Earlier this summer I blogged about Novella Carpenter coming to speak at the Free Library of Philadelphia. Of course I went. She was smart and witty! I immediately bought Farm City: The Education of An Urban Farmer and added it to my summer reading list. After some late nights, long afternoons and morning commutes on the train, I finished all thirty-six chapters.

Carpenter charms and educates in Farm City. She humorously narrates her personal experience as a farmer in the raw Oakland neighborhood of Ghost Town.

At first her journey begins with a handful of egg-laying chickens, and culminates with the emotional experience of butchering her two 300-pound pigs. Throughout the memoir, Carpenter confronts her beliefs about eating meat, questioning how one can raise and nurture an animal to kill it. Ultimately she recognizes and embraces the complexities of food and the intimate relationship between human and animal.  

Carpenter’s writing is honest and real. Her voice comes across as reliable and entertaining. Without bogging readers down with too much detail, Carpenter engages them with her explorations of farming and cooking. In addition, she creates a vivid literary landscape of Oakland, its residents and its challenges. 

Farm City is a perfect summer read! It might even inspire you to do some farming of your own.