The Rural Life

Every so often you find a book that really excites you. Full of good use of the English language and great subject matter, a book that pulls you in and won’t let go. When first picked up you never expected it to be as good as it is! Maybe it sat on a shelf for a month or two, patiently waiting to latch onto your mind, quietly waiting for a chance to grab your interest. Once it sank its fangs into your brain cells, you couldn’t wait to share it with others, recommending it over and over. This is one of those books.

                Ann Marie picked up The Rural Life, by Verlyn Klinkenborg at a sale. She doesn’t remember exactly when, it might have been an estate sale or at a used book store or most probably at a local library book sale. (Oh, I sure miss those sales!) It sat on a shelf for awhile and when she started into it, she knew right away it was a bit more than an average book.

                Written in 2002, this book is a compilation of a batch of Verlyn’s essays. Though written in different years, he put them together to take us through a year through his eyes. He starts in January just as the calendar does and starts out by telling us about why he has written a journal. Then he writes about the snow and the slush, his beehives and his horses. He blends these things together while telling about farm life and life in general. And so, the year begins.

                While reading this book every so often I ran into a sentence that is so special I wanted to write it down. I never did, I was too entranced to stop and look for a paper and pencil. Even though the stories bounce around from year to year they still fit together wonderfully. He describes laying in his yard and looking at the Andromeda Galaxy, the object that is the furthest thing man can see by eye. He discusses lights and how they hide the night sky from us and how important it is to lay back and imagine how vast the universe is. Later he tells us about insects and flowers growing in his fields, from huge to tiny, he does it all. Enjoying nature and sharing that enjoyment with us! At times it is almost poetic.

                He tells us how the woods turn green after the winter has stripped all color from the world, he tells about his fields and his gardens and he tells about the wonders of how mayflies are nowhere to be seen one minute and next, they are everywhere, much like morels, there right under your nose, but invisible to you until you glance the proper way. He tells these stories as a way of describing life and living. He has a wonderful mastery of the language!

                It is a book I couldn’t wait to finish but at the same time, I dreaded how close I was coming to the end of the book. December was approaching much too quickly! Soon the book will be returned to its owner, Ann Marie but I imagine I’ll be looking to purchase a copy for my own collection! It is that sort of a book. A treasure discovered hidden amongst the other books patiently waiting for their new owners to recognize them and take them home. I’m so happy Ann Marie found this one…or did the book find her?