Don M. reviewed on + 15 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This is an absorbing tale of a couple who leave the fast-paced city life and move to a farm in Iowa, learning a lot about themselves in the process. I loved it.
Renee (Don's daughter)
From "500 Great Books By Women":
On the surface, Real-Farm looks like one of many similar books - a city-bred, academic couple, full of illusions, buy a farm in Iowa, only to find that reality is far from what they imagined. In the end, however, Real-Farm goes beyond a description of the trials and tribulations of farm life to become a philosophical exploration of ways of perception, grounded in daily details that are immediately accessible. What can we learn about marriage by watching geese? What is a bull snake and does one's perception change if the bull snake is in the woods or in one's basement? How many ways can one measure a tornado? Patricia Westfall is an inquisitive person who has a talent for relaying the information she digs up (sometimes literally). In Real-Farm she writes about the history of windmills, the mythology of snakes, and the development of corn; she explains how to drill a well and what time means to different cultures around the world. While the abstract nature of much of this information could distance her from us and her surroundings, her writing is personal and concrete. In her hands metaphysics, weed control technology, and little red refrigerators are all equally understandable, interesting, and real.
Renee (Don's daughter)
From "500 Great Books By Women":
On the surface, Real-Farm looks like one of many similar books - a city-bred, academic couple, full of illusions, buy a farm in Iowa, only to find that reality is far from what they imagined. In the end, however, Real-Farm goes beyond a description of the trials and tribulations of farm life to become a philosophical exploration of ways of perception, grounded in daily details that are immediately accessible. What can we learn about marriage by watching geese? What is a bull snake and does one's perception change if the bull snake is in the woods or in one's basement? How many ways can one measure a tornado? Patricia Westfall is an inquisitive person who has a talent for relaying the information she digs up (sometimes literally). In Real-Farm she writes about the history of windmills, the mythology of snakes, and the development of corn; she explains how to drill a well and what time means to different cultures around the world. While the abstract nature of much of this information could distance her from us and her surroundings, her writing is personal and concrete. In her hands metaphysics, weed control technology, and little red refrigerators are all equally understandable, interesting, and real.
