Doris Lessing - The Grass is Singing

Reviewed by Linda Wornes 29th Jan 09.
The story is set in Southern Rhodesia in the late 1940's and begins where it ends with the murder of a white woman, Mary Turner, on the verandah of her farmhouse in the early hours of the morning. There is no mystery about her killer. the black servant or 'houseboy' readily confesses. No-one is really surprised or particularly upset by Marys death. She is well- known in the area for keeping herself to herself and for treating the local staff badly. the mystery is why the murder took place and how Mary turned from being a fun-loving woman into a cynical, over-bearing tyrant.
There are two distinct themes in this story. Firstly, the philosophy of white supremacy which is revealed in the opening pages. Charlie Slatter, now a wealthy farmer, was once a grocers assistant in London. The closest neighbour to the Turners, he soon adopted the 'ways of the country' and the settlers attitude towards the natives. A sjambok, a long stiff whip, hung above his front door. He killed a native once in a fit of temper and was fined £30. Since then he had kept his temper.
The second theme is the psychological trauma experienced by Mary at critical times in her life. Her childhood was largely unhappy. Her father worked on the railways but drank most of his wages while her mother struggled to make ends meet.
Mary was therefore glad to leave home at 16 and take an office job in the city. For many years her life followed the same pattern. She had a busy social life, she was contended and had no desire to marry. All this changed when she overheard her so-called friends gossiping about her childish clothes, her unattractiveness and the idea that she will never marry. She was devastated and began to think that perhaps she should get married. A chance meeting in a cinema with Dick Turner changed her life and when he proposed, she agreed and went to live on his farm.
Even her childhood experiences in a home with only the barest essentials could not have prepared her for the life of poverty and isolation at Dick Turners farm. Lessings graphic detail of the interior is gripping.
Despite her early attempts to improve the house by making new furnishings, she soon became a recluse and was tormented by the stifling heat and the succession of black servants she could not handle. She had been brought up to fear and despise the natives and her cruel treament of them makes the reader despise her. Yet at the same time her character seems so real and I found myself empathising with her mental suffering.
Lessings first hand knowledge of living on a farm in South Africa shines through in this book. The land, the characters, the farming are all vividly described and I could easily see the images that she was trying to share with the reader.
The book is beautifully written. There is no pretentiousness, the language used says what it needs to and because of this the story is compelling.