seems like a normal white woman living in the postcolonial pressure cooker that is 1940s Southern Rhodesia. She marries Dick in her 30s because she thinks it’s time to settle. The Grass is Singing is the story of a marriage doomed before it even begins. Dick and Mary live on a farm which is toiled over by the native black Rhodesians who Mary thinks are utterly disgusting. She is tetchy around the natives who work as servants in their house. When one labourer on her farm stops for a drink of water she whips him in the face. The Grass is Singing is a novel about racism.
Lessing was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007 for her ‘scepticism, fire and visionary power [that] has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny’. Her writing is scrutinous. Lessing was living and working in Southern Rhodesia when she wrote this novel and it reads like a damning dismissal of the society in which she lives and aftermath of Cecil Rhodes in southern Africa. She plays on the irony of hating the native even though you are intruding on his land. Mary is utterly mystified when she discovers that her native labourers might hate her. At one point she complains about the smell of them, to which her husband retorts that they think she smells too. She dismisses his utter ridiculousness.
The Grass is Singing is a wonderful and incriminating insight into whiteness versus blackness in mid-20th century Africa. However it also works as a domestic drama and a whydunnit. I will say that it slightly loses its way in the final 50-pages but not enough to seriously affect the overall tone and aim of this novel. It’s astounding to think this is Lessing’s debut novel. I can’t wait to see what else she has in store.
Mary has been murdered by her house servant Moses. He has been found at the scene of the crime and just hands himself over to the police. The Grass is Singing is the story of how Mary got herself murdered. Mary seems like a normal white woman living in the postcolonial pressure cooker that is 1940s Southern Rhodesia. She marries Dick in her 30s because she thinks it’s time to settle. The Grass is Singing is the story of a marriage doomed before it even begins. Dick and Mary live on a farm which is toiled over by the native black Rhodesians who Mary thinks are utterly disgusting. She is tetchy around the natives who work as servants in their house. When one labourer on her farm stops for a drink of water she whips him in the face. The Grass is Singing is a novel about racism.
Lessing was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007 for her ‘scepticism, fire and visionary power [that] has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny’. Her writing is scrutinous. Lessing was living and working in Southern Rhodesia when she wrote this novel and it reads like a damning dismissal of the society in which she lives and aftermath of Cecil Rhodes in southern Africa. She plays on the irony of hating the native even though you are intruding on his land. Mary is utterly mystified when she discovers that her native labourers might hate her. At one point she complains about the smell of them, to which her husband retorts that they think she smells too. She dismisses his utter ridiculousness.
The Grass is Singing is a wonderful and incriminating insight into whiteness versus blackness in mid-20th century Africa. However it also works as a domestic drama and a whydunnit. I will say that it slightly loses its way in the final 50-pages but not enough to seriously affect the overall tone and aim of this novel. It’s astounding to think this is Lessing’s debut novel. I can’t wait to see what else she has in store.
Doris Lessing rightly deserved the Nobel Prize. This book was powerful, truthful, and will make people think. The sickening disease of Racism and it eventually dirty end are all highlighted in this novel.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this book. It was extremely well written; the storytelling was immersive, consuming, abrasive, shocking and real.
Not sure why it took me this long to discover Doris' writing but I can't wait to read more. Was utterly engrossed and this would also be a perfect bookclub choice to create some discomfort and difficult discussions that must be had.
Not sure why it took me this long to discover Doris' writing but I can't wait to read more. Was utterly engrossed and this would also be a perfect bookclub choice to create some discomfort and difficult discussions that must be had.