Where the Grass no longer Grows

Author: Georges Magnane

Translator: Jerome Fletcher   Cover design: Marie Lane  

Reviews

'When I set out to read this book, I thought it would just be a fairly straightforward account of that awful day. However, Magnane shows himself to be a skilled writer, giving us an almost Gionoesque portrayal of an ordinary French village with ordinary people in it. Some are good, some less so. They fall in love, have children, work fairly hard, drink, argue, mock, chat with their neighbours . They misbehave – drink, children out of wedlock, a bit of minor violence. They had been fortunate, as much of the worst of the war had passed them by. The few survivors, both those who arrived later and the very few who were there, are naturally devastated and Magnane skilfully shows how difficult it is to put you life together after going through what they did.'

John Alvey in The Modern Novel