Pigs in clover, or, How I accidently fell in love with the good life

English language

Published 2013

ISBN:
978-1-78028-501-6
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OCLC Number:
827268243

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5 stars (1 review)

"As of this moment in time, nobody has died, nobody has given birth and nobody has escaped. All 57 pigs, 18 sheep, 46 chickens, two ducks, two geese (the terrorists of the chicken field), two wild cats, two horses, four goslings, two goats and a one-eyed sheepdog. All where they should be. But it wasn't always like this ..." This is the true story of a Londoner who gives up his job as an estate agent in the city, moves with his wife and their Great Dane to the wilds of Exmoor, starts a smallholding and becomes self-sufficient, with a few bumps along the way. Simon's journey from urbanite to self-sufficient smallholder is brimming with incidents - some funny and some tragic - leading him to question Mother Nature, himself, the food he eats, and his role in it all. Which makes the transition from city life to self-sufficient smallholder …

1 edition

Review of 'Pigs in clover, or, How I accidently fell in love with the good life' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I loved this book - it somehow managed to be both an incredibly profound reflection on our relationship with farm animals and the feelings brought up by slaughtering livestock, and still have me laughing till I struggled to breathe at descriptions of various accidents involving electric fences (I don't want to spoil the details for anyone). It also managed to be very real - so many of these books claim to be an honest account of a self sufficient life but this is one of the best I've read at conveying just how grindingly miserable not quite having enough money to get by on is, while still staying funny.

Subjects

  • Small Farms
  • Self-reliant living

Places

  • Devon
  • England