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itsevie13's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
This is truly one of the most beautiful books I have read in some time. A fantastic memoir, deeply evocative and moving. An informative insight into the lives of fell farmers that also called to the part inside of me that longs to return to nature. Stunning prose that nearly brought me to tears.
lauraabrahamsen's review against another edition
5.0
James Rebanks is hefted to his land the way his fell flocks are. His goal is to show the working life of a region that has become idealized because of both Romantic poets and contemporary holiday tourists. He succeeds in this almanac of a shepherd's year. His love for the land, the people who work it and the domestic and wild animals who live on it is clear-eyed and unsentimental.
bmore_brooke's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
dmcnpsu's review against another edition
5.0
A classic - I started reading the text, and then ended up with the Audiobook. I actually preferred the audiobook - wonderful to hear this read by someone with a distinct but easily understood accent. The book provides a respectful view of a lifestyle we would not otherwise access
The author writes of his father
“He found "leisure" a strange, modern, and troubling concept. The idea that anyone would climb a fell for its own sake was considered little more than lunacy. So he suffered tourists but found them incomprehensible. I don't think he understood that those people had another perception of ownership of the Lake District. He would have found that as odd as him walking into a suburban garden in London and claiming it was sort of his because he liked the flowers.
”
― James Rebanks, The Shepherd's Life, p. 55
The author writes of his father
“He found "leisure" a strange, modern, and troubling concept. The idea that anyone would climb a fell for its own sake was considered little more than lunacy. So he suffered tourists but found them incomprehensible. I don't think he understood that those people had another perception of ownership of the Lake District. He would have found that as odd as him walking into a suburban garden in London and claiming it was sort of his because he liked the flowers.
”
― James Rebanks, The Shepherd's Life, p. 55
lupuspostus's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting (if very biased) commentary on ancient and modern shepherding.