by Nathanial Ian Miller
Loved this story about interesting people on a farm in Iceland. Have never loved a depiction of farm life so much – whatever is the opposite of ‘romantic,’ that’s what this is. Even though the family raises Galloway beef cattle and not goats, the descriptions of dealing with livestock animals really hit home for me. Like when you take down an electric fence, lots of the dumb animals are still going to refuse to walk through, because there always WAS an electric fence there, how are they to know there isn’t one now? Like when you manage to get the majority of your herd into the place where you want them, but then a few stragglers ruin it for everyone, because the moms follow the calves and then everyone piles on. Like WHY do they insist on sh*tting in their water?? Because it feels nice to scratch their tushies against the water trough, yes, we know, but still, it is such a PAIN to change the water…
Most might say I’m missing the point of the story. But even if you don’t have beasts, I hope you can still glean from my examples the type of realistic and entertaining story this is.
Even while dealing with a very serious topic; the father of this family is slipping into a hopeless depression.
Back to the animals: maybe you’re a dog person. The dog of the book’s title is very entertaining too, and I’m not a dog person.
Again, I’m veering off “point.” This family of mother, father, and college-age son is at a turning point. Pappi is getting very depressed, as I said. Mom is drifting away. Son hasn’t found himself yet – but perhaps he’ll find love? The love story is adorable.
I loved everything about this book. Except maybe, just maybe… no, no spoilers.
Tytania 