Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Grass

This is topic Grass in forum Discussing Published Hooks & Books at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :

Usually I like beginnings that show a character in conflict. But here's a beginning that's pure description. For me, the language in this one is strong enough to hook me. So hard to pull that off!

Grass, by Sheri Tepper

Grass!

Millions of square miles of it; numberless wind-whipped tsunamis of grass, a thousand sun-lulled caribbeans of grass, a hundred rippling oceans, every ripple a gleam of scarlet or amber, emerald or turquoise, mulitcolored as rainbows, the colors shivering over the prairies in stripes and blotches, the grasses - some high, some low, some feathered, some straight - making their own geography as they grow. There are grass hills where the great plumes tower in masses the height of ten tall men; grass valleys where the turf is like moss, soft under the feet, where maidens pillow their heads thinking of their lovers, where husbands lie down and think of their mistresses; grass groves where old men and women sit quiet at the end of the day, dreaming of things that might have been, perhaps once were. Commoners all, of course. No aristocrat would sit in the wild grass to dream. Aristocrats have gardens for that, if they dream at all.

I don't think many writers could get away with that kind of beginning.

What do the rest of you think of it?

Posted by Shendülféa (Member # 2408) on :

It's quite interesting, but I'd say I wasn't hooked till near the end of it.

Posted by dpatridge (Member # 2208) on :

i'd agree with shen here.

the description didn't HOOK me, but it did kind of bring me in, lull me into a sort of flow. and then suddenly they introduced an element of tension, throwing that lull away. THAT was where the hook was. that hook, however, could not have worked if it wasn't for the rest of it though.

Posted by Beauregard Doumitt (Member # 2457) on :

I do like the idea, very much, and it certainly could work for me. I think you're right that it is very hard to pull off. For me the writer did _not_ pull it off.

The word "tsunami" put me off - it seems trite since it's been in the news so much lately. And "tsunamis of grass"? I have to wonder if the writer understands the meaning of the word. Then about the "hills of grass" sixty feet high - technically that's right, since bamboo is a grass, but that threw me out of the imagery too.

Since I wasn't in sympathy with the writing, I got bored before I finished, so I wasn't hooked by the tension at the end.

Well, you asked what I thought. I'd like to see some other examples of this device, if someone knows of any or runs across them in your reading. I think some other descriptive lead-ins might be more sucessful.

Gard

Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :

The book was written in 1993, well before the December tsunamis, so I don't think it's fair to call that particular image "trite."

but I am just quibbling. thanks for explaining what you didn't like about it.

Posted by TheoPhileo (Member # 1914) on :

I liked it. It didn't "hook" me in the way I generally look for a novel to hook me, but the poetic imagery is great. As long as the language eases a bit after the intro, I would keep reading (too much of a good thing, however...)

Posted by yanos (Member # 1831) on :

Actually this is one of my favourite books. The first paragraph tells us clearly this world is alien and through the gentle description we are introduced to elements of tension at the end. Like any method, this works well for some readers and won't for others. But then a reader who won't give a book more than a paragraph shouldn't be picking up books. Stick to comics.

Posted by onepktjoe (Member # 2352) on :

This really didn't strike me as particularly excessive detail. A lot of great writers have felt a need to introduce their narrative voice by presenting a panoramic sweep of the landscape as an integral part of that voice. I think this is written beautifully enough that I would read on. I'm curious, Beth--having read the book, does this opening now seem essential to you?

I ask, because discussions of these types of openings makes me think of Arundhati Roy's, "The God of Small Things." It's a far more extreme example (I've posted its opening as a complimentary thread to yours), but having read it many times, I see it as not only essential, but perfect.

[This message has been edited by onepktjoe (edited April 26, 2005).]

Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :

The whole phrase "numberless wind-whipped tsunamis of grass" is obvious hyperbole, but it's fully in keeping with the rest of the text.

That said, I felt like the whole thing was a bit over the top. Combined with the title, it would take some outside knowledge of the text to interest me in reading more.