James Rebanks

A beautifully written intellectual contemplation on the changes in farming in Britain over the course of a recent lifetime. I found this particularly interesting as a contrast to the book by his wife -- which sometimes puzzled and frustrated me because their relationship is very much one where the husband/farmer/shepherd is out on the land and not at all engaged with home life, cooking, children. Their relationship clearly works for their family, and is somewhat fascinating to me.

Anyway, this book is also about relationships -- between Rebanks and his grandfather, father, community, land, animals. I love where his observations and thoughts have taken him. I found his arguments for the rewilding of cultivated land compelling -- that farming is meant to be part of the natural web and is also always going to be a compromise as we struggle with burgeoning populations and the demand for cheap food. Still, he is developing his land to incorporate more biodiversity, to encourage the natural run of rivers, to restore hedges and wetlands. It's a beautiful thing, and somehow having the crushing amount of constant work to balance against his wife's point of view explains a lot. They work as a team to nurture different part of their lives. I am so inspired by this book to try and understand and nurture the small land that is in my care. It's a powerful message, and I hope that many farmers see and embrace it as well in whatever capacity they can.… (mere)

This is a book to savour. It's the story of a man raised to expect to live his life as a shepherd in the Lake District, as his father, grandfather and ancestors did. So he does. But in his case, he has episodes elsewhere: as an Oxford undergraduate; as someone who works for the UNESCO World Heritage programme. These are interesting, worthwhile experiences. But they serve to confirm for him that shepherding in a traditional community, with all its difficulties and privations is all that he really wants to do in life, and it matters very deeply to him. He writes lyrically about the seasons, about winter days when he bursts open the haybales to offer his sheep the smells and tastes of the long-forgotten summer. He talks of the complexities of breeding, nourishing and bringing on his stock, always with his family by his side. His writing isn't always faultless - I became irritated at hios frequent misuse of the term 'disinterested'. But on balance it's a lyrically-written though realistic look at a way of life that's tough, unremitting in its demands, but ultimately important and worthwhile. To see if it's for you, just look at the last page- it won't spoil the plot - and in reading it, you'll discover that this book is in fact a love story by a man who loves the place where he lives, and his own place within it.… (mere)