Where the Grass no longer Grows

Where the Grass no longer Grows is based on events at the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane in June 1944 when the SS massacred 642 men, women and children. This novel, the only fictional recreation of the massacre, follows the fate of a number of characters both inside and outside the village as they become aware of and respond to the unfolding horror.

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 neighbors . 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 skillfully shows how difficult it is to put your life together after going through what they did.
- John Alvey in The Modern Novel