A tale of the Lake District
First published 2016 | Penguin Books | £10.99
James Rebanks’ love for the Lake District and farming the land is good for the soul. There are 100 ways to live a life, and for some, like Rebanks, the grass is greener on the family farm.
Banter
The book, like farming, is led by the seasons, beginning with summer. Readers get acquainted with the Fells (mountains) early on as the local farmers come together to gather sheep with their trusty dogs that are worth their weight in gold. The brief dialogue is classic conversation that tugs a smile. There’s always one straggler.
The kitchen negotiations about sheep prices over tea and shortbread as Rebanks tries to buy Fell Sheep from his neighbour is, however, theater material. Literally speaking. It went on to feature in a local play.
Family
Rebanks’ grandfather can be hailed as the hero of the book and a tragedy of youth is realising your hero is only human too. The physical vulnerability of Rebanks’ grandfather as they both get older would tighten one’s throat – you don’t have to look far to see it.
In comparison, Rebanks relationship with his father is as old as the hills. A father and son unable to get along with the added pressure of the farm not making money. Despite its commonness, the ownership of fault delivers a prospective that may help others in a similar situation.
Reality
Rebanks may have written about farming in the Fells with perfect prose, but it’s anything but a romanticised account. It’s the agriculture industry stripped down to the bare bone, the hardships hung out to dry, and yet, Rebanks leaves the reader in no doubt, that whilst farming is a hard grind, it is so much more than that. Even an Oxford education couldn’t keep him away from the shepherd’s life.
