Want a NOOK? Explore Now
From the acclaimed author of Population: 485 and Truck: A Love Story comes a humorous, heartfelt memoir of a new life in the country.
Living in a ramshackle Wisconsin farmhouse—faced with thirty-seven acres of fallen fences and overgrown fields, and informed by his pregnant wife that she intends to deliver their baby at home—Michael Perry plumbs his unorthodox childhood for clues to how to proceed as a farmer, a husband, and a father. Whether he's remembering his younger days—when his city-bred parents took in sixty or so foster children while running a sheep and dairy farm—or describing what it's like to be bitten in the butt while wrestling a pig, Perry flourishes in his trademark humor. But he also writes from the quieter corners of his heart, chronicling experiences as joyful as the birth of his child and as devastating as the death of a dear friend.
Perry (Population: 485) is that nowadays rare memoirist whose eccentric upbringing inspires him to humor and sympathetic insight instead of trauma mongering and self-pity. His latest essays chronicle a year on 37 acres of land with his wife, daughters and titular menagerie of livestock (who are fascinating, exasperating personalities in their own right). But these luminous pieces meander back to his childhood on the hardscrabble Wisconsin dairy farm where his parents, members of a tiny fundamentalist Christian sect, raised him and dozens of siblings and foster-siblings, many of them disabled. Perry's latter-day story is a lifestyle-farming comedy, as he juggles freelance writing assignments with the feedings, chores and construction projects that he hopes will lend him some mud-spattered authenticity. Woven through are tender, uncloying recollections of the homespun virtues of his family and community, from which sprout lessons on the labors and rewards of nurturance (and the occasional need to slaughter what you've nurtured). Perry writes vividly about rural life; peck at any sentence-"One of the [chickens] stretches, one leg and one wing back in the manner of a ballet dancer warming up before the barre"-and you'll find a poetic evocation of barnyard grace. Photos. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.4936734
Posted July 7, 2011
I too from Wisconsin can relate to his dry midwestern wit. This book is akin to a neighborly chat over the fench. His wrighting is magical. Enjoy!
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.After years of doing other jobs and living other places, Michael Perry knows just where he wants to be. At thirty-nine, after jobs in EMT and on the road as an author, he came home to his roots. He met Anneliese, a local college teacher, at a book signing. They got married and with her three year old daughter, started life as a family. Together they agreed that what they wanted was a return to the simple farming life they had known as children. They bought a small farm in Wisconsin near his family. Michael supports them as an author while Annaliese home-schools Amy. As the book starts, they are expecting their first child.
Michael explores his childhood years. He grew up in a fundamenalist religion, in a family with eight birth children and a large group of foster siblings, some of whom were adopted. As best as anyone remembers, the family fostered sixty or more children, many of them disabled in varying degrees. His father had been a chemical engineer and his mother a nurse before they decided to farm. Michael grew up in poverty but surrounded by love and great life lessons.
Now Michael and Anneliese attempt to recreate this loving atmosphere for the family they are building. The reader learns about the livestock they are raising, how they parent their child, the daily chores that consume their days, and about the baby they are expecting. Anneliese decides on a home birth, and while Michael agrees, it makes him nervous.
This is such a soothing, gentle, wonderful book. It is like having an old friend stop by and sit on the front porch with you, rocking and telling stories. Perry does a great job of recreating his life as a new farm owner, and even for those readers who are adament city-dwellers, there is a hint of longing for his life. Readers can hear Michael talk about his new book.
Michael Perry will be on Blog Talk Radio with Book Club Girl on Monday, June 7th at 7pm EST at http://www.blogtalkradio.coom/book-club-firl/2010/06/07/michael-perry-discusses-coop This book is recommended for readers who need a break from the pressures of everyday life. It is a true gem. I loved it so much that I went out that day and ordered his first book, Truck, where he talks about his life before the farm.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Ladeislaus
Posted June 14, 2013
slow moving read but interesting
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Heather_Wietz
Posted May 23, 2013
I Also Recommend:
A very witty book. Well written. A five star book.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 14, 2012
Michael Perry has a light and refreshing view on the little things in life that make it worth living and has a nice sense of humor about it. I found this book by accident and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted August 22, 2009
I Also Recommend:
I've always been grateful for the life lessons learned on the farm. There's nothing like the salt-of-the-earth, old-time farmer like Michael Perry's dad and his generation. This brought back so many memories and is an enlightening tale for city-borns to understand how simple yet complicated rural life can be.
The tender moments and love of wife and family are incredibly beautiful and the funny moments are hilarious. Michael Perry's writing style is so conversational and you sometimes feel like you're sitting in the kitchen with him as he recounts his stories.
Although I've been a city dweller for over 35 years, I'm still a farm girl at heart. If I close my eyes I can still hear the clank of the pig feeders in the dark of night. Every spring I need to dig in the dirt a little to plant flowers. I can't drive through the countryside without evaluating the crops, and I worry about the safety of farmers during the fall harvest.
Farmers are the biggest risk-takers in the world. They invest in seed, fertilizer, equipment and fuel to plant a crop; not knowing if there will be enough rain or too much rain, enough heat or not enough heat, hail, wind, insects or anything that will affect their yield. They don't know if the growing season will be long enough for their crop to reach maturity, if the autumn weather will cooperate for harvest, or if there will be a reasonable market price to sell their bounty to make a profit. This cycle repeats itself every year, and most of the country has no appreciation for their labor.
I've heard that Michael Perry's other books are equally entertaining and I anticipate reading them!
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.miatapaul
Posted July 27, 2009
The introdution alone is one of the best peices of prose I have read in a long long time. Story is witty, enjoyable and enduring.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.TLangton
Posted June 29, 2009
I Also Recommend:
What a fabulous book! I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for an awesome summer read. I am a teacher and always save a special book to be my "first of the summer". This year Coop was that book and I am so glad it was! Michael Perry is an incredible writer who will appeal to both male and female readers. He writes about his personal experiences with the humor of the boy next door and language as beautiful as your favorite poet. You will laugh out loud and you will cry--there is something for everyone. You will be disappointed when you get to the last page--you will wish it would never end. I can't wait until Perry's next book comes out. If you have read Michael Perry's other books, you will not be disappointed--this book is even better than his others. If you have not read any of his books, congratulations--you will have something to do while you patiently wait for his next one!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 13, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted June 17, 2009
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted January 2, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted November 14, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted June 5, 2009
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted June 13, 2009
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted January 24, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted April 25, 2009
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted April 24, 2009
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted April 25, 2009
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted January 14, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted August 27, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
Living in a ramshackle Wisconsin farmhouse—faced with thirty-seven acres of fallen fences and overgrown fields, and informed by his pregnant wife that she intends to deliver their baby at home—Michael Perry plumbs his unorthodox childhood for clues to how to proceed as a farmer, a husband, and a father. Whether he's remembering his younger ...