Bokrecension: The grass is singing av Doris Lessing

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The grass is singing by Doris Lessing

Mary lives a peaceful life in town, she has a job at an office, and she lives at the club and is very happy about her life. When suddenly she hear her friends talk about her behind her back, they said’ that she must get a husband before she gets to old, and that she behave oneself if she were fifteen’. Those words broke her heart. She was now one the hunt for a husband. She found Dick Turner. A naïve, kind man. They got married and Mary moved to the bush. She felt lonely (Dick was on the velds all day long).She hated the bush and became bitter and slowly apathetic. Then Moses came along. A black servant. She found kindness and understanding in him.
The book is very rubbery, and the writer had a grown up language when she writes.

At first the book begins whit the end. They tell us a little about the investigation on the murded Mary. Then it follows chronological order from Mary was born until she died.


The story set place in 1950 in Rhodesia (former Zimbabwe). The environment has a big influence on the story. One thing is that Doris Lessing is born and raised in Rhodesia. I think that she wants to sneak in some thing about her life and the women view in Africa. The environment has also a huge influence on the main character, Mary. She is a town girl and hates the bush. Despites that she moves there and become angry and frustrated because of the heat and the natives. So in general the whole book is influence and about the environment.

Mary is the main character. In the beginning of the book she was kind, funny beautiful and has a lot of self-assurance. But as the story goes on she loses everything. She becomes bitter, angry, aggressive and nagging about everything and her looks turns grey and boring. In the end she doesn’t have a bit of her former self-assurance left. In page 136 she said ‘I hate your farm, I hate it and I want nothing to do with it’. That explain how much she hated her life on the outback and the little farm she was living in the outback. Mary is very well written. You get to know her really good in the book.

Dick, Mary’s husband is a weak man. On page 126 Dick said ‘well, boss, can I think it over for a few days?’ he said to Mary. He always back down for other people and never stand his ground. He is poor and has many debts. But he cares about his family, and most of all he love’s his little iron house in the bush. You can call Dick a jacks of all trades. He starts things up, but never finishing it. He’s a hard working man.

Moses is a very big and tall native. He seems quite nice. He always spooked politely and hade good manners. In page 158 he said to Mary ‘Madame ate no breakfast, she must eat’. He cared about Mary, and helped her whit her mental health. I think that in his heart he was a good man.

The books main theme is hope. During the whole book Mary talks about leaving the bush and start a new life some were else, or hope that Dick would change and become a more powerful man. Dick has a lot of hope too. He hopes that Mary would become a friendly and loving wife and that he’s debts would be paid, so he could live a happy and calm life in the bush.


It’s a traditional story. A girl and a man falls in love and then figures out that they not are a match making couple. And they live unhappy ever after. I think that the writer wants us to think twice before we rushes in to a marriage, and not care so much about what people say behind you back.

The story is told by a narrator in third person singular. It wasn’t a humoristic book; it was very serious and tragic actually. I thought it was too few dialogs. I’d like a book with more dialogs and action. The writer had a difficult language, so the dictionary was good to have in hand. Sometimes it was a bit ruff to understand what the narrator really wanted to say.

I think that this book only is for a bit older women, not a book for teenagers . I think that you have to have more experience to imagine yourself in her position. We are too young to see what the book really is about. The book is a tragical love story.

The book was boring. The languish was difficult, the story was so lame. It just went on and on about nothing. (Page 67) When Dick hired a new servant, Mary immediately starts scream at him and make him feel useless. It was his first time in ha white man’s house. She should have a ...