Wednesday, November 21, 2007

THE GRASS IS SINGING



by Doris Lessing

Meeting in San Francisco, December 15, 2007.

2 comments:

MáirtínTJ said...

I've just finished this book.
I was very impressed by her insights into racism. It started me thinking about how we accomadate to institutionalized racism here in the US.
I liked the way the book opend at the end. When I got to the end I just started reading the first chapter again and many things fell into place for me.

Arthur White said...

Racism yes, but not just that, the whole complex set of colonial relationships. The relationships among the whites is explored on various levels as well: town and country, English and Boer, rich and poor, intra-family matters, newcomers and seasoned colonials. Then too there is the relationship to the land. Both farmers are exploiters, but Dick has some authentic respect for nature even though he is feckless in his attempt to work with it. It's a multi-faceted view of ugliness.