David Whitmarsh reviewed The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks
Review of "The Shepherd's Life" on 'Goodreads'
1 star
Dismal
hardcover, 320 pages
Published April 7, 2015 by Doubleday Canada.
4 stars
(10 reviews)
Some people's lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks' isn't. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, his family have lived and worked in the Lake District of Northern England for generations, further back than recorded history. It's a part of the world known mainly for its romantic descriptions by Wordsworth and the much loved illustrated children's books of Beatrix Potter. But James' world is quite different. His way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand. It hasn't changed for hundreds of years: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the grueling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the light-headedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to …
Some people's lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks' isn't. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, his family have lived and worked in the Lake District of Northern England for generations, further back than recorded history. It's a part of the world known mainly for its romantic descriptions by Wordsworth and the much loved illustrated children's books of Beatrix Potter. But James' world is quite different. His way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand. It hasn't changed for hundreds of years: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the grueling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the light-headedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the hills and valleys.
Review of "The Shepherd's Life" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
The Lake District has a special place in my affections. In the first 20 years of my life, I lived in 7 places, all over England, but every Easter we had a family holiday at the same place in the Lakes, so it became a fixed point in my experience as I grew up. When I was 17, I worked there during the summer, in the tourist industry, leading walks in the hills; an amazing experience. The Lake District was an important place for my parents as well, they lived in Carlisle when they were first married and my brother was born there. My father's work for the ministry of agriculture took him out round the farms in the area, on his BSA motorbike, so he knew the area and the people intimately. As my father's work was with farming, I learnt from a young age that the beautiful landscapes …
The Lake District has a special place in my affections. In the first 20 years of my life, I lived in 7 places, all over England, but every Easter we had a family holiday at the same place in the Lakes, so it became a fixed point in my experience as I grew up. When I was 17, I worked there during the summer, in the tourist industry, leading walks in the hills; an amazing experience. The Lake District was an important place for my parents as well, they lived in Carlisle when they were first married and my brother was born there. My father's work for the ministry of agriculture took him out round the farms in the area, on his BSA motorbike, so he knew the area and the people intimately. As my father's work was with farming, I learnt from a young age that the beautiful landscapes that we walked in were created and maintained by working farmers and that without the sheep the Lake District would be a very different place. This book explains in incredible detail about those sheep and what it means to be a sheep farmer in the hills. At times it is a bit much, the complete obsession, but then that's a bit the point. The book could have been pared down to make it more readable, but the sheer volume of words about sheep is necessary to impress on the reader the astonishing expertise and knowledge of the shepherd and the central, overriding role of the sheep in the farmers' existence.
SharonC reviewed The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks
Review of "The Shepherd's Life" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Evokes a landscape that has been shaped by millenia-old use. Flocks shaped by generations of decisions about breeding. Wry stories about a wily fox, a crazy uncle, not fitting-in at school.
Could've been organized differently? It generally followed the seasons, but often wanted to tell a story that didn't fit the timeline.
Very good book.
DaveNash3 reviewed The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks
Review of "The Shepherd's Life" on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
Excellent writing, unique perspective. I will never look at snow or the rural pastoral the same again.
