A Shepherd's Life: A People's History of the Lake District

by James Rebanks

[Kait ✨]

I loved this book. I have recently talked a little about “farm lit,” as it pertains to [b:One Bird's Choice: A Year in the Life of an Overeducated, Underemployed Twenty-Something Who Moves Back Home|8560750|One Bird's Choice A Year in the Life of an Overeducated, Underemployed Twenty-Something Who Moves Back Home|Iain Reid|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328772164s/8560750.jpg|13429152] anyway, and this is another great example of the genre. (Farm lit is really a thing, a thing that I love dearly; check out this article and this article if you want more info.)

I think Rebanks’ book is a bit like farm lit, in that it indulges that snoopy desire we (or some of us) have to live vicariously through others and spend a few hours indulging in a fantasy that we, too, are farmers. But it also discusses some really important issues. Rebanks talks about how we may need these traditional agricultural skills when fossil fuels run out. (Scary to think about, but perhaps not unrealistic?) He writes that 60-70% of homes in some Lake District valleys are secondary homes or holiday cottages, and local people cannot afford to live in their own communities. (This is happening in Prince Edward County, an area very close to my hometown, and honestly I think it’s tragic.) He also discusses more philosophical approaches to landscape, and says that many farmers in the Lake District view the beauty of their landscape as a reward after hardship. For example, he points out that enjoying the sunset is so much more joyful after enduring the winter.

Perhaps most importantly, though, Rebanks reinforces how important these traditional skills and ways of life are to the integrity of culture. He writes,

“Seeing, understanding and respecting people in their own landscapes is crucial to their culture and ways of life being valued and sustained. What you don’t see, you don’t care about.”

Essentially, he argues that we can’t understand, appreciate, and care about the cultures that aren’t advertised and exploited in our media. Rebanks’ book is like an exposé on the reality of life for farmers in the Lake District. But it’s important because our society does not often allow space for these farmers to have a voice that is heard by many. Without narratives like this, we cannot hope to understand and sustain the cultures that are so important to our world.

Anyway, I fear my thoughts are kind of rambly and disjointed, but in a nutshell: this book is great. It has its faults (a more eagle-eyed editor would not have been inappropriate), but it talks about many issues we need to address in modern society in a compelling way while appealing to many peoples’ desire to enjoy the natural landscape.