• Farm City

  • The Education of an Urban Farmer
  • By: Novella Carpenter
  • Narrated by: Karen White
  • Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (385 ratings)

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Farm City  By  cover art

Farm City

By: Novella Carpenter
Narrated by: Karen White
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Editorial reviews

When Novella Carpenter and her boyfriend decide to move to an apartment at the end of a street in a rough neighborhood in Oakland, California, they base their choice on the large and vacant lot next door. Already experienced with raising chickens, gardening, and keeping bees, Carpenter wants to take on a larger challenge: creating an urban farm. Farm City is a memoir chronicling her development of the vacant lot, the acquisition of livestock, and the rich and diverse characters that populate her new neighborhood.

Carpenter's voice comes through Karen White's narration as having matter-of-fact sensibility, dotted throughout the book with dry humor and a healthy sense of irony. Carpenter is constantly planning to take the operations of her farm a step further than the season before, starting with raising ducks and turkeys in addition to her chickens; but as much as she plans, something unexpected is always around the corner. White's narration at once reflects Carpenter's excitement and frustration at setbacks, as every project turns out to be something slightly other than what she bargained for.

As the narrative of Farm City unfolds, Carpenter routinely reflects on herself in relation to the tradition of farming, and it is clear she sees herself in line with both the people of the past who farmed out of necessity and writers and scholars who have written about man's connection with earth as an intellectual exercise. Instead of trying to obtain a novel and unique experience, Carpenter wants to see herself as part of a very human tradition, and White's voice commands authority when she quotes the people who have inspired Carpenter. As Carpenter describes her rationale for deciding to raise livestock for meat and the daunting task of butchering the animals herself; White is unflinching. She conveys a confidence that what may seem brutal about killing her livestock has been a mere fact of life for human beings up until recent decades, and her candid descriptions and frank tone force the listener to wonder why it's the idea of having one's own farm that seems strange, and not the fact that so few of us has any connection at all with what we eat every day. Erin Ikeler

Publisher's summary

Novella Carpenter loves cities - the culture, the crowds, the energy. At the same time, she can't shake the fact that she is the daughter of two back-to-the-land hippies who taught her to love nature and eat vegetables.

Ambivalent about repeating her parents' disastrous mistakes, yet drawn to the idea of backyard self-sufficiency, Carpenter decided that it might be possible to have it both ways: a homegrown vegetable plot as well as museums, bars, concerts, and a 24-hour convenience mart mere minutes away - especially when she moved to a ramshackle house in inner-city Oakland and discovered a weed-choked, garbage-strewn abandoned lot next door. She closed her eyes and pictured heirloom tomatoes, a beehive, and a chicken coop. What started out as a few egg-laying chickens led to turkeys, geese, and ducks. Soon, some rabbits joined the fun, then two 300-pound pigs. And no, these charming and eccentric animals weren't pets; she was a farmer, not a zookeeper. Novella was raising these animals for dinner.

Novella Carpenter's corner of downtown Oakland is populated by unforgettable characters. Lana (anal spelled backward, she reminds us) runs a speakeasy across the street and refuses to hurt even a fly, let alone condone raising turkeys for Thanksgiving. Bobby, the homeless man who collects cars and car parts just outside the farm, is an invaluable neighborhood concierge. The turkeys, Harold and Maude, tend to escape on a daily basis to cavort with the prostitutes hanging around just off the highway nearby.

Every day on this strange and beautiful farm, urban meets rural in the most surprising ways. For anyone who has ever grown herbs on their windowsill or tomatoes on their fire escape, or who has obsessed over the offerings at the local farmers' market, Carpenter's story will capture your heart.

©2009 Novella Carpenter (P)2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Utterly enchanting.... The juxtaposition of the farming life with inner-city grit...elevates it to the realm of the magical." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Farm City

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Hmmm.

I got this book because I love gardening, have bees, raise chickens for eggs and meat, and like the idea of being self sufficient. Listening to someone SQUAT on another's land, use their station wagon (tarped the inside, are you serious?) to haul manure, and use the F word wasn't in my plan.

While the book does offer some insight into a way of living I don't understand (daily shootings, sirens, punk kids with no adult supervision) and the gardening of a city dweller with country roots, I didn't like the book. If a person is living in the city and doesn't mind their station wagon having poop in the back then this book is for you.

If you want to read a book with better inspiration of living closer to YOUR land, raising your own food, and gardening for a purpose, then read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

Because some people find humor in the F word, and wouldn't consider a truck as a vital vehicle, I gave this book a 3. If you were my closest friend, I would take the book out of your hand and put it back on the book store shelf.

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Not an instruction book but a fun read

First, for those upset because this woman is a "squatter," maybe should read/listen closer. She has permission to have a garden on that lot and says so at around the 45 minute spot. She just likes to call herself that because she was for about a week. Then met the owner and got permission.


This book does not give you directions so much as tell an entertaining story though you will hear tips on urban farming here and there. If hearing the four letter word for excretion rather than a more polite term for it upsets you, then move on. If the idea of putting well-rotted, composted horse manure in your car (at this point it's just a really rich soil - horse stuff is just plants ground up pretty much anyway) upsets your sensibilities then you'll hear things that will upset you. Being a former horse owner and long-time organic gardener, none of this upsets me in the least. I was jealous of her for being able to get so much of it.


For me, this was a very entertaining book and I enjoyed it a lot. Giving 4 rather than 5 stars though as I reserve 5 for only the greatest. Again, I enjoyed this book very much.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

What a pleasure!

I enjoyed both the book and the reader very much. It was like a combination of The Omnivore's Dilemma and Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Mineral. The author perfectly captures the somewhat obsessive nature of a dyed-in-the-wool gardener, while always wryly aware of how crazy some of her behavior appears to others. Lovely!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining and intimate

This is a well written, entertaining and intimate (maybe too intimate for some of us carnivores) view of living in the real world of urban farming. Fun.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

More enjoyable than Kingsolver's take on the topic

What made the experience of listening to Farm City the most enjoyable?

I LOVE how Novella and her partner made use of materials that would've otherwise been tossed, and in doing so created something out of nothing. For some reason I find that quite exciting and really enjoyed this book. I also very much appreciated the revelation of her mistakes as well as her successes.

What other book might you compare Farm City to and why?

You can't help but compare it to Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral." I found this to be much less preachy, much more fun and in the end, a better learning experience. Much better narrated, too.

Have you listened to any of Karen White’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't believe I've heard any of Karen White's performances before this, but she did a pretty good job.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

The only quibble I had with the author was her interaction with Sheila. Novella ignored so many obvious signals, and then proceeded to blame Sheila for doing what she clearly indicated she would do, no matter what Novella had requested.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unexpected

When you choose a book like this you expect to read something that's a little more educational than entertaining. In other words, informative but not as liesurely a read as maybe a Stephanie Plum novel. However, this one surprised me. It WAS educational in some ways, and definitely autobiographical, but it was also quite entertaining. I was very pleased by this book, and by the end of it I wished I had a neighbor with a secret restaurant in her basement and a pair of turkeys in my back yard. I would almost consider this story to be the Eat-Pray-Love of urban farming except Novella Carpenter's final revelation doesn't have quite the umph of Elizabeth Gilbert's. Still, the story has a similar feel and was worth my time & credits. I would recommend it to others (in fact, I am) most certainly.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Light, Funny, and Real

I can so relate to this book, but I live in a not so urban area. Novella pokes fun of herself and others who have tried to live this life and still be a part of the modern movement that we live in today. A must read if you have ever thought of doing the unconventional such as raising a garden, canning, or raising farm animals. This book is for you.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Inspiring read for an aspiring urban farmer

Great story about urban farming. I was very skeptical after reading reviews that said the depictions of the animals being slaughtered were basically inhumane. If you're a vegetarian or vegan, I can understand how this one would seem like a brutal book to read. But if you eat meat, I highly recommend it. It makes you think about every ounce of effort that goes into preparing the animal protein in your meals, up to and including that these animals die so that we can have our meals. If we ignore that fact, we really aren't honoring their lives the way they deserve in my opinion.

I was not necessarily enthused about the handful of religious and political references, but at the same time, this is Novella's story. That's who she is.

While I don't believe I'd ever squat or go dumpster diving, I do get a lot of entertainment from her stories about it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

awesome

What made the experience of listening to Farm City the most enjoyable?

The reality, the fact that she actually carried out her dream in all odds

Who was your favorite character and why?

Both her and her friend

Which scene was your favorite?

the pigs and dumpster diving

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I loved it very real and honestly sustainable

Any additional comments?

This is one of my favorite books, she is real I love the way she utilizes her resources and makes things work, how she reaches out to her readers and makes them feel comfortable about the farming experience. also she shares how you can be a farmer in less than optimal circumstances which is where I feel the strength of this book lies. hats off to you I would love to meet you!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic story, lots of great info!

A great adventure in farming in the worst part of Oakland, CA. The adventures and misadventures of Nouvella Carpenter, hippy farmer are by turns touching and hilarious. Dumpster-diving to feed her pigs, hauling horse manure from farms outside the city, losing her geese and ducks to an opossum - all told from a singular point of view. Even if you're not as big a bleeding heart as Nouvella (and I'm not), there's lots of food for thought, along with stories of food for her neighbors.

Nouvella's more than just a latter-day hippie farmer, though - along with lots of references to to the literature on farming, self-sufficiency, ecology and environmentalism, I caught mentions of Icarus and Nobel Prize laureate Maurice Maeterlinck.

I'm a complete city-slicker, with more a black thumb than a green thumb, but this book is making me rethink a bit of how I live my life - and certainly making me change what I plan to read next. And to think I only got it on a whim, as $4.95 members-only special!

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1 person found this helpful