The Death of Grass (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: Samuel Christopher Youd
- First Published: 1956
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Science fiction—cautionary
- Time of Work: The near future
- Setting: England
- Genres: Long fiction, Science fiction, Parable
- Subjects: 1950’s, Gender roles, Nature, Future, Human race, Rape, England or English people, Violence, Death or dying, Ethics, Survivalism, Disasters, Natural disasters, Epidemics, Famines, Viruses
- Locales: London, England, Midlands, England, Westmoreland, England
The Plot
The Death of Grass begins with an idyllic introductory scene, a visit by the Custance family to Blind Gill, an unforgettably green oasis among desert mountains. There, David’s love of the land wins him his grandfather’s farm and John’s near drowning reveals a secret that will later save lives.
Twenty-five years later, as the Chung-Li rice virus decimates rich fields, two hundred million Chinese people die of famine and Hong Kong implodes as smug Londoners speculate that Chinese secretiveness kept Western technology from introducing an antivirus...
[The entire page is 1113 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
