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A review by anneofgreenplaces
The Shepherd's Life: A People's History of the Lake District by James Rebanks
3.0
3.5 stars
A worthwhile account of working farm life and landscape and the intergenerational pride, passion, and tension engendered by the work and culture, as well as an important reminder of what a tourist approach to a landscape is missing and potentially endangering. I thought the opening salvo of the book, a somewhat affronted challenge to the ignorant romanticism of outsiders who are also dismissive of the farming life Rebanks is so passionate about, was intriguing, but started to feel that antagonism grate a bit after a while. That said, over the course of the book his view seemed to balance out, recognizing that the attention from the outside world isn’t all self-serving and can be managed in a productive way. I don’t know if this shift in tone was due to the chronological development of the memoir, but it might have been better if blended in or at least hinted at closer to the beginning. In general the book felt uneven, often repetitive with sort of wandery logic. The seasonal structure helped a bit but could have been tighter. In any case I did learn some new things about sheep farming and the Lake District and have gained new respect for the art form that is sheep breeding, and its value for a landscape so entwined with human husbandry and culture, even if economically challenging. It was especially interesting to compare this mindset to the white livestock farmers of the American West, who have only been on the land for less than two centuries (as opposed to thousands of years) but often have the same sense of ownership and pique at being interfered with, and similar tensions between the interests of ranchers and conservationists. The difference being, again, that fell sheep are indeed part of the Lake District ecosystem, in moderation, while western American landscapes are not adapted to “locusts with hooves” as imported by European settlers. Would be interesting to read more about that comparison to see if it holds up.
A worthwhile account of working farm life and landscape and the intergenerational pride, passion, and tension engendered by the work and culture, as well as an important reminder of what a tourist approach to a landscape is missing and potentially endangering. I thought the opening salvo of the book, a somewhat affronted challenge to the ignorant romanticism of outsiders who are also dismissive of the farming life Rebanks is so passionate about, was intriguing, but started to feel that antagonism grate a bit after a while. That said, over the course of the book his view seemed to balance out, recognizing that the attention from the outside world isn’t all self-serving and can be managed in a productive way. I don’t know if this shift in tone was due to the chronological development of the memoir, but it might have been better if blended in or at least hinted at closer to the beginning. In general the book felt uneven, often repetitive with sort of wandery logic. The seasonal structure helped a bit but could have been tighter. In any case I did learn some new things about sheep farming and the Lake District and have gained new respect for the art form that is sheep breeding, and its value for a landscape so entwined with human husbandry and culture, even if economically challenging. It was especially interesting to compare this mindset to the white livestock farmers of the American West, who have only been on the land for less than two centuries (as opposed to thousands of years) but often have the same sense of ownership and pique at being interfered with, and similar tensions between the interests of ranchers and conservationists. The difference being, again, that fell sheep are indeed part of the Lake District ecosystem, in moderation, while western American landscapes are not adapted to “locusts with hooves” as imported by European settlers. Would be interesting to read more about that comparison to see if it holds up.