The Grass is Singing (Flamingo Modern Classics)
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Review
'Original and striking!full of those terrifying touches of truth, seldom mentioned but instantly recognised.' New Statesman 'Doris Lessing responds more passionately than most writers to people or situations: often she responds with hate or rancour, but always with passion. In "The Grass is Singing", you can feel the dynamo-like throb of a formidable talent; by its side, most novels of 1950 look like crochet-work.' The Times '"The Grass is Singing" focuses on the blighted life of a woman whose spirit is destroyed by a disastrous marriage and by an environment to which she couldn't respond. More than any other white African writer of her generation, Doris Lessing is aware of the seductive cruelty of colonialism, and is one of our strongest, fiercest voices against injustice, racism and sexual hypocrisy.' Independent on Sunday
Review
‘Original and striking…full of those terrifying touches of truth, seldom mentioned but instantly recognised.’ New Statesman
‘Doris Lessing responds more passionately than most writers to people or situations: often she responds with hate or rancour, but always with passion. In “The Grass is Singing”, you can feel the dynamo-like throb of a formidable talent; by its side, most novels of 1950 look like crochet-work.’ The Times
‘“The Grass is Singing” focuses on the blighted life of a woman whose spirit is destroyed by a disastrous marriage and by an environment to which she couldn’t respond. More than any other white African writer of her generation, Doris Lessing is aware of the seductive cruelty of colonialism, and is one of our strongest, fiercest voices against injustice, racism and sexual hypocrisy.’ Independent on Sunday
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Doris Lessing's "The Grass is Singing" opens with the death of Mary Turner. How could Mary's life have ended with such a tragic fate? As the reader progresses through the novel, he discovers Mary's insufferable existence, her life destroyed by a disastrous marriage to a farmer, Dick Turner. Mary is forced to live in a rural environment in South Africa for which she is ill-suited. Furthermore, Mary's relationship with her husband rapidly deteriorates as she realises that Dick is unable to manage the farm successfully and they are constantly on the verge of bankruptcy. A truly superb novel, tragic and moving to the very last line. Mrs Lessing's wonderfully captures Africa's majestic beauty, the difficult relationship between the whites and the Natives. The psychological portrait of her heroine is exceptionally intense.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Through the tragic life of Mary, we are introduced to the difficult theme of racism in South Africa, and the relationships between black and white people. The main gift of Lessing is that she manages to show us the tensions between white and black people as if we were insiders in this microcosm since throughout the book, we learn the rules that cannot be broken by white people without consequences.
It's like a journey, the reader is first an outsider, understanding nothing to the relationship , but then we see the mistakes Mary made that brought her to her fate--giving a unique understanding to the situation.
But it's too dark and unhealthy to be a book I really liked.
It's like a journey, the reader is first an outsider, understanding nothing to the relationship , but then we see the mistakes Mary made that brought her to her fate--giving a unique understanding to the situation.
But it's too dark and unhealthy to be a book I really liked.
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
From the opening pages this novel grabs and holds your interest - much like the opening pages of 'Enduring Love' (Ian McEwan).You are told the end at the beginning. Later the book takes you through the steps leading to the awful conclusion. The tension is held superbly right through the novel, added to this the descriptions of the sunbaked, barely fertile ground, on the poor white farm and the relationship of the couple who own it to each other and their black native servants are graphically very strong. The relentless heat intensity is truly unbearable. All this set in the rigid insular white farming society of 1950's Rhodesia. Chosen by our Book Club - I will certainly be reading more Doris Lessing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Grass is Singing
The book arrived within a few days of order, it was very well packed and in excellent condition.
I read it with the book group to which I belong, and very much enjoyed nd... Read more
I read it with the book group to which I belong, and very much enjoyed nd... Read more
Published 3 months ago by CLAIRE BUCKLAND
Her first novel, yet such a gem!
I chanced upon this books a while back and since I had heard of Doris Lessing because of her Nobel prize, I thought I would start knowing her through her first novel. Read more
Published 4 months ago by steelo
Utterly Absorbing
I was blown away by the book.
It's understated and modest, yet so powerful.
I could feel the South African heat seep through the pages along with Marys despair.
It's understated and modest, yet so powerful.
I could feel the South African heat seep through the pages along with Marys despair.
Published 15 months ago by Amy
Nothing sings in this dire tale!
This must be one of the most depressing books I have ever read, and cannot begin to understand where Lessing got the title from - nothing sings! Read more
Published 16 months ago by English Rose
heavy but teaches us all
Great story about two very unfortunate people. Heavy and so 'down-bringing' that makes you realise how amazing is your life. Read more
Published 16 months ago by karolina
Lingers in the mind and retains the power to shock
It is easy to understand why "The Grass is Singing" made such an impact in 1950, because the "no holds barred" presentation of naked racism, from which I suspect many current... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Antenna
The Grass is Singing
A truly superb novel with a distinctive human insight into the psyche of the characters. I was lured right from the first sentence. Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2010 by P. Devoy
Portrayal of a married woman's malaise
This work got wide acclaim for its portrayal of the dynamics of apartheid in South Africa by exploring the relationship between a white farmer couple and their man servant. Read more
Published on 13 Dec 2009 by Jessica
Gripping, Harrowing, Amazing
Well you certainly feel exhausted at the end. It is awful and you know it is going to be because the end is in the beginning. Read more
Published on 9 Dec 2009 by A. Edwards
If you read only one Lessing novel in your life, you should read The...
The Grass Is Singing was my first Doris Lessing novel, and I loved it!
As you could have already read the synospsis, in this book Lessing tells the story of a farmer husband,... Read more
As you could have already read the synospsis, in this book Lessing tells the story of a farmer husband,... Read more
Published on 18 Aug 2009 by Stella (Ex Libris)
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