Call number
Genres
Publication
Avon Books (Mm) (1980), Paperback
Pages
190
Description
At first the virus wiping out grass and crops is of little concern to John Custance. It has decimated Asia, causing mass starvation and riots, but Europe is safe and a counter-virus is expected any day. Except, it turns out, the governments have been lying to their people. When the deadly disease hits Britain, society starts to descend into barbarism. As John and his family try to make it across country to the safety of his brother's farm in a hidden valley, their humanity is tested to its very limits. A chilling psychological thriller and one of the greatest post-apocalyptic novels ever written, The Death of Grass shows people struggling to hold on to their identities as the familiar world disintegrates - and the terrible price they must pay for surviving. With a new Introduction by Robert MacFarlane 'Gripping . . . of all fiction's apocalypses, this is one of the most haunting.'Financial Times Rachael Love, Penguin Classics Editorial Assistant, on The Death of Grass- 'The Death of Grassis more than just a sci-fi novel. It's incredibly prescient - in an age now where we obsess over global responsibility, the destruction of the environment and world-wide pandemics - The Death of Grasswas ahead of its time. The novel sits happily alongside The Day of the Triffids- Wyndham's novel about genetic engineering and giant vengeful plants, but it also sits nicely next to Golding's Lord of the Flies, which was written in response to post-war complacency about superior morality. Christopher's novel picks up speed as the characters begin to have to fight for their lives, paralleling the speed at which, it could be said, their morality disintegrates. The latter half of the novel is about the luxury of morality in the face of fighting for survival; about theft and murder and rape. It's about the family unit, private law, group politics and survival of the fittest. A real page-turner!'… (more)
Media reviews
National Housewives Register Newsletter
An appropriate survival-morality story for our crisis-ridden times. To what lengths should we, and would we, go to ensure our families' survival in the collapse of civilisation?
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1956
Physical description
190 p.; 7 inches
Similar in this library
User reviews
LibraryThing member eleanor_eader
I’m having trouble reviewing this book… John Christopher’s apocalyptic tale is both brilliant and horrible…. the tension-building global spread of the virus that kills all kinds of grass, including the edible grains, complete with imagery that is unsubtle and horrifying, really pulls the
My problem lies in the fact that I loved and hated this story… it’s one of the most insidious apocalyptic scenarios; Christopher deals ruthlessly with mankind’s perception of itself, and I was thrilled at the harsh honesty of the situation. But. At the same time, I could not stand the main protagonist, John Custance. His self-entitled Londoner-seeks-refuge-in-the-country turns to self-entitled overlord, misogynistic in a way that makes even veteran sci-fi readers grind their teeth, yet somehow passive and lazily indulgent of the ‘this is the way we have to live now’ attitude made me unsure of why the others managed to arrange themselves as his followers. I expected more gumption from David, the brother, than John, since he’d had the sense to set up the valley as a defensible and sustainable position, but this isn’t a book that gives you the comfortable conclusion, and that’s more a strength than a flaw in this kind of work.
I recognise The Death of Grass’s undeniable place as a classic work of post-apocalyptic sci-fi, an example of the very quality that I cherish in this genre; the ability to touch the darkest places in our psyche, where we fear the end of everything in a way that the fear for our own lives doesn’t quite manage. It’s unfortunate that this story and I had a personality clash, or I might have enjoyed it unreservedly.
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reader in. As meat farming becomes impossible, people in Britain hold out hope for each announcement that the problem is licked, and that the food shortages will be reversed. When the hope runs out, there’s the shockingly fast descent into near anarchy, from which emerges a barbarous feudal system. Once Christopher begins to chart John Custance’s position as leader, and the things he and his family must do to survive, the focus turns to the group of travellers, the peril that lie behind and ahead of them, the overriding need to protect what’s theirs and, above all, the brutality of their journey to Custance’s brother’s farm.My problem lies in the fact that I loved and hated this story… it’s one of the most insidious apocalyptic scenarios; Christopher deals ruthlessly with mankind’s perception of itself, and I was thrilled at the harsh honesty of the situation. But. At the same time, I could not stand the main protagonist, John Custance. His self-entitled Londoner-seeks-refuge-in-the-country turns to self-entitled overlord, misogynistic in a way that makes even veteran sci-fi readers grind their teeth, yet somehow passive and lazily indulgent of the ‘this is the way we have to live now’ attitude made me unsure of why the others managed to arrange themselves as his followers. I expected more gumption from David, the brother, than John, since he’d had the sense to set up the valley as a defensible and sustainable position, but this isn’t a book that gives you the comfortable conclusion, and that’s more a strength than a flaw in this kind of work.
I recognise The Death of Grass’s undeniable place as a classic work of post-apocalyptic sci-fi, an example of the very quality that I cherish in this genre; the ability to touch the darkest places in our psyche, where we fear the end of everything in a way that the fear for our own lives doesn’t quite manage. It’s unfortunate that this story and I had a personality clash, or I might have enjoyed it unreservedly.
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LibraryThing member PaulBaldowski
Having watched, and read, ‘The Road’ and seen films like ‘The Book of Eli’ and ’28 Days Later’, I found ‘Grass’ far more harrowing and grim to read. Written in 1952 and very much a vision of the time, the story deals with a small group seeking a home, driven away from the rapidly
Given the historical truth of the time, of a Britain struggling with rationing in the wake of the Second World War, the visions of ‘Grass’ are not so hard to grasp. And yet, the brutality and barbarism portrayed make for uneasy reading at times. The group, led by John Custance, all too easily adjust to their new situation - perhaps too easily. Having the inside word on the situation, from a friend with links into the Government, John and his companions leave London before complete lockdown. They travel in convoy, seeing the way the Chung-Li virus has robbed the countryside of vegetation and animals.
'Grass' isn't a long novel and the story has just the right balance of drama and character. At times the story can throw up quite a surprise, and as I drew closer to the end of the story I found myself propelled toward the finish with increasing concern that it wouldn't end well at all. I thoroughly recommend this one.
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declining state of society in the face of the progressive and possibly irreversible demise of all grass stocks. Without basic food stuffs and common land animals (due to lack of feed), the population face starvation and death in just a few short months in a world-spanning disaster. Within days all vestige of society, even in Britain, melts away. Law has no place and the rule of the mob and the gang, backed by possession of firearms, becomes the new order.Given the historical truth of the time, of a Britain struggling with rationing in the wake of the Second World War, the visions of ‘Grass’ are not so hard to grasp. And yet, the brutality and barbarism portrayed make for uneasy reading at times. The group, led by John Custance, all too easily adjust to their new situation - perhaps too easily. Having the inside word on the situation, from a friend with links into the Government, John and his companions leave London before complete lockdown. They travel in convoy, seeing the way the Chung-Li virus has robbed the countryside of vegetation and animals.
'Grass' isn't a long novel and the story has just the right balance of drama and character. At times the story can throw up quite a surprise, and as I drew closer to the end of the story I found myself propelled toward the finish with increasing concern that it wouldn't end well at all. I thoroughly recommend this one.
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LibraryThing member blackhornet
I can't help thinking that this novel must have influenced J.G.Ballard. It has the same relentlessly pessimistic view of how human nature reverts to savagery in extreme circumstances. When a virus that kills all grass (so wheat, barley etc) reaches Britain, the country soon decends into chaos. The
In many ways the characterisations are clunky and the writing limited in style, but the book still grabs. I'd put this down to the behaviour of two characters: John, the reluctant leader, who gradually comes to take on his role with gusto, turning into a rather unreliable dictator in the process, and Pirrie, a psychotic gunseller, whom the group come to rely on to do their dirty work. The unpredictability of these two men is reflected in the narrative, which is filled with surprises and never fails to attempt to terrify.
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novel tracks the attempt of a small group, led by John, to travel from London to John's brother's farm in Westmoreland, where they believe there is some prospect of sanctuary. In many ways the characterisations are clunky and the writing limited in style, but the book still grabs. I'd put this down to the behaviour of two characters: John, the reluctant leader, who gradually comes to take on his role with gusto, turning into a rather unreliable dictator in the process, and Pirrie, a psychotic gunseller, whom the group come to rely on to do their dirty work. The unpredictability of these two men is reflected in the narrative, which is filled with surprises and never fails to attempt to terrify.
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LibraryThing member Stbalbach
I was hoping for an original and thoughtful examination of what might happen if grass died - but it's given a light treatment and instead the book focuses on morale issues as the characters face difficult choices in a decaying world. Thus we should read this book not so much as science fiction but
It's worth mentioning prior to the last ice age about 15,000 years ago there was not much grass in the world, rather it was mostly "weeds" - which is not grass. Weeds are loaded with nutrition, most vegetables are weeds. Flowers are weeds. Clover is weed (in the pea family), the favorite of cows. If grass died then the weeds would naturally and quickly take over and it would be different, but hell, the Mammoths survived not eating grass but weeds, so could many other animals. I don't think Chistopher researched his topic or really gave it a fair treatment.
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the mood of England in 1955 or so as its empire is crumbling, the resources it depended slowing and as it faces an uncertain future in a nuclear age. For the veterans of WWII who saw and perhaps committed immoral things, for the survival of their families and children, I'll give it a pass on that account, but otherwise it reads as fairly reactionary, espousing some perspectives on gender and justice that are cliche medievalism, the same sort of nonsense that led to WWI. One might argue that is the point of the novel, Feudalism and Chivalry would come back into fashion during the apocalypse, maybe, but those things took 1000 years to fully develop and were not the result of increased chaos rather increasing order. The book plays not on original ideas of what might happen, but old ideas of what happened before ie. a reactionary fable.It's worth mentioning prior to the last ice age about 15,000 years ago there was not much grass in the world, rather it was mostly "weeds" - which is not grass. Weeds are loaded with nutrition, most vegetables are weeds. Flowers are weeds. Clover is weed (in the pea family), the favorite of cows. If grass died then the weeds would naturally and quickly take over and it would be different, but hell, the Mammoths survived not eating grass but weeds, so could many other animals. I don't think Chistopher researched his topic or really gave it a fair treatment.
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LibraryThing member starbox
"I can visualize this land brown and bare, stripped and desert and children here chewing the bark off trees.",, 3 January 2015
By
sally tarbox (aylesbury bucks uk) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Death of Grass (Penguin Modern Classics) (Kindle Edition)
When an ever-mutating virus
This is a 'road story', following middle-class John Custance, as he attempts to make it to his brother David's farm - and stockade - in Westmorland. Accompanied by his family, a friend's family, plus a few individuals they pick up on the way, they must cross a Britain very different from the one they are used to...
Like some other reviewers, I found this a rather weak novel; the characters seemed implausible - in just a few pages John's wife Ann goes from violently opposing 'selfish' nations witholding their grain to refusing to take their son's friend on their journey (knowing he faces certain death otherwise.) Society doesn't slowly degenerate - in the way it does in RC Sheriff's brilliant 'The Hopkins Manuscript' - but overnight turns from an ordered world of children at boarding school and rationed food to a post-apocalyptic environment reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road'.
Readable but leaves no great impression.
By
sally tarbox (aylesbury bucks uk) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Death of Grass (Penguin Modern Classics) (Kindle Edition)
When an ever-mutating virus
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destroys crops in the Far East, the British only pay cursory attention to the ensuing famine....until they realise it's hit their own shores.This is a 'road story', following middle-class John Custance, as he attempts to make it to his brother David's farm - and stockade - in Westmorland. Accompanied by his family, a friend's family, plus a few individuals they pick up on the way, they must cross a Britain very different from the one they are used to...
Like some other reviewers, I found this a rather weak novel; the characters seemed implausible - in just a few pages John's wife Ann goes from violently opposing 'selfish' nations witholding their grain to refusing to take their son's friend on their journey (knowing he faces certain death otherwise.) Society doesn't slowly degenerate - in the way it does in RC Sheriff's brilliant 'The Hopkins Manuscript' - but overnight turns from an ordered world of children at boarding school and rationed food to a post-apocalyptic environment reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road'.
Readable but leaves no great impression.
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LibraryThing member sirfurboy
This book has recently been repunlished under Penguin Modern Classics, and I am so glad to see it back and recognised for what it is. Without a doubt this deserves to be remembered as a modern classic. This is one of the most disturbingly memorable books I ever read.
In the 1960s and 70s John
The story starts with a virus that kills cereals, and indeed all grasses, first in China (where the scale of the disaster is suppressed by a secretive regime) and then across the world as the virus spreads and a hastily developed vaccine fails to arrest the spread.
As all the cereal crops die, and grass also succumbs, the whole ecosystem starts to collapse. Grazing animals also starve, and the world quickly descends into chaos.
The story focuses on two brothers. One has a defensible farm, and the other must cross the now dangerous and violent length of England to reach him, where he might live in safety.
The book has some powerful messages in it, and as I say - it is rather disturbing. I read it when I was about 14 and could not get it out of my head for a long time after that. But that is a recommendation rather than a warning - it is a book to make you think, and it is a thoroughly good read.
In the 1960s and 70s John
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Christopher's books destroyed civilisation in scores of novel and frightening ways. He is a master of the disaster story - but this is the one he wrote that sticks with me.The story starts with a virus that kills cereals, and indeed all grasses, first in China (where the scale of the disaster is suppressed by a secretive regime) and then across the world as the virus spreads and a hastily developed vaccine fails to arrest the spread.
As all the cereal crops die, and grass also succumbs, the whole ecosystem starts to collapse. Grazing animals also starve, and the world quickly descends into chaos.
The story focuses on two brothers. One has a defensible farm, and the other must cross the now dangerous and violent length of England to reach him, where he might live in safety.
The book has some powerful messages in it, and as I say - it is rather disturbing. I read it when I was about 14 and could not get it out of my head for a long time after that. But that is a recommendation rather than a warning - it is a book to make you think, and it is a thoroughly good read.
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LibraryThing member anamuk
If you've read or are reading "the Road" you'll see a few things in common with this.
A virus is destroying the worlds rice crops, its OK though the scientists have found an answer. Only the resulting mutation now kills all of the grasses. John Custance gets an early warning of the measures the
That's the main thrust, how people adapt & cope with the descent into feudalism and deal with the failure of society's structures. That the toss of a coin can bring about so much.
A virus is destroying the worlds rice crops, its OK though the scientists have found an answer. Only the resulting mutation now kills all of the grasses. John Custance gets an early warning of the measures the
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government are preparing to take through his friend Roger. Whilst they have a head start,its not a big lead and quite soon the fabric of society is fraying.That's the main thrust, how people adapt & cope with the descent into feudalism and deal with the failure of society's structures. That the toss of a coin can bring about so much.
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LibraryThing member timspalding
The premise is simple—grass an all its relatives, including rice and wheat—are infected and die. Britain is thrust into starvation, and a small party try to make their way to safety. Workmanlike in places, but with aspirations to literary quality, the novel is made memorable by a single
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character—the gun shop owner Pirrie, a delightful mix of competence, unassumingness and psychopathy. Show Less
LibraryThing member gaskella
The 1950s saw an explosion of science fiction and cultural dystopias. In 1951 there was John Wyndham’s ground-breaking novel Day of the Triffids, followed by Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 in 1953. Then there was Quatermass on the television. William Golding’s classic Lord of the Flies was
Then in 1956 The Death of Grass was published. John Christopher was an established author, but this was his breakthrough novel. Readers may recall The Tripods BBC TV series which was made in the mid-70s from a trilogy of books he later wrote for older children. But back to The Death of Grass. It’s not really a science fiction novel, despite the catalyst for all that’s to come being a rather realistic virus that kills grass (compared with the monstrous triffids). It is dystopian though, and survival is the key.
In the beginning we meet two brothers, John and David Custance. David grows up to inherit the family farm in a remote Westmorland valley, John becomes an engineer in London and has a family of his own. John and Ann, and their best friends the Buckleys, Roger and Olivia live a nice life in suburbia with their kids. They fervently believe the virus which is rampaging in Asia will burn itself out or be cured before it reaches them, but governments are planning for the future… I quote: ...
At the beginning of September, the United States House of Representatives passed an amendment to a Presidential bill of food aid, calling for a Plimsoll line for food stocks for home use. A certain minimum tonnage of all foods was to be kept in reserve, to be used inside the United States only.
Ann could not keep her indignation at this to herself.
“Millions facing famine,” she said, “and those fat old men refuse them food.”
They were all having tea on the Buckley’s lawn. The children had retired, with a supply of cakes, into the shrubbery, from which which shrieks and giggles issued at intervals. (End Quote)
And they continue to bicker about the famine in the East. I quote: ...
"Roger stared back. “We once agreed about my being a throwback – remember? If I irritate the people around me, don’t forget they may irritate me occasionally. Woolly-mindedness does. I believe in self-preservation, and I’m not prepared to wait until the knife is at my throat before I start fighting. I don’t see the sense in giving the children’s last crust to a starving beggar.”
“Last crust…” Ann looked at the table, covered with the remains of a lavish tea. “Is that what you call this?” …
… Olivia said: “I really think it’s best not to talk about it. It isn’t as though there’s anything we can do about it – we ourselves, anyway. We must just hope things don’t turn out so badly.”
All so nice and cosy, but there are intimations that the men are willing to be heroes if needed, and of course they are to get their chance. Things get much much worse, and they get just a few hours notice to get out of London before it’s sealed. The two families plan to go north to Westmorland, but stop off first at a gun-shop where they meet the owner Pirrie, who’s a good shot. ‘Persuaded’ to take him with them, the rest of the book tells of their journey north. But the army are already manning road-blocks out of London, and it’s amazing how quickly the men transform from well-meaning middle-class blokes into ruthless killers.
They are to encounter many more troubles as they make their way north. Pirrie, (who reminded me of Donald Pleasance in nasty mode), makes himself very useful to the group’s leader John, who finds himself having to make tougher and tougher decisions as they travel and to harden his heart. Ann his wife, remains the group’s conscience.
This immediate transformation of the country into a miriad of small fiefdoms and garrisons, with its accompanying moral disintegration may have happened rather fast, but kept things moving towards the conclusion. John and Roger were ex-Army, so had the discipline to do what they had to do, the women were 1950s housewives, but at least Ann had a mind of her own, despite some rather dated, arch and cheesy dialogue.
This new Penguin classics reissue with the super cover also has a great foreword by Robert MacFarlane, the landscape writer, which puts it into context and surveys the (eco-)dystopian sub-genre. For another excellent review, you can visit John Self’s blog at Asylum.
I was totally won over by this book. I feel I may have to revisit the Triffids though.
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also published in 1954.Then in 1956 The Death of Grass was published. John Christopher was an established author, but this was his breakthrough novel. Readers may recall The Tripods BBC TV series which was made in the mid-70s from a trilogy of books he later wrote for older children. But back to The Death of Grass. It’s not really a science fiction novel, despite the catalyst for all that’s to come being a rather realistic virus that kills grass (compared with the monstrous triffids). It is dystopian though, and survival is the key.
In the beginning we meet two brothers, John and David Custance. David grows up to inherit the family farm in a remote Westmorland valley, John becomes an engineer in London and has a family of his own. John and Ann, and their best friends the Buckleys, Roger and Olivia live a nice life in suburbia with their kids. They fervently believe the virus which is rampaging in Asia will burn itself out or be cured before it reaches them, but governments are planning for the future… I quote: ...
At the beginning of September, the United States House of Representatives passed an amendment to a Presidential bill of food aid, calling for a Plimsoll line for food stocks for home use. A certain minimum tonnage of all foods was to be kept in reserve, to be used inside the United States only.
Ann could not keep her indignation at this to herself.
“Millions facing famine,” she said, “and those fat old men refuse them food.”
They were all having tea on the Buckley’s lawn. The children had retired, with a supply of cakes, into the shrubbery, from which which shrieks and giggles issued at intervals. (End Quote)
And they continue to bicker about the famine in the East. I quote: ...
"Roger stared back. “We once agreed about my being a throwback – remember? If I irritate the people around me, don’t forget they may irritate me occasionally. Woolly-mindedness does. I believe in self-preservation, and I’m not prepared to wait until the knife is at my throat before I start fighting. I don’t see the sense in giving the children’s last crust to a starving beggar.”
“Last crust…” Ann looked at the table, covered with the remains of a lavish tea. “Is that what you call this?” …
… Olivia said: “I really think it’s best not to talk about it. It isn’t as though there’s anything we can do about it – we ourselves, anyway. We must just hope things don’t turn out so badly.”
All so nice and cosy, but there are intimations that the men are willing to be heroes if needed, and of course they are to get their chance. Things get much much worse, and they get just a few hours notice to get out of London before it’s sealed. The two families plan to go north to Westmorland, but stop off first at a gun-shop where they meet the owner Pirrie, who’s a good shot. ‘Persuaded’ to take him with them, the rest of the book tells of their journey north. But the army are already manning road-blocks out of London, and it’s amazing how quickly the men transform from well-meaning middle-class blokes into ruthless killers.
They are to encounter many more troubles as they make their way north. Pirrie, (who reminded me of Donald Pleasance in nasty mode), makes himself very useful to the group’s leader John, who finds himself having to make tougher and tougher decisions as they travel and to harden his heart. Ann his wife, remains the group’s conscience.
This immediate transformation of the country into a miriad of small fiefdoms and garrisons, with its accompanying moral disintegration may have happened rather fast, but kept things moving towards the conclusion. John and Roger were ex-Army, so had the discipline to do what they had to do, the women were 1950s housewives, but at least Ann had a mind of her own, despite some rather dated, arch and cheesy dialogue.
This new Penguin classics reissue with the super cover also has a great foreword by Robert MacFarlane, the landscape writer, which puts it into context and surveys the (eco-)dystopian sub-genre. For another excellent review, you can visit John Self’s blog at Asylum.
I was totally won over by this book. I feel I may have to revisit the Triffids though.
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LibraryThing member edgeworth
I first read this novel in high school, after greatly enjoying the Tripods trilogy (The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead and The Pool of Fire) for which John Christopher is more well-known. Those books were aimed at young adults, and I recalled The Death of Grass as being surprisingly
The Death of Grass is a classic post-apocalyptic novel, written in the 1950s, the golden age of British post-apocalyptic fiction. In this case the end of the world as we know it is brought about by the Chung-Li virus, a disease originating in China which kills off all grass species - including, unfortunately for humans, wheat, barley and rye. First China falls to famine, and then it spreads to India and South-East Asia and the Soviet Union, and before long the grass is dying out in Britain and rationing is introduced in a desperate measure to stave off starvation. As England descends into anarchy, the protagonist and his friends and family must fight their way north to Cumbria, where his brother has a potato farm in an easily defended valley.
What sets The Death of Grass aside from other post-apocalyptic novels of the time - notably John Wyndham's nonetheless excellent bibliography - is the sheer level of realistic brutality the characters are forced to lower themselves to. Like all novels of the genre, The Death of Grass' overiding theme is that civilisation is a thin veneer that will be peeled away as soon as the electricity goes out and the tap water runs dry, and there are many conversations to this effect. The protagonist and his friends are forced to kill, and not just in self-defence, and in the closing stages of the novel - a mere few days after they have fled London - he realises that he is becoming something akin to a feudal chieftan, with a roving band of armed killers. Men like this are a staple of post-apocalyptic fiction - whether they are the bikers of Mad Max, or the armed survivalists of The Road, or even the miscellaneous bandits and marauders of my own serialised novel End Times - but they are always the bad guys, never the protagonists. Note that I didn't use the word "heroes;" in Christopher's world, there are no heroes, just the dead and the living. These generic bad guys always kill to take things - weapons, food, vehicles - and from our vantage point in the real world we consider this the wrong thing to do. We never consider that scavenging and trading might not be enough. We never consider that, in order to survive, we might very well have to kill and take. If you'd prefer to die than do that, you will - count on it.
The Death of Grass is one of the most unflinching accounts of an apocalyptic event that I've ever read, and is required reading to any fan of the genre. It's also, incidentally, the first book that I've re-read in more than two and a half years, because I'm in Mongolia at the moment and reading material is limited. Once I reach London I've a good mind to go over and read some favourites from the past - the entire Discworld series, for a start, plus all of Philip Reeve's books. Now I'm adding all of Christopher's works to the list (although the only ones I've read are the Tripods books) and, for that matter, all of Wyndham's.
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more serious and cold-blooded in dealing with the downfall of human civilisation.The Death of Grass is a classic post-apocalyptic novel, written in the 1950s, the golden age of British post-apocalyptic fiction. In this case the end of the world as we know it is brought about by the Chung-Li virus, a disease originating in China which kills off all grass species - including, unfortunately for humans, wheat, barley and rye. First China falls to famine, and then it spreads to India and South-East Asia and the Soviet Union, and before long the grass is dying out in Britain and rationing is introduced in a desperate measure to stave off starvation. As England descends into anarchy, the protagonist and his friends and family must fight their way north to Cumbria, where his brother has a potato farm in an easily defended valley.
What sets The Death of Grass aside from other post-apocalyptic novels of the time - notably John Wyndham's nonetheless excellent bibliography - is the sheer level of realistic brutality the characters are forced to lower themselves to. Like all novels of the genre, The Death of Grass' overiding theme is that civilisation is a thin veneer that will be peeled away as soon as the electricity goes out and the tap water runs dry, and there are many conversations to this effect. The protagonist and his friends are forced to kill, and not just in self-defence, and in the closing stages of the novel - a mere few days after they have fled London - he realises that he is becoming something akin to a feudal chieftan, with a roving band of armed killers. Men like this are a staple of post-apocalyptic fiction - whether they are the bikers of Mad Max, or the armed survivalists of The Road, or even the miscellaneous bandits and marauders of my own serialised novel End Times - but they are always the bad guys, never the protagonists. Note that I didn't use the word "heroes;" in Christopher's world, there are no heroes, just the dead and the living. These generic bad guys always kill to take things - weapons, food, vehicles - and from our vantage point in the real world we consider this the wrong thing to do. We never consider that scavenging and trading might not be enough. We never consider that, in order to survive, we might very well have to kill and take. If you'd prefer to die than do that, you will - count on it.
The Death of Grass is one of the most unflinching accounts of an apocalyptic event that I've ever read, and is required reading to any fan of the genre. It's also, incidentally, the first book that I've re-read in more than two and a half years, because I'm in Mongolia at the moment and reading material is limited. Once I reach London I've a good mind to go over and read some favourites from the past - the entire Discworld series, for a start, plus all of Philip Reeve's books. Now I'm adding all of Christopher's works to the list (although the only ones I've read are the Tripods books) and, for that matter, all of Wyndham's.
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LibraryThing member john257hopper
Probably the best and most stark post apocalyptic novel I have read. This beats Day of the Triffids for me. It dates from the same era, being first published in 1956. The characters similarly come across as slightly cliched by modern standards. What makes this so good is the uncompromising grimness
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of the harsh choices the characters make as they cross the country to the safety of an isolated valley in the extreme north west of England. This reminded me of the TV series Survivors and the film Threads in the tone and atmosphere. Brilliant stuff. Christopher should be as well known as Wyndham. And all hail the taut 200 page novel. Almost no novels published nowadays are that short, but a great novel doesn't need to be overblown at 500+ pages to succeed. Show Less
LibraryThing member blackjacket
One of the classic 'floral apocalypse' novels of the post-war sci-fi era. All species of grass - including wheat, rice, rye, barley, pretty much all the staples of civilisation - die out following a global virus outbreak. The story follows a band of people, led by John Custance as they make their
The Death of Grass was first published in 1956, two years after William Golding's Lord of Flies and five years after John Wyndham's Day of the Triffids. I mention these two books because, while the scenario of Death of Grass is similar to that of Day of the Triffids -the breakdown of society in response to an apocalyptic event - the author's take on how crisis influences human behaviour is closer to that of Lord of the Flies. In other words, we witness the less attractive, though more pragmatic side of human nature.
In the excellent introduction to the book, Robert MacFarlane makes the point that, like Lord of the Flies before it, The Death of Grass demolishes the notion that England could be relied upon to be a bastion of civility and upholder of morals when global disaster strikes.Such ideas, coming so soon after the Allies victory over the evils of Nazism a decade before, must have been quite confronting at the time.
What makes Death of Grass still compelling to read more than half a century later is the skill with which the author describes the unravelling of a civil, at times apathetic, society and the radical changes this imposes upon the moral outlook of ordinary law-abiding citizens. John Custance realises pretty quickly that he must make some unholy alliances in order to prevail.
The Death of Grass is speculative fiction at its best, for it not only poses the question Could this happen?, but asks of the reader What would you do?
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way from London through the barren English countryside toward the promise of a relatively fertile and fortified rural sanctuary owned by John's brother David.The Death of Grass was first published in 1956, two years after William Golding's Lord of Flies and five years after John Wyndham's Day of the Triffids. I mention these two books because, while the scenario of Death of Grass is similar to that of Day of the Triffids -the breakdown of society in response to an apocalyptic event - the author's take on how crisis influences human behaviour is closer to that of Lord of the Flies. In other words, we witness the less attractive, though more pragmatic side of human nature.
In the excellent introduction to the book, Robert MacFarlane makes the point that, like Lord of the Flies before it, The Death of Grass demolishes the notion that England could be relied upon to be a bastion of civility and upholder of morals when global disaster strikes.Such ideas, coming so soon after the Allies victory over the evils of Nazism a decade before, must have been quite confronting at the time.
What makes Death of Grass still compelling to read more than half a century later is the skill with which the author describes the unravelling of a civil, at times apathetic, society and the radical changes this imposes upon the moral outlook of ordinary law-abiding citizens. John Custance realises pretty quickly that he must make some unholy alliances in order to prevail.
The Death of Grass is speculative fiction at its best, for it not only poses the question Could this happen?, but asks of the reader What would you do?
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LibraryThing member preetalina
On the back cover of the version I own, there is a blurb from the Financial Times: "Gripping... of all fiction's apocalypses, this is one of the most haunting."
Gripping is the perfect word to describe this book. I would also add scary and horrifying.
The story follows the family of John Custance as
The story starts off as the virus begins its spread in Asian countries, not having reached the Western world. It's quite amusing, and like looking into a mirror, when you read how the various characters react to the events "over there," somewhere far away. When the virus finally makes its way over to the Western world, particularly Europe and England, that's when the depth of the problem reaches home - literally and otherwise, I guess.
I found this book enthralling because it takes a look at how humans might actually react in the face of such an apocalypse. I feel that books can and tend to be more savage, and thus, more realistic than what you might find in movies. Movies are usually trying to appeal to a broader audience, and often "need" to have non-bleak outlooks, whereas I don't think books suffer from the same confines. This is definitely true here.
I just couldn't put the book down. I ended up finishing the whole thing in the night, finally putting it down at 3:30am because I kept thinking, only a couple more pages! - until I finished the whole damn thing.
I bought and read this one thanks to Stephen, who has, as usual, a way better review than mine that you ought to take a look at. When I was in grade school or middle school, I read some of Christopher's other books, The White Mountain series. While I don't remember much in detail, I do recall liking them.
This is definitely a great book, and recommended for post-apocalypse genre fans. I think interest is rising in it again (originally written in the 1950s) and it's been republished. The version I have is new - a Penguin Modern Classic. There is an intro at the beginning of this version which is worth a read.
To end, quite an apt quote, especially in light of what's going on in the world today:
In a way, I think I feel it would be more right for the virus to win, anyway. For years now, we've treated the land as though it were a piggy-bank, to be raided. And the land, after all, is life itself.
Gripping is the perfect word to describe this book. I would also add scary and horrifying.
The story follows the family of John Custance as
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they travel across England to try to make it to his brother's farm, after a virus ravages the world, ridding it of all forms of grass. This includes the entire family of Gramineae, all 10,000 species of grass, including major crop plants such as wheat, barley, oats, and rye. You can imagine the effects of something like this, basically leading to famine.The story starts off as the virus begins its spread in Asian countries, not having reached the Western world. It's quite amusing, and like looking into a mirror, when you read how the various characters react to the events "over there," somewhere far away. When the virus finally makes its way over to the Western world, particularly Europe and England, that's when the depth of the problem reaches home - literally and otherwise, I guess.
I found this book enthralling because it takes a look at how humans might actually react in the face of such an apocalypse. I feel that books can and tend to be more savage, and thus, more realistic than what you might find in movies. Movies are usually trying to appeal to a broader audience, and often "need" to have non-bleak outlooks, whereas I don't think books suffer from the same confines. This is definitely true here.
I just couldn't put the book down. I ended up finishing the whole thing in the night, finally putting it down at 3:30am because I kept thinking, only a couple more pages! - until I finished the whole damn thing.
I bought and read this one thanks to Stephen, who has, as usual, a way better review than mine that you ought to take a look at. When I was in grade school or middle school, I read some of Christopher's other books, The White Mountain series. While I don't remember much in detail, I do recall liking them.
This is definitely a great book, and recommended for post-apocalypse genre fans. I think interest is rising in it again (originally written in the 1950s) and it's been republished. The version I have is new - a Penguin Modern Classic. There is an intro at the beginning of this version which is worth a read.
To end, quite an apt quote, especially in light of what's going on in the world today:
In a way, I think I feel it would be more right for the virus to win, anyway. For years now, we've treated the land as though it were a piggy-bank, to be raided. And the land, after all, is life itself.
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LibraryThing member edwinbcn
In 2009 and 2010, Penguin Books has expanded and revamped the Penguin Modern Classics series, adding a number of great works of fiction which were about to be forgotten. I usually shun detective, and much sci-fi, but bought these on the authority of the series, considering that,inclusion in this
Death of grass merits to remain in broad circulation for at least two reasons. In the first place, as it was published in 1956, it was one of the books that inspired environmentalists. The book poignantly demonstrates the importance of the environment, by drawing attention to the effects of total destruction of the environment if only one order of plants would be wiped out, namely grasses. Even in our day, the devastation that would be created by killing off any type of grass, is hard to imagine, and the author is able to impress the reader today by apocalyptic landscapes of bare and muddy hills an downs in rural England, where all grass has disappeared.
Secondly, some science fiction has the potential to turn into an ugly reality. According to the introduction to this edition by Robert Macfarlane, the type of virus described in the book as causing this massive die-off of grasses already exists in the natural world, and it is spreading. While it sounds a little bit like another eboli-horror originating from deep in Africa, apparently hardly spreading, the fact that it is spreading, plus the fact that I had never heard of it before, may give you an excellent reason to pick up and read this book.
Meanwhile, the story is a good read, certainly as good as John Wyndham. Naturally, all these novels read with a feeling of being somewhat dated. In another twenty years, they will be included in Penguin Classics, along with H. W. Wells. I must say, I quite like writings from this period, all the more, if you read a few of them, such as The black cloud (1957) by Fred Hoyle or After the rain (1958) by John Bowen my review
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Penguin series must indicate merit. On the other hand, foreign language books are still scarce in China, so as these Penguins appeared on the shelve in one bookstore (only), I bought a large number of them, across various genres and categories of authors I have never read.Death of grass merits to remain in broad circulation for at least two reasons. In the first place, as it was published in 1956, it was one of the books that inspired environmentalists. The book poignantly demonstrates the importance of the environment, by drawing attention to the effects of total destruction of the environment if only one order of plants would be wiped out, namely grasses. Even in our day, the devastation that would be created by killing off any type of grass, is hard to imagine, and the author is able to impress the reader today by apocalyptic landscapes of bare and muddy hills an downs in rural England, where all grass has disappeared.
Secondly, some science fiction has the potential to turn into an ugly reality. According to the introduction to this edition by Robert Macfarlane, the type of virus described in the book as causing this massive die-off of grasses already exists in the natural world, and it is spreading. While it sounds a little bit like another eboli-horror originating from deep in Africa, apparently hardly spreading, the fact that it is spreading, plus the fact that I had never heard of it before, may give you an excellent reason to pick up and read this book.
Meanwhile, the story is a good read, certainly as good as John Wyndham. Naturally, all these novels read with a feeling of being somewhat dated. In another twenty years, they will be included in Penguin Classics, along with H. W. Wells. I must say, I quite like writings from this period, all the more, if you read a few of them, such as The black cloud (1957) by Fred Hoyle or After the rain (1958) by John Bowen my review
Show Less
LibraryThing member Figgles
Dark depressing tale of Englands descent into anarchy after a mutant virus wipes out all the grass in the world. Tipped off by a friend in government John Custance flees London for the safety of his brother's (potoato) farm in Westmorland. He finds himself the increasingly feudal leader of a
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growing band of desparate refugees. Morality and order crumble on a nightmare journey. I first read this at 14 (I was a fan of the Tripods trilogy) and it profoundly disturbed me - it now feels a little dated but has not lost the power to shock as the civilised, professional protagonists discard their morality to save their families and themselves. Show Less
LibraryThing member fothpaul
Really enjoyed this book. The premise was excellent and believable and the story had me hooked. A good mix of characters and good development of them. My only complaint would be the abruptness of the ending.
LibraryThing member CarltonC
This is a prescient book, written in 1956, taking the idea of an ecological disaster (the death of all grass based plants, such as corn, wheat and rice) and seeing how that might play out in England. In some ways the book is more horrific for having been written in 1956 with the author being so
The story is competently told and well thought out, with the characters developing somewhat. However, this development is spelt out in a explicit way, rather than the reader seeing the development implicitly from the characters actions and words. This may be due to short nature of the book, but it does detract from it for me.
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realistic about how quickly society breaks down and our small group of characters making for safety in the rural north of England, with crises along the way making us realise how quickly civilised values would disappear. The story is competently told and well thought out, with the characters developing somewhat. However, this development is spelt out in a explicit way, rather than the reader seeing the development implicitly from the characters actions and words. This may be due to short nature of the book, but it does detract from it for me.
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LibraryThing member ropie
Gripping, bleak, scary, dated, misogynistic, graphic, tense, prescient are all words used to describe this book. It is also a great adventure and very difficult to put down. It's short and very well worth the time it will take to read.
LibraryThing member pauliharman
A 50s/60s world where a viral plague wipes out all grasses on Earth - including rice and wheat. This is one of my favourite genres of fiction, yet somehow I was rather unmoved by the story. The prose felt very "formal", rather matter-of-fact, and left me detached from what was happening - not a
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problem I had with the contemporaneous "Day of the Triffids", for example. The ideas are strong, and the resolution striking, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. Odd from the author of the Tripods series, I expected better. Show Less
LibraryThing member crdf
Amazing book. Especially after the first four chapters, where we get to know the main characters. It's frighteningly real in the way people react and change when it comes to elementary physical survival. How the society crumbles and the government turns on its own people. I think it show quite
It is a must-read for every post apocalyptic lover.
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accurately the way people would behave in the exact same situation. It shows the ugly side of all of us. It is a must-read for every post apocalyptic lover.
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LibraryThing member ft_ball_fn
I really liked this book. Despite being written quite a while ago and some of the character's attitudes and behaviors making that fact evident.. the character development is quick but solid, the story is fast paced, and the description of how quickly society degenerates gripping. The biggest issue
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I had was the book was too short--it could have been much longer. When all the grass dies (any type of grass)--things go south fast for society, and a family flees the city just ahead of the breakdown looking for safe haven with relatives. The story is not only their journey there (including meeting people on the way) but also a little of how things go once they arrive at their destination and try to build stable lives. Show Less
LibraryThing member Vinjii
Great premise: grass dying and hence our food, and a famine leads to the unravelling of society. It’s been compared to Lord of the Flies and just like with Lord of the Flies I wasn’t a fan of the execution.
It’s a male power fantasy. Once laws are a thing of the past, the man is in charge and
Everyone suddenly felt the need to randomly (and unnecessarily) rape and kill. Basically over night. I do believe society can unravel in days but I do think average people would try and hold onto “being good” for a bit longer than this book suggests.
It’s a male power fantasy. Once laws are a thing of the past, the man is in charge and
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can kill his wife then take a teenager as his new wife the next day. Okay? Everyone suddenly felt the need to randomly (and unnecessarily) rape and kill. Basically over night. I do believe society can unravel in days but I do think average people would try and hold onto “being good” for a bit longer than this book suggests.
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LibraryThing member Ma_Washigeri
Still powerful. Very nicely written and structured. The characters are not strongly drawn but that is a strength in some ways as it is easier to believe that (almost) any of them could be any of us. Just after reading I visited several iron age forts in Shropshire and was touched by the ebb and
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flow of people, peoples, and under that the land itself (ancient and complicated geology in Shropshire). Show Less
LibraryThing member CBJames
There world has been coming to an end since 1956.
There has been an explosion of dystopian futures of late. If you wandered around any Scholastic Book Faire this year, you saw that just about one out of ever four titles in the fiction section featured some kind of horrific future.
It's oddly
The end of the world is an old trope in science fiction; it was nothing new even in 1956 when John Christopher wrote his novel No Blade of Grass (called The Death of Grass in the United Kingdom.)
No Blade of Grass disturbs as it entertains. Even the premise is disturbing.--we don't need something drastic or complicated to bring about the end of the world, all we need is a naturally occurring virus that kills something as simple and basic as grass. There is no complex scientific experiment gone wrong nor a rouge government bent of world conquest nor any sort of re-animated dead. Just a virus. Just grass.
But grass includes rice, wheat, hay, oats. Take grass away and the world quickly starves to death.
While John Christopher's novels take place against a backdrop of cataclysmic world events they are all focused on people. In the case of No Blade of Grass, Mr. Christopher tells the story of David and John, two brothers. David inherits the family farm, located in an idyllic valley far removed from urban London where John lives with his wife and two children and works as an engineer designing large construction projects. The two couldn't be more different.
When word of the virus attacking the rice crop in China comes, David asks John to move his family to the farm. David, who has no children, has come to love his niece and nephew as his own and fears for what will happen to them once the virus spreads enough to reach the British Isles. John insists that someone will find a way to stop the virus, and stays in the city. The virus spreads, of course, and when a colleague of John's learns that the government plans to destroy the urban centers as a way of reducing the population enough to leave only those who can be fed, John leads his family and a small group of friends out of London and across England to David's farm where they all hope to be safe.
Very quickly John and the members of his group realize that if they are to survive, they will have to resort to extreme means. They quickly sink into what can only be labelled as barbarism. In one scene they come across an isolated farmhouse where they hope to find food and shelter. Almost as soon as the farmer opens his door in response to their knock, John shoots him dead. They enter the house to find his wife screaming in terror and shoot her as well. When they later find the couple's young daughter hiding in her upstairs bedroom it is only the intervention of John's horrified wife that forces him to offer the girl a chance to join their group.
This is not how I expected the hero of the story to behave, but it is completely believable. Contrast this with the noble father of Cormac McCarthy's The Road who tries to protect his son and to set an example of goodness for him amidst the fallen world they live in. Mr. Christopher's hero wants his children to understand that they will all have to do horrible things if they are to survive. His portrayal of how these characters quickly become barbaric is disturbing and believable. Which made it even more disturbing.
It's not easy to find a copy of No Blade of Grass in the United States these days, in spite of the recent explosion of end of the world fiction, but it is well worth the effort.
There has been an explosion of dystopian futures of late. If you wandered around any Scholastic Book Faire this year, you saw that just about one out of ever four titles in the fiction section featured some kind of horrific future.
It's oddly
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comforting to realize that this is really nothing new.The end of the world is an old trope in science fiction; it was nothing new even in 1956 when John Christopher wrote his novel No Blade of Grass (called The Death of Grass in the United Kingdom.)
No Blade of Grass disturbs as it entertains. Even the premise is disturbing.--we don't need something drastic or complicated to bring about the end of the world, all we need is a naturally occurring virus that kills something as simple and basic as grass. There is no complex scientific experiment gone wrong nor a rouge government bent of world conquest nor any sort of re-animated dead. Just a virus. Just grass.
But grass includes rice, wheat, hay, oats. Take grass away and the world quickly starves to death.
While John Christopher's novels take place against a backdrop of cataclysmic world events they are all focused on people. In the case of No Blade of Grass, Mr. Christopher tells the story of David and John, two brothers. David inherits the family farm, located in an idyllic valley far removed from urban London where John lives with his wife and two children and works as an engineer designing large construction projects. The two couldn't be more different.
When word of the virus attacking the rice crop in China comes, David asks John to move his family to the farm. David, who has no children, has come to love his niece and nephew as his own and fears for what will happen to them once the virus spreads enough to reach the British Isles. John insists that someone will find a way to stop the virus, and stays in the city. The virus spreads, of course, and when a colleague of John's learns that the government plans to destroy the urban centers as a way of reducing the population enough to leave only those who can be fed, John leads his family and a small group of friends out of London and across England to David's farm where they all hope to be safe.
Very quickly John and the members of his group realize that if they are to survive, they will have to resort to extreme means. They quickly sink into what can only be labelled as barbarism. In one scene they come across an isolated farmhouse where they hope to find food and shelter. Almost as soon as the farmer opens his door in response to their knock, John shoots him dead. They enter the house to find his wife screaming in terror and shoot her as well. When they later find the couple's young daughter hiding in her upstairs bedroom it is only the intervention of John's horrified wife that forces him to offer the girl a chance to join their group.
This is not how I expected the hero of the story to behave, but it is completely believable. Contrast this with the noble father of Cormac McCarthy's The Road who tries to protect his son and to set an example of goodness for him amidst the fallen world they live in. Mr. Christopher's hero wants his children to understand that they will all have to do horrible things if they are to survive. His portrayal of how these characters quickly become barbaric is disturbing and believable. Which made it even more disturbing.
It's not easy to find a copy of No Blade of Grass in the United States these days, in spite of the recent explosion of end of the world fiction, but it is well worth the effort.
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LibraryThing member jkdavies
Interesting idea, but a little simplistic in the telling