Doris LESSING, THE GRASS IS SINGING, Penguin Readers, B2, 2300 Headwords

By Ana García, 1º Bachillerato EFL

The Grass is singing tells the story of a white woman in a society divided by colour and dominated by injustice. Mary Turner, daughter of poor farmers born in Africa, becomes a hardworking and independent girl until the day she hears some friends say that she would never marry. She looks for a husband because to be like the rest of the circle. She marries a poor African farmer and has to move to his little house in the veldt. She penetrates into a life completely different from anything she had ever imagined. She hates the little house, the natives that work in the farm and she also hates Dick at times. But especially she hates the loneliness. She is a victim of despair, who misses her life in town. Little by little Mary’s feelings change from disappointment to madness until tragedy comes to her life.

          The part I liked the best was when, after one attempt to return to her life in town, she stayed on the farm, looking at the horizon and fighting against the idea that happiness, which she needed so desperately, would never come. I have chosen this part because from this moment in the story, she shows her feelings and mood changes and the book becomes more intriguing.

          I would recommend this book to those people who are interested in learning about society during the 30’s and 40’s in Rhodesia, that was dominated by the White and their attitudes and habits, and where the native Africans were second-class citizens. 

This book was recommended in 2011