A Blade of Grass (Hardcover)

It is the sort of book that one both hastens to read, rushing to turn over every page, whilst at times, dreading what one fears to read as the story unfolds, dramatically and skilfully.

This book won an international prize when first published in Canada. Now, published by that excellent small new quality publisher, the Maia Press, Lewis de Soto's novel is on the list for the Man Booker Prize. Its been barely reviewed in the UK since it came out, since small publishers cannot afford the pricey advertising that the broadsheets...TLS and LRB ..demand in return for a review. But Amazon readers should rush to order this amazing novel. Its the best book this reviewer has read for years. Its everything fiction should be - totally beguiling, absorbing, moving (yes, one cries), and also instructive about how war impacts upon women and their hopes and dreams.
I wish it would win the Booker and it would make a superb film!

Also recommended: DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY, THE USURPER AND OTHER STORIES, TRIPLE AGENT, DOUBLE CROSS,DUSKLAND

Marit Laurens has just moved with her husband to the African countryside after the death of her parents. The newlywed couple bought a farm, named it Kudufontein, and set out to carve their own future. Marit is in charge of handling the accounts, correspondence, bills and wages, while her husband, Ben, runs all the other aspects related to the farm. Soon after the move, Marit starts to question the cleverness of this new enterprise, since she feels very lonely during the time Ben is out on the fields. Also, she is in fear of the war going on close by, on the country's border, where guerrillas are attacking farms to regain their God-given rights over the land.

As a way to find solace, Marit tries to establish a relationship with her maid, Grace, but is self-restricted by the racial barriers and customs she has observed and practiced all her life. When shortly afterwards Grace is killed in an accident, Marit starts to get closer to Tembi, Grace's daughter, and offers her the job as a maid. From this point on, several events develop, like the strengthening of apartheid and the reception of fatal news by Marit, which bring the two women closer together.

Lewis DeSoto scores high in his description of the effects of apartheid on people on both sides of the "conflict", and the story has value in showing how race should not be a barrier in human relationships and friendship. However, he loses the reader's interest in several instances during the story, making finishing the book more a chore than a real pleasure. I hope that he perfects his writing abilities and delivers a better polished novel next time, since he has good ideas for the plot and just needs to improve in the execution.