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A review by literaryinfatuation
The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing
5.0
Are you character or plot driving? Or is it all about the narrative and language ? I’m all about the beauty of the language, but the main character in “The Grass Is Singing” by Nobel Prize Laureate Doris Lessing has me all conflicted. I feel for her, her hardship, her determination and how unjust is that she got to be in the position she is (married to a poor farmer, living in the middle of nowhere) when she had it all going for her. Plus, we all know she’ll die terribly. But she is such a horrible person, so racist, so stuck up, that one cannot really fully empathize with her. She is so unlikable. .
On another note, (content warning: strong language), the n-word figures once in this book. It reminded me of Trevor Noah’s Netflix Special “Son of Patricia” where he explains that for black South Africans, the n-word is just another word. It doesn’t have any of the connotations it has in America, the hatred and injustice. But the k-word would make his blood boil. Well, here the k-word is figured constantly. So, all of this makes “The Grass Is Singing” a beautiful yet uncomfortable read. .
On another note, (content warning: strong language), the n-word figures once in this book. It reminded me of Trevor Noah’s Netflix Special “Son of Patricia” where he explains that for black South Africans, the n-word is just another word. It doesn’t have any of the connotations it has in America, the hatred and injustice. But the k-word would make his blood boil. Well, here the k-word is figured constantly. So, all of this makes “The Grass Is Singing” a beautiful yet uncomfortable read. .