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"This book is the story of the two love affairs that interrupted the trajectory of my life: one with farming—that dirty, concupiscent art—and the other with a complicated and exasperating farmer."
Single, thirtysomething, working as a writer in New York City, Kristin Kimball was living life as an adventure. But she was beginning to feel a sense of longing for a family and for home. When she interviewed a dynamic young farmer, her world changed. Kristin knew nothing about growing vegetables, let alone raising pigs and cattle and driving horses. But on an impulse, smitten, if not yet in love, she shed her city self and moved to five hundred acres near Lake Champlain to start a new farm with him. The Dirty Life is the captivating chronicle of their first year on Essex Farm, from the cold North Country winter through the following harvest season—complete with their wedding in the loft of the barn.
Kimball and her husband had a plan: to grow everything needed to feed a community. It was an ambitious idea, a bit romantic, and it worked. Every Friday evening, all year round, a hundred people travel to Essex Farm to pick up their weekly share of the "whole diet"—beef, pork, chicken, milk, eggs, maple syrup, grains, flours, dried beans, herbs, fruits, and forty different vegetables—produced by the farm. The work is done by draft horses instead of tractors, and the fertility comes from compost. Kimball’s vivid descriptions of landscape, food, cooking—and marriage—are irresistible.
"As much as you transform the land by farming," she writes, "farming transforms you." In her old life, Kimball would stay out until four a.m., wear heels, and carry a handbag. Now she wakes up at four, wears Carhartts, and carries a pocket knife. At Essex Farm, she discovers the wrenching pleasures of physical work, learns that good food is at the center of a good life, falls deeply in love, and finally finds the engagement and commitment she craved in the form of a man, a small town, and a beautiful piece of land
7237940
Posted March 17, 2011
This is one of the most insightful books that I've read. It's written with a beautiful poetic narrative that can only be presented by a gifted author, and a perspective on life that can only be presented by one that's been well lived.
2 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.Almost makes me want to live the dirty life too...
1 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.7222998
Posted March 23, 2011
This was a great read! I found myself completely engrossed. I would recommend this book and have twice already.
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.Anonymous
Posted February 17, 2013
I loved this book and so did my book club. I sent a copy to my 84 year old mother who grew up on a farm and she loved it also.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Sglo
Posted December 15, 2012
Enjoyed every word.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 7, 2012
Super interesting book with an engaging story line. Made me want to leave the city and live the harder, but seemingly more fulfilling life of a farmer.
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Posted May 2, 2012
...makes you want to get your fingers in the dirt!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.NattiFranz
Posted March 7, 2012
Kristin Kimball’s intriguing memoir, the Dirty Life, gave me a taste of a different lifestyle, one that consists purely of commitment and of hard, dirty, and rewarding work. Kimball’s story tells of her decision to leave her Harvard education, family, and whole life behind in New York City, in exchange for a life of hard farm work. Mark, her fiancé is an experienced farmer and together they take on the challenge of providing full-diet shares to their customers by means of their own farm, this diet including steak, chicken, pork, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, celery, syrup, cheese, milk, etc. And if that was not a grand enough challenge, Mark and Kimball decide to jump back a century and farm by means of horses and ploughs and their own genuine physical labor – nothing else. Their day begins at around 3 am, when Kimball and Mark must milk the cows, feed their assortment of animals, weed the fields, and anything else you can imagine that must be done on a farm. The work is never ending, but somehow the two of them develop a farm that today has grown to feed over 100 customers and employs over 20 workers.
The success seen between Kimball and Mark is extremely inspiring, as it thoroughly shows the amount of effort required to attain what you want most, as well as the commitment. A theme of perseverance is constantly conveyed throughout Kimball’s memoir, and has the effect of showing the reader that things in life do not always come easy. They aren’t supposed to, as If they did then there would never be that essential feeling of fulfillment in life, an emotion that keeps one striving forward. Kimball must not only fight onward for her farm, but for Mark as well. Without their relationship the farm would have failed. The effort they must put in to keep each other happy while keeping the farm running proves to be quite a challenge. Thus, a theme of love is also prominent; love for the farm and all its animals and plants, and love for Mark. A message about the importance of decision making is always present, as Kimball explains how decisions determine the paths of our lives. You can make or break yourself, and others, with a yes or a no.
My family is a health nut family, always dedicated to the thought that a good diet makes for a healthy life. The Dirty Life, hit home for me – an everyday consumer of organic foods. This book made me yearn for fresh, fresh food, straight from the source! I would recommend that those interested in health and good food read this, as it inspires one to start their own garden. Anyone up for a good story about problem solving and woman falling in love with a man and a farm should read this as well. Its detail about the effort needed to accomplish the humble act of providing food is captivating and interesting. My dislikes were the areas where there was too much attention to detail though, as this drew away from the story and my focus waivered.
Anonymous
Posted November 28, 2011
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I couldn't put it down, it was the rejuvenation I was looking for and didn't know...I would happily trade city life for farm life! It was so real, I wished I was her...will read it over and over again!
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Posted October 18, 2011
The Dirty Life is the tale of a farmer and a city girl setting out to run an innovative organic-produce farm, battling the elements of nature and each other along the way. As the cream-flecked milk and salt-of-the-earth potatoes flood across the page, the hungry reader is reminded of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Farmer Boy tale, chock-full of the hard work and sturdy food that built America. After the city girl's initial meeting with Farmer - shocked and fascinated by his earthiness and brazen generosity so unlike her city men - a romance ensues that is, like the steaming heaps of compost that surround it, direct and without guile. She brings him home to her family, who are more shocked than fascinated by his inside-out t-shirt, dirty crates of still-pulsating vegetables, and boxes of eggs barely cooled from the henhouse. But in the end they, as she did, fall in love with the food and embrace the man and his dream.
This organic dream is overflowing with treasures of the loam. Perils of ice, weeds, and skeptical neighbors have to be contended with, but an overall theme emerges above the callouses of labor: plenty. There's plenty to go around. There's more than enough to share. Excesses of love, food, generosity abound. There's nothing lacking when we dig deep into The Dirty Life.
MelissaMc
Posted September 12, 2011
My only recollections of EVER getting up at 3:45am:
. Pulling an all-nighter in college to finish college paper or study for a test
. Nursing a newborn
. Insomnia
Kristin Kimball and her husband Mark, get up routinely that early (or is that still considered night time?) to do their "chores" - everything from milking cows, to feeding chickens, to the multitude of other tasks that must be done on their farm - Essex Farm - in upstate New York.
The Dirty Life is the story of Kristin's transformation from city chic to farmer frugal. Living the urban life in Manhattan, Kristin was a well traveled writer - who on assignment to interview an organic Pennsylvania farmer - fell in love with her subject.
In glorious prose, Kristin recounts for us their courtship, their early trials at farming, the arduous job of raising animals, and the nemesis of both insects and weeds that inhabit their fields.
Although not quite ready to sell my house and move to a rural outpost, I was enthralled at the transformation of Kristin's life: living in a ramshackle and dirty farm house, infested with rats; the sheer amount of energy and fatigue she and Mark invest in the land; and the happiness that blossoms forth. It was obvious to me after reading her book, that all of us spend way too much time in front of the computer! Nary a mention of texting, tweeting, or blogging - just slop, seeds, slaughter, and sunshine.
She does not sugar coat their efforts - her memories of the farm are marked by conditions - the dry, the wet, the frozen, the abundant. It made me want to read an additional chapter, not yet written, about how the farm is fairing after the tremendous rains inflicted on upstate New York with both Hurricane Irene and tropical depression Lee.
This was pure enjoyment - I only wish I had an Essex Farm close enough to me in which to indulge.
Anonymous
Posted August 28, 2011
Again, I enjoyed reading this book, and am very glad that Kristin shared her story with me. Thank you
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.RickM1962
Posted August 17, 2011
After reading The Dirty Life, most people will have one of two reactions. Either they will begin perusing the real estate listings for available farmland, or they will begin running and screaming at the first sound of the word "cow". This memior is at once incredibly funny and at times heartbreaking as well, but always entertaining. Written with a keen eye towards characterization and pacing; it reads like a well loved novel, except it is all true! If you enjoy a good, well told story; this is the one to get!
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Posted July 28, 2011
Wonderfully written, great story.
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Posted July 5, 2011
A fun and intelligent read about all the hard work it takes to put food on the table
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.As a child, we planted row after row of seeds by hand, picked and shucked corn, shelled beans, fought off spiders and other bugs as we gently rolled the cucumber vines and sweated many a summer evening away in various garden patches...still, we were gardening in probably less than a quarter acre. The massiveness of the project that Mark and Kristin overtook in The Dirty Life is a bit mind-boggling, but very entertaining to read about in the air-conditioned comfort of home. Mark's almost obsessively dedicated fervor and Kristin's work ethic and her writer's curiousity about how and why things work and grow combine to bring their dream to fruition. The animals, the old machinery, the wonderful neighbors, and the lovely, lovely food would be enough to earn a recommendation, but Mark and Kristin's love story seals the deal. A definite green-thumbs up for this one!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 2, 2011
Wonderful memoir and very timely treatise on 'real food' - (who knew?) Wanted to know more details about Mark and their relationship - as it was so central to such a massive transformation in her life - quite compelling
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 15, 2011
I loved this book. Kimball does a great job of describing the beauty and horrors of working a farm without shocking you. It's easy to accept the facts of life in the mater of fact way she describes them.
I give it four stars because the second half of the book looses some of the flow she builds in the first half. She starts to jump around in time and rapidly run through anecdotes.
This book is a joy to read. Who knew life on the farm could be so captivating?
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Kat88NC
Posted January 27, 2011
Although a little gory at times it was a wonderful book. Not for the squeamish I would think but overall I enjoyed reading it!
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Overview
"This book is the story of the two love affairs that interrupted the trajectory of my life: one with farming—that dirty, concupiscent art—and the other with a complicated and exasperating farmer."
Single, thirtysomething, working as a writer in New York City, Kristin Kimball was living life as an adventure. But she was beginning to feel a sense of longing for a family and for home. When she interviewed a dynamic young farmer, her world changed. Kristin knew nothing about growing vegetables, let alone raising pigs...