The novel “Greener Than You Think” by Ward Moore was published for the first time in 1947.
Albert Weener answered a job advertisement by Josephine Spencer Francis, a scientist who invented the Metamorphizer, a kind of fertilizer that allows a plant to grow in any condition without the need for other fertilizers. At this stage of development, the Metamorphizer works only with grass species such as devilgrass, scientifically known as Cynodon dactylon.
Weener, who works as a salesman without much success, manages to sell a dose of Metamorphizer with the result that the devilgrass in the garden where it was applied starts growing practically before their eyes. Any attempt to stop the growth fails and the grass starts spreading out of control.
“Greener Than You Think” was Ward Moore’s first science fiction novel. It’s inspired by the catastrophist subgenre but the story is told in a satirical way in the form of memoir by the protagonist Albert Weener. Unwittingly, with the sole purpose of making a buck, he starts an apocalypse in the form of a common grass that starts growing out of control after being sprayed with the Metamorphizer.
Albert Weener is a charlatan who thinks he has great salesmanship but is actually a mediocre man. His account is full of sexist comments, especially towards the scientist Josephine Spencer Francis, and sometimes even racist towards people he meets throughout the novel. He cares nothing about the potential of the scientific research that could improve crops but only about the potential profits he could make from selling the Metamorphizer.
In his account of the events, Albert Weener never misses the opportunity to praise himself by stressing his alleged merits, the alleged results obtained thanks to those merits, and the alleged contributions made to the cause, namely the attempts to stop the grass. Indeed, he manages to obtain many material results but this never happens through his own merits.
Josephine Spencer Francis accepts responsibility for what happened with the grass and tries to develop a remedy to stop its growth. Faced with repeated demonstrations of disinterest and insensitivity by Albert Weener, she doesn’t hesitate to answer him with caustic comments.
Over-the-top characters are the norm in “Greener Than You Think” such as the colorful journalist Jacson Gootes, the grumpy editor of the Daily Intelligencer William Rufus Le ffaçasé, and General Thario. It’s not the type of novel with normal character development precisely because of its satirical tone. In various cases, the characters represent some category of people of which Ward Moore stresses certain characteristics, typically not positive. They fully show the novel’s satirical element, and this is even more obvious in the contrast with the occasional characters who have positive characteristics.
This can be a difficult novel to read for someone because of the narration in the form of a memoir by the protagonist. Albert Weener is a charlatan who always complains about everything and everyone and at the same time tries to exalt his alleged skills. Sometimes, the events are in the background, especially when they don’t affect Weener directly. On the other hand, this is precisely what makes the story funny, even if sometimes the laughter can be bitter when Ward Moore points out flaws of the protagonist or of some category of human beings.
Due to its characteristics, “Greener Than You Think” is an unusual catastrophist novel but that’s also why it has become a classic. Decades before environmental problems became a subject of discussion, Ward Moore raised the question of profit that comes first and the justifications of the people who have that attitude. For this reason, it’s still a novel worth reading. It’s available on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.
