A review by krakentamer
The Death of Grass by John Christopher
3.0
This book was written in 1956, over 60 years ago. There's a lot about this book that hasn't aged well (the casual racism and misogyny), but there's a lot that seems every bit as relevant today (the plant-killing virus that can't be controlled). It's got a rather simplistic view of the rapid decay of society, but I don't think that it's horribly inaccurate (although I really have to question the idea of England mercy-killing it's own people with atomic bombs). The purpose of stories like this is to make you question how you'd behave in a similar situation, hopefully with a sympathetic protagonist. Well, I DID question how I'd behave, and it differed quite a bit from John Cunstance. I did not find him to be a very likable character, and I was not impressed by how quickly he would initiate or condone violence.
Speaking of violence - there's quite a bit more cold-blooded killing in this book than I'm used to seeing in books from this time period. There's even some references to rape and infidelity - topics I'd always assumed were, if not taboo, at least considered Not Dignified.
If you're going to read this book - just a quick warning that it starts off DREADFULLY slow until about the 30% point, and then it keeps moving along rather briskly for the rest of the book.
Finally - I've got to point out that the book has a glossary at the back that I didn't notice until I'd finished the book. It has quite a variety of terms that the reader may or may not know, and they give an interesting insight into 1950's readers. Terms that today would not need to be explained ("aftermath","ammo","hybrid","millennium"), but also some words that I'd never seen before and had looked up the definition while reading the text ("concupiscence" (lust and sexual desire), "phlegm" (meaning calm nature, not nasal mucus), "prodrome" (preliminary book or treatise))
Overall, I'd like to give this book a better rating, but the slow start and the not-aged-well parts are going to keep this from getting any higher than a 3 star.
Speaking of violence - there's quite a bit more cold-blooded killing in this book than I'm used to seeing in books from this time period. There's even some references to rape and infidelity - topics I'd always assumed were, if not taboo, at least considered Not Dignified.
If you're going to read this book - just a quick warning that it starts off DREADFULLY slow until about the 30% point, and then it keeps moving along rather briskly for the rest of the book.
Finally - I've got to point out that the book has a glossary at the back that I didn't notice until I'd finished the book. It has quite a variety of terms that the reader may or may not know, and they give an interesting insight into 1950's readers. Terms that today would not need to be explained ("aftermath","ammo","hybrid","millennium"), but also some words that I'd never seen before and had looked up the definition while reading the text ("concupiscence" (lust and sexual desire), "phlegm" (meaning calm nature, not nasal mucus), "prodrome" (preliminary book or treatise))
Overall, I'd like to give this book a better rating, but the slow start and the not-aged-well parts are going to keep this from getting any higher than a 3 star.