Reviews for This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader

The average rating for This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-07-27 00:00:00 Will Broome This book was given to me after two of my friends devoured it and sang its praises from the rooftops. I was psyched to read it. Locavorism! Sustainability! Gardening! Recipes! That sounds like something I would adore! I suppose I probably would have adored it if not for two things, only one of which is the fault of this book: 1) I read it right after tearing through the Hunger Games series. I'd wager that no book could fare well with that trilogy immediately preceding it. Where I found those irresistible, I found this one irritating. That brings me to 2) The author's tone grated. At first, I was only mildly bothered, but the more I read the more annoyed I became. I think at one point I even said out loud, "Oh, I'm SURE the grocery store was REALLY THAT CHALLENGING for you. I'm sure this is in no way a histrionic, virtuous account of what must've been just a trip to the goddamn grocery store (to buy -- I can barely type this -- tortilla chips that the author admits she could just as easily have made and DIET FUCKING COKE)." Her use of "scare quotes" became "tedious" and "unnecessary" after a while, too. I absolutely agree with a number of Gussow's points (I came into this book already on her side, generally), and I freely admit that she's given me a great deal to think about (for instance, why I'm so hyperaware of eating fruit in season but far less aware of seasonality as regards vegetables). My interest in the water subsidies for California farmers, a thing about which I formerly knew nothing, is piqued. I do want to try some of her recipes. And again, I wholeheartedly agree that our food system is broken and is dire need of repair and rethinking. But dear lord, lady, if I hear one more anecdote about how you were megabitchy to the point that your friends are terrified to serve you meals or stock particular toilet paper, or find your disdain and clear sense of superiority so palpable, I'm going to scream. You've put your message in the ugliest, most sanctimonious package. And before I drive away my friends who loved this book, know that two stars means "it was okay." I couldn't honestly give it the same rating (three stars -- "it was good") I'd given, for instance, My Life in France, which was perfectly charming and had a delightful voice, or various Sherlock Holmes stories, which I come back to again and again, or a variety of memoirs. How can this book be held against David Sedaris and get the same rating? For me, it cannot. When I look at my other two-star ratings, I know I've made the right choice for myself. I'm not mad I read it; in fact, I'm glad I did. But I'm even MORE glad that I'm DONE reading it.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-04-01 00:00:00 Dequana Gilliard Really enjoyed it at first. I wound up skimming the rest. It's about an older couple that buys river font property with an old home that winds up being rotten all the way to the frame. The book is the experience of tearing down and rebuilding a home and the comfort they take in the huge garden, the river they live on, and the stress of a crazy neighbor (we all must have one). I grew tired of the story after a few chapters.