Paul reviewed The death of grass by John Christopher (Penguin modern classics)
Review of 'The death of grass' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Written in the 1950s it's not surprising that the language and some of the attitudes expressed feel a little dated now. But the plot of The Death of Grass is one that could easily be taken from tomorrows headlines.
The novel is set against the background of an emerging and virulent virus that attacks and kills grass. All grasses, including rice, wheat, barley, maize... most of our staple foods, in other words. And with no grass, the grazing animals die out pretty quickly as well. Faced with the prospect of mass starvation, exacerbated by official incompetence, cynicism and cover-ups, people quickly start to look out for themselves and civilisation starts to fall apart.
The story centres on John Cunstance and his family as they try to travel from London to Yorkshire and the defendable farm owned by Cunstance's brother. Over the course of their journey, they start to pick up …
Written in the 1950s it's not surprising that the language and some of the attitudes expressed feel a little dated now. But the plot of The Death of Grass is one that could easily be taken from tomorrows headlines.
The novel is set against the background of an emerging and virulent virus that attacks and kills grass. All grasses, including rice, wheat, barley, maize... most of our staple foods, in other words. And with no grass, the grazing animals die out pretty quickly as well. Faced with the prospect of mass starvation, exacerbated by official incompetence, cynicism and cover-ups, people quickly start to look out for themselves and civilisation starts to fall apart.
The story centres on John Cunstance and his family as they try to travel from London to Yorkshire and the defendable farm owned by Cunstance's brother. Over the course of their journey, they start to pick up other survivors and find themselves slowly forced to come to terms with new and brutal realities of surviving in this food-scarce world.
It's a powerful and unnerving piece of of eco-driven post-apocalyptic fiction. As for still relevant? Go look up what a monoculture is.
