I had the pleasure of reading The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball over spring break. I say pleasure because it seems appropriate. This book was a complete delight. Especially for someone who is completely enamored with fresh food, farming, and raising farm animals. I'm inspired and in awe of the business model for The Essex Farm, which you can read about here.
“I was forced to confront my own prejudice. I had come to the farm with the unarticulated belief that concrete things were for dumb people and abstract things were for smart people. I thought the physical world - the trades - was the place you ended up if you weren't bright or ambitious enough to handle a white-collar job. Did I really think that a person with a genius for fixing engines, or for building, or for husbanding cows, was less brilliant than a person who writes ad copy or interprets the law? Apparently I did, though it amazes me now.”
― Kristin Kimball, The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love
1 comment:
This is a book about one woman's life change, from city dweller to farmer, and the relationship with a man who acted as a catalyst for this change. I've read a few reviews on here prior to writing my own review and am a little surprised to see what they commented negatively on.
Yes, animal slaughter is described, as is a dog attack on a cow. I don't take offense at this, nor was I surprised that it was included in the book. This is a book about farming, and slaughter is part of farm life. Anyone who doesn't want to read about the realities of life and food production shouldn't read this book.
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