A bleak and scathing portrayal of South Africa under apartheid, The Grass Is Singing details the life and subsequent murder of a white farmer’s wife, chronicling her descent into madness.
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Lessing was born to British parents in Iran before moving to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where she spent her childhood on a farm likely similar to the one she depicts in her book. Later on in life, Lessing became a fierce activist against apartheid which led to her being banned from South Africa and put under surveillance. Her political views come across with no holds barred in this book, in an unflinching criticism of the attitudes and behaviour of white colonialists towards black labourers.
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Although only 200 pages, this book felt much longer. There’s a lot to unpick here, and the dense pages of text require your concentration and are likely to horrify. Mary’s views are hard to stomach and the other white characters will invoke no pity either. Most of the time spent reading this book I was in a constant state of revulsion, but books like these are necessary to remind ourselves of the appalling consequences of racial segregation.
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It must also be said that Lessing is a pro at creating an oppressive atmosphere - I felt very much claustrophobic under the intense heat of the sky and close, stuffy farmhouse which is the setting of Mary’s decline. The writing is as beautiful as it is disturbing, and though it took me about 40 pages to get used to the style, it was worth it once I got into it.