Samara from Nelson’s Otter Books shares another book review with {vurb}:
Just in time for spring, check out Susan Juby’s novel The Woefield Poultry Collective. Fun, funny, and fantastic, this story is about a collection of quirky characters trying to figure out what life is all about, and save a farm in the process.
It begins with Prudence Burns, an energetic 20-something from New York, who inherits her uncle’s farm in rural Ontario when he passes away.
Full of ideals and ideas, but not a lot of practical experience, Prudence embarks on an adventure to rehabilitate the farm (which she discovers is close to foreclosure).
Along the way she collects a few (not entirely willing) helpers: Earl, the farm’s reluctant foreman, (and a bluegrass master with a family secret); Seth, the celebrity blogging boy next door who hasn’t left his house since a certain high school incident; and Sara, a supremely organized eleven-year old, with a bunch of chickens needing a home. Like a delicious tossed salad, you’re never quite sure what each bite will hold, but it’s always flavourful.
I seem to have a strange penchant for novels that have animals with personalities, and Bertie, the half-sheared, depressed sheep in this novel is no exception.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who has a farm or is starting one, enjoys a good story, likes to laugh, and who likes to go on a journey with the characters (even if it’s just to a farmer’s market) as they discover just what they are capable of.
{vurb} would love to hear what you’re reading. Share your favourite books, or even some you may have thought were overrated. You can email us your reviews at vurb@nelsonstar.com or contact us on facebook.
