The Sea Of Grass

THE SEA OF GRASS

by Conrad Richter

 

Nomination: National Book Finalist 1937

 

Date Read: April 2, 2021

 

Conrad Richter has a gift for getting his point across without a long, drawn-out narrative. Prior to this, The Waters Of Kronos came to mind. But here, Richter does it again. In sparing detail, he describes the ranching of New Mexico towards the end of western homesteading. While the prose about the land is gorgeous, I found the characters got lost among the sea of grass.

 

Colonel Brewton finds himself married to a mail-order bride, Lutie, who arrives from the East and is immediately at odds with the rough and tumble of the Southwest. Regardless, she is revered by the men in her life, which I never quite figured out why. She ends up abandoning her family, including her children, to pursue a more exciting life in the city.

 

Colonel Brewton is a rancher of the old-school variety and he finds himself at odds with the farmers or “nesters” who try to tame the land and grow crops. In the process of razing the one thing that grows there, the grass, the nesters grow a couple of seasons of grass before the land returns to its natural arid state. In the process, however, the original grass is gone and nothing remains but dust and sand.

 

More than plot or character development, Richter uses this novella as an homage to the land he clearly loves and describing it’s marvels in every detail. Having never been there, I’m sure it was beautiful once upon a time and I’m sure it’s beautiful even now.

 

Looking Back: The Town, The Waters Of Kronos 

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