A Blade of Grass by Lewis DeSoto

A Blade of Grass by Lewis DeSoto
Fiction/Literature

Marit is a young British wife to Ben when they move to Africa, purchase land, and try their hand at farming. Marit keeps to herself but enjoys the luxuries of going in to town and drinking at the local hotel. This is not a peaceful life. There's a war raging on the borders of their land and Ben one day drives over a bomb, killing himself. Marit is left to fend for herself in this foreign land, with strong barriers between whites and blacks. Marit befriends her maid, Tembi, bringing her in to the house to stay and treating her as an equal. What starts is an unlikely friendship.

Tembi and Marit have many troubles to contend with, including some distrust in each other, and their friendship is pushed to the limits. The story feels so real because it's not always happy and in fact becomes quite depressing at the end. The beginning was a bit slow but about half way through it I was having troubles putting the book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen. It's interesting to read a book about Africa and the tensions there as I haven't read many books on this subject. I enjoyed it!

First Line: "First she must wash the seeds."

Rating:
(4.5/5)