Helpful Score: 1
I picked this book up once or twice before and was never really that taken with it. For some reason it just didnt pull me in right away. It might be the writing style, or maybe its because when I dream of a farm, I dream of the country, not raising animals in the ghetto. But Jodi read it and really enjoyed it, so I thought Id give it another shot.
Novella and her partner live in a shady part of Oakland, CA. Not just marginally shady, but so shady that a homeless man lived un-accosted in multiple abandoned vehicles on their dead end street. Bad enough that they watched a man shoot up from their window. At one point she had a gun pulled on her while biking home. It was not a pleasant neighborhood and not one I would have chosen for an urban farm. However, it came with two things that are very helpful for an urban farm. An empty lot next door, and freedom. When the cops dont bother to show up until somebody gets killed, theyre surely not going to bother with someone farming in their yard. So they were basically able to do whatever they wanted with the space they had. So they planted a garden, then brought in some chickens, turkeys and geese. They got some bees, and fostered some rabbits. They sort of learned about each one as they were doing it, oftentimes through relationships they made with folks in the neighborhood. I think they took it a bit too far though when it went from poultry, bees and rabbits to pigs. I like that theyre willing to be a bit crazy and give something different a shot, but when the neighbors are complaining that their daughter is on the verge of vomiting from the smell, it seems like theyre taking advantage of the situation. They HAD to know how bad it smelled and for someone who is SO concerned about how her animals are treated when they are killed and dressed, she doesnt seem to have much concern about how her lifestyle affects those around her. At times shes sharing the bounty of her garden with her neighbors and the Black Panthers, other times shes overloading a borrowed truck with manure or having her neighbors help her coral her escaped pigs before they make it out to the busy street and cause havoc.
One thing I like about the book is that Novella shows herself to be pretty real, and the sort of person I would probably find myself hanging around. She drinks, she cusses, she gets angry, she makes bad decisions at times, and sometimes shes a bit self-absorbed and judgmental of people who arent like her. (Arent we all to some extent?) But shes passionate about whats she doing. She may not know exactly what shes doing, but she throws her whole heart into it and does it to the best of her knowledge and ability.
Novella and her partner live in a shady part of Oakland, CA. Not just marginally shady, but so shady that a homeless man lived un-accosted in multiple abandoned vehicles on their dead end street. Bad enough that they watched a man shoot up from their window. At one point she had a gun pulled on her while biking home. It was not a pleasant neighborhood and not one I would have chosen for an urban farm. However, it came with two things that are very helpful for an urban farm. An empty lot next door, and freedom. When the cops dont bother to show up until somebody gets killed, theyre surely not going to bother with someone farming in their yard. So they were basically able to do whatever they wanted with the space they had. So they planted a garden, then brought in some chickens, turkeys and geese. They got some bees, and fostered some rabbits. They sort of learned about each one as they were doing it, oftentimes through relationships they made with folks in the neighborhood. I think they took it a bit too far though when it went from poultry, bees and rabbits to pigs. I like that theyre willing to be a bit crazy and give something different a shot, but when the neighbors are complaining that their daughter is on the verge of vomiting from the smell, it seems like theyre taking advantage of the situation. They HAD to know how bad it smelled and for someone who is SO concerned about how her animals are treated when they are killed and dressed, she doesnt seem to have much concern about how her lifestyle affects those around her. At times shes sharing the bounty of her garden with her neighbors and the Black Panthers, other times shes overloading a borrowed truck with manure or having her neighbors help her coral her escaped pigs before they make it out to the busy street and cause havoc.
One thing I like about the book is that Novella shows herself to be pretty real, and the sort of person I would probably find myself hanging around. She drinks, she cusses, she gets angry, she makes bad decisions at times, and sometimes shes a bit self-absorbed and judgmental of people who arent like her. (Arent we all to some extent?) But shes passionate about whats she doing. She may not know exactly what shes doing, but she throws her whole heart into it and does it to the best of her knowledge and ability.
