Why this book?
This is one of the books that first stirred my interest in Africa, the tragedies of the colonial period, and the enormous impact of that period forevermore. As a result of Doris Lessing’s novel, which draws heavily on her own life in Africa, exploring the power and fear between the two sides through a relationship between a white woman running a farm in what was to become Zimbabwe and a black servant, I studied African politics at university and then spent a lot of time after I graduated on the continent. It’s a love affair that has never faded.
The Grass Is Singing
Why should I read it?
2 authors picked The Grass Is Singing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
What is this book about?
The Nobel Prize-winner Doris Lessing's first novel is a taut and tragic portrayal of a crumbling marriage, set in South Africa during the years of Arpartheid.
Set in Rhodesia, 'The Grass is Singing' tells the story of Dick Turner, a failed white farmer and his wife, Mary, a town girl who hates the bush and viciously abuses the black South Africans who work on their farm. But after many years, trapped by poverty, sapped by the heat of their tiny house, the lonely and frightened Mary turns to Moses, the black cook, for kindness and understanding.
A masterpiece of realism,…
