There's a really great book in here if it were edited better. Not only are there clearly repetitive sections (one paragraph appears twice within 15 pages of itself), but the mix of description and author's reflection are intermixed in muddled ways that send conflicting messages to the reader --- let me tell you about life as a shepherd but anyone who's not from here can never get it and isn't welcome.

I really enjoyed the description of life as a shepherd in the lake district. But I found the author a bit arrogant, obnoxious, and frankly insufferable. Only people from his community are virtuous or know how things "really are" (and not just in their community). Visitors aren't welcome. Once you leave this community, you can never really belong any more (except the author). Education is a waste of time because the author would rather be working on the farm and teachers are the worst... Until its clear that not everyone in this community can stay and farm, and he goes back to school. Suddenly education is potentially worthwhile (for him). And, of course, when he attends university, the author is brilliant and all of his professors like him best because he's so much smarter and more interesting than the other students.

I'm well aware that rural communities are filled with intelligent people who often have a unique brand of wisdom is undervalued by city dwellers. I understand the divisions and tension that happens within rural communities among those who embrace the life they were born into and those who try to straddle the life they were born into and a life in a wider world. I understand the annoyance with vacationers who show up in a picturesque community and treat it as though its their own. Those are all themes that are often addressed in this genre. But I found this author's attempt inelegant and off-putting.

The author has many blind spots. One of the most obvious is in his attitude about who belongs and who contributes to care of the land. Like ranchers in the US who benefit from public lands, public trusts, and various taxpayer funded programs, the author treats the issue as one of trespass by outsiders, rather than a set of tradeoffs that aren't perfect but basically enable the continuation of his way of life. He treats shepherding and farming as part of a healthy ecosystem without critically examining practices like the extermination of rooks or the fact that his and his communities decisions are still motivated by commercial interests (albeit with better institutions and norms for governing the commons)

While inserting the author's personality and reflections is a part of this genre, this is a very weak example. In comparison to something like PrairyErth by William Least Heat-Moon, which is also a deep exploration of life and culture in a specific place, Rebanks' approach is unwelcoming and even mildly insulting to the reader and he is unwilling to critically examine his own communities actions, or his own thoughts and beliefs.

It was just so enjoyable! Just hearing stories of James, his people, and the land they live on. There's something so simply profound about listening to people's stories, their testimonies. I might never make it to the Lake District (though I sure hope I do) but I feel I got to experience it, if just a little, by reading this book

„Życie pasterza” to opowieść o człowieku, który zrezygnował z życia w wielkim mieście i wrócił w rodzinne strony hodować owce. O tu jest pytanie, co może wnieść do naszego życia taka książka? Otóż wszystko, szczęście może wnieść.

Jest coś w tej książce, co zauroczyło mnie od samego początku jej czytania. Rebanks ujął mnie swoją szczerością oraz wnikliwością z jaką podszedł do przedstawienia swojego pasterskiego życia. Jego pochwała prostego życia, wcale nie odzwierciedla prostoty takiego życia, ale za to dostałam opisy wielu wyrzeczeń i ciężkiej pracy - i kto tu żyje w prosty sposób?. Jego życie to też i satysfakcja z tego gdzie się znalazł oraz co robi a nade wszystko, książka to opowieść o radości z życia. I o tym, że można znaleźć swoje miejsce w świecie.

Opowieść Rebanksa to opowieść szczęśliwego człowieka, który żyje tak jak sobie wybrał. A wybrał inaczej niż większość mogłaby sądzić - bo czy po skończonych studiach na Oksfordzie wyjeżdża się w góry by zostać pasterzem? Dla mnie to historia odważnego człowieka, który odważył się (wbrew oczekiwaniom świata) wrócić w rodzinne strony by żyć w rytmie natury, która nie zawsze jest po stronie człowieka. Czasem ta opowieść to walka, czasem szczęście z każdej minuty.

„Życie pasterza” może podczas czytania przynieść wiele refleksji na temat kondycji dzisiejszego świata, jego pędu za prestiżem, wykształceniem, pieniądzem i chęcią tego by było wszystkiego coraz więcej. Z drugiej strony mamy świat Rebanksa, który nie uznaje podziałów klasowych, szanuje każdego człowieka niezależnie od pochodzenia, żyje spokojnie w kręgu rodziny, tradycji i poszanowania do wszystkiego co go otacza. Świat Rebanksa nie jest światem bez wad, ale w ogólnym rozrachunku to w jego świecie ludzie są szczęśliwi. Nie jest to życie łatwe, ale jest to życie prawdziwe.

Spora cześć książki to oczywiście opisy życia oraz pracy pasterza, jego oddania a także bicia się z dziką przyrodą oraz pogodą. Więc przede wszystkim książkę polecam wszystkim tym, co czytać o przyrodzie lubią.

A beautifully rendered portrait of a lifestyle that most people know little about. Rebanks is a great writer and, while The Shepherd’s Life is definitely romanticized, it doesn’t shy away from either the more prosaic or more brutal aspects of raising animals for a living.

As a vegan I worried Rebanks would either grandstand about the solemn responsibility of slaughtering sheep or just skip over the nastiness. I would have liked to hear more about how he feels when sending “excess” sheep to be killed for meat — especially because he writes beautifully about how special many of his animal are.

But Rebanks seems also to maintain a kind of distance from the animals in his life. He mentions that his sheepdogs don’t want to be “pets” — they’re working dogs — and I don’t remember him mentioning the names of many (or any?) of his sheep. This is not to say he doesn’t care about them — Rebanks cares deeply about his animals. But he cars about them in a very different way than, for example, I care about my dogs.

Cultural differences like these are part of what makes
The Shepherd’s Life so fascinating. As an outsider, I found Rebanks’ to be a terrific guide, and I did not at all mind his general suspicion and distrust of tourists and others who intrude in or meddle in his community. He is right, even if the message stings a bit.

This is a beautiful account of farming life in the Lake District. It is not at all sentimental but the author's love for this hard life comes through in his writing. I hope to visit the Lake District some day and I'm very glad I read this book first.

Homely and warming. An open and honest account of life as a shepherd, unafraid to get into detail on some of the more visceral farming techniques, but also engages with the more personal struggles and euphorias of the job.

I really love the blunt writing style and the structure. 4 fat chapters, broken up by tiny page n a half anecdotes. These anecdotes will be linked for little bit, then go off somewhere completely else. Chronology isnt a concern at all but over the 4 chapters there's still a clear narrative. It reads like the ramblings of a farmer, sitting in front of you with a brew and just letting loose. All helps with the v authentic feel of the book.

It gave me some thinks as to where this book would fit into the veganism debate. It's clear that this network of farmers do really care about their sheep and their wellbeing, but it did feel like engagement with the 'food' part of the job was omitted slightly. Did make me go all peery eyed and 'hmmmm' a few times.

But elsewhere Rebanks doesnt shy from big topics and v subtlety but critically engages with a lot of crackin class discourse. He reminds us that the big R Romantic ideals of the lakes come inherently from a place of privilege, but he's very balanced n fair about it. He aLSO reminds us that we should have a lot more pride in doing these academically 'low skilled' jobs that are, yknow, absolutely vital for the functioning of society (topical).

The whole time reading I was thinking of that Fleet Foxes lyric: 'I was raised up believing I was somehow unique, like a snowflake, unique among snowflakes, unique in each way you can see | but now after some thinking I'd say I'd rather be a functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me'. Rebanks' connection with the land and his flock goes back literally thousands of years through generations of shepherds. It's very comforting to read about farming techniques which, through all the changes of civilisation, have remained completely the same. The book, in this sense, teaches honour in doing something real and something helpful. It opens up a little ancient world that still thankfully exists in some pockets of society where honesty and respectability is valued above money. Where people are judged on how hard they work rather than what the work is. As an unemployed graduand it's a really hopeful read.