Book review: Chickens, and starting over
May. 5th, 2010 08:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunnyjadwigaStill Life with Chickens: Starting Over in a House by the Sea,
Catherine Goldhammer
I love slice of life memoirs, and after our recent move and house work, there was something about reading someone else's moving story that appealed. Goldhammer did not disappoint, though in a slight, quiet and cozy way. After a congenial divorce from her daughter's father, Goldhammer needs to sell the overlarge, expensive house in a town more upper class than she's comfortable with, and find an affordable, livable alternative that she and her daughter can accept. To bribe her daughter through the transition, Goldhammer agreed to starting a small backyard chicken flock. The resulting tribulations of moving from one, long-time residence, into a house-that-needs work, fixing the house, getting along with the new neighbors, and trying to stay afloat in life resonated with me, even if I didn't have the kind of financial backstop Goldhammer did. The terrors of chick-sitting, the perils of remodelling and of building chicken tractors, and a legal struggle with a nearby absentee landlord made for good storytelling. Excellent for the golden hours of an early summer evening.
Catherine Goldhammer
I love slice of life memoirs, and after our recent move and house work, there was something about reading someone else's moving story that appealed. Goldhammer did not disappoint, though in a slight, quiet and cozy way. After a congenial divorce from her daughter's father, Goldhammer needs to sell the overlarge, expensive house in a town more upper class than she's comfortable with, and find an affordable, livable alternative that she and her daughter can accept. To bribe her daughter through the transition, Goldhammer agreed to starting a small backyard chicken flock. The resulting tribulations of moving from one, long-time residence, into a house-that-needs work, fixing the house, getting along with the new neighbors, and trying to stay afloat in life resonated with me, even if I didn't have the kind of financial backstop Goldhammer did. The terrors of chick-sitting, the perils of remodelling and of building chicken tractors, and a legal struggle with a nearby absentee landlord made for good storytelling. Excellent for the golden hours of an early summer evening.
