A review by stellajo
Grass by Sheri S. Tepper
4.0
Pros: Lovely prose. Fabulous world building. Engaging plot with mystery, peril and hope. Deep themes including population control, religious hypocrisy and societal constraints, and the human-animal connection. Fine characterizations including a portrayal of a failed marriage, and an intriguing protagonist. Characters act from in response to well-depicted psychological motivations. Possible cons: Anti-organized religion theme may trouble some readers.
A multicolored prairie covers Sheri Tepper’s finely imagined world, appropriately named Grass. The animal life, intricately imagined, and the climate present a series of challenges to human pioneers. And those who live isolated estancias find that life in the vast grasslands slowly warps their minds.
Grass is one world in an inter-planetary religious empire controlled by the Sanctified, a cruel and hypocritical religious organization bent on recording all DNA signatures for later resurrection. Sanctity is based on Earth, the planet marginally habitable thanks to overpopulation, environmental decay and a mysterious plague that not only threatens Earth, but has also spread to the entire empire.
Marjorie, Rigo and their two children are deployed to Grass as ambassadors. Marjorie, the main protagonist, is a sportswoman with Olympic-grade horsemanship. Despite her successes, she’s failed to meet the expectations of her culture and her family. But she’s duty-bound by church and family and hopes to find meaning and purpose on the planet Grass. Naturally, a variety of interesting events ensue, while Marjorie and Rigo writhe in the confines of an unfortunate marriage.
Both Marjorie's character and the society of Grass evolve by the end of the book, allowing this novel to be classified as “hopepunk,” a science fiction novel in which people with insight, courage, and a vision beyond their limited self-interest leave the world a better place.
As always, the novel reflects the era of publication and the life of the author, now deceased. A focus on reproductive rights and relationship issues might originate from Ms Tepper’s career as director of Planned Parenthood. And she wrote this book in the eighties, during the Regan presidency, a time when reproductive issues were a hot topic of debate. Likewise, the plague storyline might reflect the HIV epidemic of that time. Regarding the grass, the author lived in Colorado’s front range where the mountains meet the great North American prairie, eastward, grass as far as the eye can see.
A multicolored prairie covers Sheri Tepper’s finely imagined world, appropriately named Grass. The animal life, intricately imagined, and the climate present a series of challenges to human pioneers. And those who live isolated estancias find that life in the vast grasslands slowly warps their minds.
Grass is one world in an inter-planetary religious empire controlled by the Sanctified, a cruel and hypocritical religious organization bent on recording all DNA signatures for later resurrection. Sanctity is based on Earth, the planet marginally habitable thanks to overpopulation, environmental decay and a mysterious plague that not only threatens Earth, but has also spread to the entire empire.
Marjorie, Rigo and their two children are deployed to Grass as ambassadors. Marjorie, the main protagonist, is a sportswoman with Olympic-grade horsemanship. Despite her successes, she’s failed to meet the expectations of her culture and her family. But she’s duty-bound by church and family and hopes to find meaning and purpose on the planet Grass. Naturally, a variety of interesting events ensue, while Marjorie and Rigo writhe in the confines of an unfortunate marriage.
Both Marjorie's character and the society of Grass evolve by the end of the book, allowing this novel to be classified as “hopepunk,” a science fiction novel in which people with insight, courage, and a vision beyond their limited self-interest leave the world a better place.
As always, the novel reflects the era of publication and the life of the author, now deceased. A focus on reproductive rights and relationship issues might originate from Ms Tepper’s career as director of Planned Parenthood. And she wrote this book in the eighties, during the Regan presidency, a time when reproductive issues were a hot topic of debate. Likewise, the plague storyline might reflect the HIV epidemic of that time. Regarding the grass, the author lived in Colorado’s front range where the mountains meet the great North American prairie, eastward, grass as far as the eye can see.