Pulling Down the Barn

Memories of a Rural Childhood: Great Lakes Books Series

By: Anne-Marie Oomen

Narrated by: Michelle Babb

Length: 5 hrs

Publisher's summary

Pulling Down the Barn eloquently recalls author Anne-Marie Oomen's personal journey as she discovers herself an outsider on her family farm located in western Michigan's Oceana County, in the township of Elbridge - a couple hundred acres in the middle of rural America. Written as a series of heartfelt interlocking narratives, this collection of essays portrays the realities of farm life: haying, picking asparagus and cherries, the machinery of tractors and pickers; but each chapter also touches upon the more ethereal and rarely articulated: the stoic love that permeates a family, the farmer's struggle with identity, and the way land can shape a childhood. With its rich language and style, Pulling Down the Barn engrosses the listener in Oomen's memories - setting beauty and wonder against work and loss - and paints a poignant portrait of growing up in rural Michigan.

Winner of the Michigan Notable Book Awards. The book is published by Wayne State University Press.

©2004 Wayne State University Press (P)2015 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Anne-Marie Oomen has written a perfect gem of a book: deceptively quiet, delicately structured, but with the enduring force, strength, and brilliance of a diamond." (A. Manette Ansay, author of Limbo and Vinegar Hill)

" Pulling Down the Barn is a vivid and magical work." (Barbara Hurd, author of Entering the Stone: On Caves and Feeling Through the Dark)

" Pulling Down the Barn is a wonderfully lyrical and evocative memoir." (Michael Steinberg, founding editor of Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction and author of Still Pitching: A Memoir)

Rich use of language sets this apart

If you could sum up Pulling Down the Barn in three words, what would they be?

Insightful, beautiful hardships

What other book might you compare Pulling Down the Barn to and why?

Little House on the Prairie but more modern (and better writing)

Which scene was your favorite?

Describing how her mother interrupts stories and figuring out why.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes. The anguish of The Tractor.

Any additional comments?

I loved this book and may re-listen again very soon. The narrator took some time getting use to (a bit slow and too careful with diction) but warmed up especially toward the end.
"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

Amazing Short Essays

I found this book to contain beautiful essays some sweet while others heart stopping. The writing reminded me of visiting family in South Dakota playing on a farm. I remember growing up having those same feelings and doubts about yourself and the world around you. Michelle Babb brought the story back to me in vivid details with her amazing voices. The emotions a life she breathes into every characters makes them all come to life. I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes books with snippets into ones soul. I received this book for free and this is my honest unbiased review.

I struggled to connect to the voice

I think one's story, one's history is the most important book to write and Anne-Marie Oomen does this well. I would suggest reading the book rather than listening as Michelle Babb's performance is almost robotic with clear, clipped tones.

Streaming of consciousness and memories -...

... but sadly, not for me.
I have found Pulling Down the Barn really difficult to focus on. This is not necessarily because of the narrator - I normally absolutely love and adore Michelle Babb - but she really didn't have a lot to work with here (check out some of her other titles though, she is really awesome).

There is a lot of melancholy in the book and it kind of drags on a little. When looking at some of the other reviews, it seems like those who can identify with the general story really enjoyed the book and those who can't (maybe because they grew up differently) did not. I'm in the latter group.

That makes it difficult to review though. I'll say that if you have fond memories of growing up in a rural area, totally, give it a go. It might very well give lovely moments to reminisce. If this is not even close to what you've experienced, you might want to take a pass.

Poetic Writing Style

The writing style here was very wordy, almost poetic. The narration was great. All the descriptions of dead animals is what kept it from being a 5 for me.

Lots of little tiny stories

Would you listen to Pulling Down the Barn again? Why?

Most likely won't listen to it again. It was ok, and the details were good, it was just sometimes there was too many tiny details that it was easy to get sidetracked from what was going on with the people.

If you’ve listened to books by Anne-Marie Oomen before, how does this one compare?

No i havn't

Which scene was your favorite?

I found the whole party line for the phones pretty cool. My mom had that all while growing up and my grandma still had times where neighbors calls could be heard when she picked up the phone in the mid to later 80s.

I also liked the part where the one brother was hurt by the other brother, yelling to the parents that the one brother had been killed/was dead, and then all the kids getting in trouble even though only the 2 boys did the actions.... so typical for a lot of parents even today.

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

No, it was good to listen to a few stories and come back later and listen to a few more.

Any additional comments?

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

Farm Gods' Rejection

This is (as far as I can tell) a stand alone novel constructed of loosely connected essays.


Michelle Babb's performance makes listening to this book an enthralling and entertaining experience :)


This book was surreal. Listening to the way the girl thought and saw the world was a unique experience. I was caught up in the narrative and fully immersed even when I did not completely understand what the subject matter was :) I really enjoyed this experience!


***This title is suitable for listening(reading) by young adult through adult readers who enjoy historical fiction with a dash of fantasy :)

A beautiful look back on a family farm childhood

This is such a beautiful book! It's a memoir of a childhood set on a farm in rural America but actually it can apply to any kind of farmer's experience. My grandfather had a farm, roses mainly but also other flowers and some vegetables, that bordered an every closing metropolitan city. He had to sell his lands in the early 2000s and that was both traumatic and a relief to the family. None of his children wanted to take over the farm, noone in the family really felt up to it anymore. Walking around in the suburbs that got built over the farmlands still is surreal. I can remember the barn for the horses, the rails where the carts turned, where we skated around one very cold winter. Fond memories. But I can also remember the stresses of losing the glass houses to a storm, pesticide rules changing all the time, asbestos.... it's a hard life.

I think connecting one's own experiences to the life of someone else is what makes memoires valuable to read. This book is also written very invitingly too, it is a series of essays that can be read as standalones but interlink to form a narrative arc too. The audiobook I listened to is narrated in a way that suits this personal story very well, the moments are quietly told and carefully nuanced, glimpses into the author's life.

Pulling Down the Barn

Many interwoven short stories about growing up on a Michigan farm. The overall premise is good, but the tales sometimes ramble.



The narration was well done.The characters were well portrayed.


“This audiobook was given by the narrator at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review."

Snippets of a rural coming of age

Pulling Down the Barn is a wonderful memoir by Anne-Marie Oomen, a poet and playwright. Midwestern rural life in the late 1950s, early 1960s is the setting of this collection of remembrances of a young girl trying to find her place. Telling of harsh winters, times of harvesting--cherries, asparagus, apples, driving (and crashing) a tractor for the first time, Ms. Oomen brings a lyrical story to her readers. Each chapter pulls the reader into this country family and the myriad experiences of their life on the farm. Migrant workers, massive beehives in the wall of the house, rope-swinging in the barn are just a few of the nostalgic stories retold in the book. Michelle Babb does a remarkably enjoyable job of narrating the audiobook, with excellent inflection and intonation. Pulling Down the Barn is an enchanting account of life in a different and perhaps idyllic age.