The Death of Grass....a forgotten apocalyptic classic

I had never heard of John Christopher and in turn, of course, I had never heard of his most famous novel "The Death of Grass".  I am rather thankful for our lovely library here in Chichester as this skinny little book looked the perfect size for a short read and the blurb on the back grabbed me right away.  I will warn you, this is not a happy book, it is by all accounts brilliant, however it is one of the bleakest books I have ever had the pleasure to read.

*****BEWARE SPOILER ALERT*****

A deadly virus wipes out all types of grass, including crops, as it sweeps through Asia.  Horror stories of piles of bodies and cannibalism filter through to the media in the United Kingdom, but no one is really worried because the Government tell them they have a plan.  They have an anti virus that will wipe out the Chung-Li virus before it lays any further waste to civilisation.  The Government......are lying.  The Chung-Li virus makes it's way to every corner of the globe and slowly depletes the landscape of it's life giving grasses.  John Custance sets out from London with his family and gathers companions along the way as he plans to reach the sanctuary of his brother's farm in the formidable valley of Blind Gill.  The group must face tough decisions and brutality along the way as humanity reverts to it's rawest form of survival instincts and morality all but vanishes from its embrace.

The exploration of societal breakdown here is terrifying.  The swiftness with which people resort to barbarism to save themselves, to survive, is truly harrowing.  Even with John and his group's first leg of the journey we see them taken to the extreme of shooting their way through manned roadblocks, killing those that are trying to keep them confined in the doomed metropolis of London.  From the very start of the narrative is is clear that authority loses it's function, it is no longer of any importance.  The Government makes plans to drop hydrogen bombs on the largest settlements in England in order to kill enough people to make food supplies stretch that much further.  It is this final revelation that pushes society to the brink, people start to riot, they start to kill and it all becomes a case of the survival of the fittest.  This really is a world you would not like to set foot into, but is it one that could become our own future?  This is certainly the question Christopher is trying to raise here, a grave portent of things to come.

The journey that John takes is as much a metaphorical one as it is a physical one.  His experiences of brutality, rape, theft and life threatening situations build a big change in character as the narrative progresses.  He starts as a father and a loving husband and ultimately becomes a tribal leader, someone who must make hard, cutting decisions about life or death and about the usefulness of his followers.  Even his own family begin to fear him.  The biggest turning point for John is when he allows Pirrie, a vicious pit bull of a man, to execute his own adulterous spouse, a woman hell bent on sleeping her way to the top of the food chain.  She makes the fatal error of making a pass at John and Pirrie sees it as his right to finally do away with the wife that has wronged him for so many years.  It is this allowance that turns the dynamic of John's group, his tribe, into something altogether more sinister and Pierrie's role as somewhat of a lieutenant becomes set in stone.  John knows he needs this crazy rifle wielding psycho for his skills with a gun, and his tactical approach to defence and attack.  Even when Pirrie asserts his right to take a new wife, a young girl still captured in the throes of childhood, John allows him this right, against the behest of his own wife.  The old order of morality slowly becomes lost, and barbarism rises it's ugly head to the surface.

I found it truly fascinating that the loss of one type of plant could cause such devastation and would love to investigate further as to the validity of the claims made in the narrative.  Something as simple as the disappearance of grass snowballing out of control as the livestock that feeds on it dies, and in turn human food sources dwindle.  Regardless of the possibility of this, the idea in itself is inspired and gave birth to the apocalypse of this narrative.  It really is amazing what we take for granted, just imagine a world with no green fields, no crops, I am sure it would be remarkably barren and not at all easy on the eye (not to mention of course the famine that would rip through the land).

Having been written in the 1950's, during the tense era of the Cold War, it is no surprise that Christopher has leant towards the dramatic theme of apocalypse.  This particular apocalyptic vision is disturbing because we become our own downfall, we let go of the things that hold a society together and lose ourselves along the way.  England becomes a war zone, destroyed and made perilous by it's own citizens.  If this is not a warning worth heeding I don't know what is.

Maybe even more poignant now than it was when it was first released, "The Death of Grass" is a brilliantly written novel that allows us to investigate, to ask questions about and to fear the coming of an unexpected threat.  Easy to read, yet still written with skill and pace, this is the perfect novel for fans of H.G. Wells and even fans of J.G. Ballard's "Drowned World".  There is so much one could write about the themes, the tense relationships and the rapid progression of barbarism but it would take me hours and hours to write a piece worthy of this narrative, and some serious rereading of course.

This is a novel that should be considered by a wider audience as a modern classic and I am so glad that Penguin Modern Classics have brought this almost lost masterpiece back into print.  An amazing, albeit incredibly bleak, read.

Oh and just a warning, there was a film adaptation made of this novel titled "No Blade of Grass", don't bother with it, even the author couldn't sit through more than a couple of minutes of it as it was a heap of crap.  Read the book, don't ever, ever watch the film!

Although....the rather epic film poster did make me giggle, epic taglines...."No room the run.  No Place to hide".  I can see why John Christopher was not best impressed.  He imparted a bold and important message, and the film makers seemed to fail in capturing the same feeling.  Shocker!

Wyrmeweald: Returner's Wealth......there be dragons, many, many dragons

If a book turns up in the post with a dragon on it there is a very likely chance I am going to read it.  Not only did Wyrmeweald boast a rather beautifully drawn white dragon on the front cover but it is also shiny, impossible to resist in other words.  Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell are a duo that are not to be trifled with, they have shared a great deal of success with past ventures in the kid's market and it is rather nice to see them venturing forth into the Teenage market with a darker, more adult, fantasy novel.  Now let's be honest here, there was absolutely no chance that I was going to dislike this novel and this was obviously the case, I loved every second of it.

BEWARE, I have included some spoilers in this review.

Wyrmeweald sets the scene in a fantasy world rife with dragons, travellers and epic, unforgiving landscapes.  Micah leaves home to search for his own helping of Returner's Wealth, said to be abundant in the Wyrmeweald, a dangerous and barren place filled with cut throat pioneers and a whole host of dragons just waiting to make the most out of another lost and naive adventurer.  As expected Micah's time in the weald is nothing but dangerous, exciting and a steep learning curve as he encounters a whole host of wonderfully drawn characters.  After a rather unfortunate incident on the wrong end of a Wyrmekin's lance Micah is introduced to Eli, a man who will become his guide and who is full of surprises about the Weald.  Eli is a man of secrets and honour, a rare find.  An troubling incident with a dragon's egg results in another addition to this unlikely pair of travellers in the form of Thrace, a Wyrmekin.  The trio must work together to overcome their obvious differences and act out a revenge most foul on those that have wronged them and the careful balance of the world of the Weald.  Micah must make his own decisions about the influences that surround him  and whether or not to respect the dragons of the Weald or to exploit them to earn his wealth.

This is such a wonderful novel about overcoming difference, and is essentially a coming of age novel for Micah (if you can say that about a fantasy novel).  Micah's character is so gentle yet strong of spirit that you can't help but be drawn to him and empathise with the losses and gains that he endures in the novel.  The budding romance between himself and Thrace is enticing and complicated, and one that you want so badly to bloom in spite of their obvious differences.  It is not only Micah's characterisation that is strong, all of the characters you encounter are so intricately woven that they seem real, there are multiple levels to each of them.  You will find no one dimensional characters in this novel.

There are just dragons absolutely everywhere in the book, in the landscapes, in the skies, in gatherer's luggage.  The people of the Weald live off of hunting or scavenging from dragons, this is how they obtain the coveted Returner's Wealth which is the element that drives Micah into the wilds in the first place.  The notion of this is so interesting, and of course indulgent of you are as much of a fan of dragons as I am.  The creative genius of these two is utterly overwhelming, and I love it, right down to the stunted blind Wyrme on a rope.

It is not just the story that will grip you, it's the style in which the novel is written.  At the beginning the location and time changes from chapter to chapter to build the foundations of the story, and this is done incredibly well.  These individual stories gradually merge as all of the parties involved encounter one another within the narrative, every little detail is important, there is no padding whatsoever in the telling.  For example, Micah's encounter in a cave as he begins his journey becomes all the more relevant at the conclusion of the novel, the danger he initially faced becoming all the more clear.  There are characters like this too, not just locations, Ichabod the Preacher's harsh madness is explained by the time you finish reading and it invokes a great sadness as you realise he is as much a victim as those he tricks on his travels.

This is yet another wonderful addition to the legacy that is Stewart and Riddell and works well as a standalone although it is the first of a series.  If you have never read anything by them this is as good a place as any to start and there might be a chance you won't be able to stop.  It is brilliant to read something a bit darker, a bit more vicious and all the more tender for it in places, I can't wait for the next one in the series.  Maybe they will take a step further after this and explode onto the adult fantasy market as Wyrmeweald really isn't too far off in my opinion.  This is a great read for anyone who enjoys a good fantasy, especially if you are after a lighter, quicker read than something as epic as George R. R. Martin or Stephen Donaldson.  This is a fantasy world you will love.

Wyrmeweald: Returner's Wealth is out now in paperback with the follow up Bloodhoney just out in hardback.

Therese Raquin: Deliciously Dark Intents

Beware, I have a great many spoilers in this blog, don't read past the first paragraph if you still want to be surprised by the novel!

Wow, this was a surprisingly savage novel that swept me away into world of family secrets and zero morality.  Berated by critics with comments such as "Therese Raquin is the study of too exceptional a case; the drama of modern life is more adaptable than this, less enveloped in horror and madness" and having been referred to as "putrid literature" in its day, this was not a popular novel.  Emile Zola's aim in this novel was to bring out the beast in his characters, not to create something that would appear realistic and certainly not something to appease his critics.  This is evident as with each chapter we see some sort of personal development in one his main protagonists, and these developments spiral out of control as the novel develops and that is why this is a novel I loved, it has a no holds barred feel to it that renders it almost timeless.

Zola drops us right into France during the 19th century to tell his tale of the Raquins, Mme Raquin with her sickly child Camille and her adopted niece Therese.  Both children grow up knowing they will marry and this becomes routine as both just go along with their mothers wishes, no complaints, it just seems to be a natural progression.  The change is brought to play when the pallid Camille cajoles his mother into moving from the countryside back to the city so he can follow his ambition to work, not so much to be a success, he just seems to want to be another cog in the wheel in whichever career makes itself available to him.  Mme Raquin reopens a haberdashery in a quiet, dark street, this doubles up as the living accommodation for the family.  Therese at this point still feels tepid, she is a quiet and uninterested soul that has no wants or needs, no passion, no nothing, she is flotsam and jetsam to Camille and Mme Raquin.  Her character shifts when Camille brings a work colleague home to one of the family's traditional Thursday night dominoes sessions and Therese awakens to this new man's presence.  Laurent and Therese begin a passionate, ferocious affair, one of pure pleasure.  It is this affair that drives them to commit the most terrible of crimes in order to make the way clear for themselves.  As a result of this they become haunted, broken creatures and the madness begins!

The reason this novel works so well is that none of Zola's characters are 'good' people, all of them behave in such a way that their only interest is in their own happiness and they mould those around them to serve this end.  Mme Raquin marries her offspring to have a family to provide for her, Camille forces his mother to the city so he can follow his own path, Therese and Laurent murder Camille to secure their own future and even the regulars at the domino game try to orchestrate the marriage of Laurent and Therese so that their domino night can continue without the disruption of a mourning widow.  It is only towards the end of the novel that you begin to feel remorse for Mme Raquin, as she realises the terrible truth of the relationship between Laurent and Therese but is powerless to do anything about it in her paralytic state, her rage is very satisfying and you want so badly for her to break out of her paralysis and murder the broken couple.  All of the characters are just vile, but it works, and this is why it works.

My favourite bit of the novel, and don't judge me, is when Laurent and Therese are finally married.  They enter their marital room and the horror of this novel is finally realised in all it's glory.  The two newly weds are haunted by the image of the drowned Camille, they see his face and feel his presence in whatever they try to do.  They feel his damp, sickly body between them at night and Laurent subconsciously paints the drowned man's face into all of his work.  Their guilt tears them apart and drives them into a world of vice and deception, it is just brilliant.  I was only somewhat distressed when Laurent, paranoid that the cat knows something, breaks the back of the family cat and leaves him to die slowly, wailing as he crawls across the roof.  I like animals, and that was a particularly brutal, harrowing scene.

With all that said, this novel gets under your skin, it exposes the animal side of people without the morality we expect from society.  It is this dark and relentless approach that makes this book so incredibly delicious, akin to eating a thoroughly calorific chocolate fudge cake with lashings of sauce and loving every second of it guilt free!