The Grass is Singing - Doris Lessing

The Grass is Singing was the first novel to be published by Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing. The book is set in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in southern Africa during the 1940's. My lasting memory of the book is the oppressive, scorched earth which, with all it's vastness and boundless space, managed to consume its inhabitants with a steady, seething despair. The protagonist, Mary, spends part of her life living as an independent woman in the city but for various reasons marries a farmer and moves away from the comforts of urban life. The result is the slow decline of her sanity and the loss of her compassion. Her situation isn't helped by the fact that her ...  Read the complete review

Doris Lessing is an author that I have heard of, but until I read this book, I had no idea what sort of books she wrote. She has certainly had a fascinating life; born to English parents, she lived in Iran until she was five, before moving to Zimbabwe, where she spent her formative years growing up on a farm. The Grass is Singing, first published in 1950, was an international success and her work continues to be reprinted. I was deeply impressed by this book and am only sorry that I did not discover her work before. The story focuses on Mary Turner, the wife of a farmer, who is found murdered on the porch of her home. No-one is really surprised or ...  Read the complete review