Book Review: No Blade of Grass

There’s more than one way to get to the post in post-apocalyptic fiction. While a third world war/nuclear explosion is one of the most used, there are also plenty of meteorological catastrophes, flu pandemics, technological failures, and even aliens or zombies as plot catalysts for post-apocalyptic scenarios.

John Christopher’s No Blade of Grass (1956) starts with a virus, but not just any virus. Rather than people, this virus kills all grasses quite quickly, mutating faster than scientists can find a counter-virus. That means no rice and no wheat --the basis of most of the world’s food supply. Without grass, cattle have nothing to graze upon, either, so the meat supply is also endangered.

The result is almost the opposite of the standard post-apocalyptic scenario, which usually concerns a decimated population of humans. In this novel, the population is plentiful; it’s the food that’s scarce.

When rumors leak that the British government plans to deal with the problem by swiftly reducing the population (i.e., atom-bombing major city centers), panicked families flee London and literally head for the hills. The ensuing chaos spreads even more rapidly than the grass virus.

The family at the center of No Blade of Grass has insider information via a government-employed friend, so they have a bit of a head start. Their plan is to reach a relative’s farm, which, situated in a deep valley bordered by a treacherous river and steep mountains, will allow them to survive while shutting the gate behind them (also literally.)

John Custance is determined that his family reach the farm so they can grow up in a civilized manner, no matter what the cost along the way. John’s choices are hard ones, and the every-man-for-himself mentality he encounters on the road leads him to making decisions (on a smaller scale) of the type he previously condemned the government for.

When he confronts a band of thieves --men who would have been ordinary working men just weeks ago-- they accuse him outright. If he’s made it this far, one suggests, he must have more than theft to his name. His accusation is so true it stings.

It becomes clear that in his quest to get his family to civilization, he’s losing civility along the way.

No Blade of Grass is frightening because people can be frightening, and when they’re placed in extreme situations, it’s almost impossible to predict exactly what even the most well-meaning person will do.

A bit of a difficulty in reading the book is in the names. Whether it’s because plain names were popular in the ‘50s, or perhaps because Christopher was attempting an Everyfamily, the characters are a nightmare to keep straight: John, Roger, Mary, Anne, David and Jane. It’s cause for rejoicing when a boy named Spooks joins the ensemble.

First published in England as The Death of Grass, the book’s American publishers thought the title “sounded like something out of a gardening catalogue.” It was made into a film in 1970, and BBC Radio 4 broadcast a five-part radio drama in 2009, narrated by Peep Show’s David Mitchell.

If you've read any post-apocalyptic fiction (or seen any films), what was the catalyst for the collapse of civilization? Do you prefer realistic or supernatural events as causes for a fictitious apocalypse?