Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Death of Grass

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Death of Grass by John Christopher

9 reviews

gmjrooke's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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rorynoden's review

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adventurous dark sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This is an incredibly interesting portrayal of the events of and following an apocalyptic event, from the perspective of an ordinary family man. From the start of the book, the author builds a relatability to the characters. But the scary part about reading the book is that, although the actions taken by characters, I have never done and most likely will never do, the reasoning and thought process behind the actions I can definitely understand and relate to. This book portrays the brutal nature of humanity and really makes me question what I would do and if I would act better. I hope I would, but the fact I have to question myself is terrifying.

I think the portrayal of and treatment of women in the book is useful in understanding the attitudes of the time.

It shocked me that after Ann and her daughter experienced an incredibly traumatic event, the rest of the group were more shocked that Ann took revenge in a brutal fashion. Throughout the rest of the book they looked at her almost as a mental case as if her action wasn't completely justified, and that as a woman she shouldn't have been capable of doing it.

Another truly worrying thing about reading this book, is that although it portrays some of the most awful aspects of humanity, I feel dissensified. Which I guess is a reflection of modern life and media.

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floorse's review

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have hated few protagonists as much as I hate John Custance. Some fun elements of unreliable narration/masked motivations right up until the end. The characters are thoroughly unlikable but that's sort of the point.

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florizona's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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lief_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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tysuckz's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I genuinely think this has to be one of my favourite books that I have ever read. It does, however, fall a bit short from a 5 star read for a few reasons.

I thought the plot was very entertaining, and not quite what I expected it to be, especially in terms of the vast amount of violence and death that is involved in it. The main reasons I had it lose .25 were, firstly, it was quite misogynistic- which is quite characteristic of the time, I know, and that isn't the entire problem.... there was a LOT of dialogue from the women in the book; especially Olivia and Ann, however frequently they were ignored. Nothing would occur unless the men agreed amongst themselves, even if the women persisted... not until the men wanted it. Furthermore, I think the final chapter did fall a bit short, and was a little bit... predictable, I feel.

I had literally said to my partner that I expected David would die before the end of the book, although I expected him to die prior to their arrival, as opposed to because of their arrival. I also anticipated there would be some upheaval at David's due to the amount of people that were en route... and that was back when there were only the 10 (John, Ann, Mary, Davey, Millicent, Pirrie, Roger, Olivia, Spooks and Steven), not the eventual 30+!!! I just thought it was awful expectant that David would have enough supplies, first of all, for this many people, and second of all... that he would be willing to welcome in people he didn't know!!

Nevertheless, I did enjoy it majorly. I think the length is perfect for what the book is, really, although I would have liked if we knew more about the atom/hydrogen bombs, although I suppose maybe that was implied. Anyway, it did at times feel more like a war novel than a post-pandemic novel, but I was on the edge of my seat either way!!!

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megyeager's review

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adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This book was definitely a product of it's time concerning the treatment of women but was also prescient when considering the focus on a crop virus. I am not generally a fan of darker books, I prefer hopeful endings and this ending left me feeling a bit sad about the turns that humanity might take in the future. That being said, the author did a great job with the character development of John as he took on a leadership position in his group. Overall, I give this book 3.5/5 stars.

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mskipsey's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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skittledog's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A similar apocalyptic vibe to other 1950s UK books I've read (e.g. John Wyndham), but with a more realistic/hard-science apocalypse that is due to a grass plague emerging in, er, China. Plays with similar themes of personal responsibility vs global morality, and the loss of humanity which may or may not be acceptable for survival. Some of the underpinning themes are a bit less well thought through, though - the author wants to make points about xenophobia and sexism, I feel, but didn't quite actually get round to making them because his own viewpoint was clearly still a little mired in them itself. But an interesting read, and a very small personal version of what surviving the first few days/weeks of societal collapse might actually look like.

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