Farm City

The Education of an Urban Farmer

By: Novella Carpenter

Narrated by: Karen White

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

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)

I LOVE THIS BOOK.Refreshing, so different

If you could sum up Farm City in three words, what would they be?

This lady is so strong willed, ready to take on anything for her tiny farm, and does a great job. I really enjoyed her animal antics, her with the pigs. and just funny ways of talking on and solving PROBLEMS that came up with her animals . I listened to it two times and will listen to it again, it is very refreshing.

What did you like best about this story?

Her attitude about the people in her neighborhood.the way she loves her animals and the attitude when an animal has to be taken for food shows a great attitude and the follow through herself is statement to her character, I have a small farm and I totally understood her feelings
.

Which character – as performed by Karen White – was your favorite?

Karen is anawesome she was my favorite, but hubby went along easy to whatever she whants

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

Yes, I did that. watng for more books from every year the adventure continues

Any additional comments?

Can be listen to many times , it's fun.

entertaining insight into a different lifestyle

I live in a big city and am an avid supporter of farmers markets and community gardens. But until I read Farm City, the idea of people living in U.S. cities and subsisting only on what they manage to grow and raise themselves seemed to me to be tall tales right up there with Paul Bunyan. While I have no intention of raising chickens in my living room any time soon, I'm thrilled to know that such people are not myths. Novella Carpenter, with her honesty and sense of humor, gives a great tour of her life as an urban farmer, and Karen White provides a great narration.

Inspirational

I liked the way the story was based in a city that I had lived in and was from a subculture in America that I am part of. Although I know alot of folks similar to the author and thought the book might be cliche or not so new to me, I ended up enjoying her stories alot and was inspired by the "anarchist" ways she went about farming in the city. I am inspired to raise rabbits (but not pigs) now - in my small urban plot. The only thing I didn't like was that the ending was vague and abrupt.

Loved it!

I loved this book! While I will never be either an urban or rural farmer, I grew up in a household that raised meat animals and grew virtually all the produce needed for the year and I think more people who want to do so, should have the freedom to. And it fascinates me to hear how it can be made to work - and work well - in surroundings that don't appear conducive to doing so!

Makes you stop and think

I really liked this book. It really makes me stop and think about all the things we take for granted and waste.

Live, Laugh, Chickens

This is a gritty take on true urban farming. There is an intriguing dichotomy present throughout the book. The author does not seek out the romantic dreams of farming, but instead tells her truth of the experiences she had raising food in an unlikely environment. The author's words are at times poetic but crass too. I am someone who does not live in a rural area, but aches for certain pieces of an agricultural life. Farm City gives me hope that I could do something with what I have now, instead of just wishing for the future. If you feel the same, then I highly recommend this book for you.

Worth the $4.95

A little TOO much information regarding raising livestock and transformation from animal to edible. Performance was very good, overall. Love the idea of urban farming, so overall this was inspirational, though my own interest is far more produce than animal raising.

Love, love, love!

This was a fantastic book. Both funny and just downright interesting. Of course, I'm a wanna-be farmer...so maybe I'm a little biased. The reader was wonderful as well.

An Education In Waste...of my money

What disappointed you about Farm City?

The book summary was a much better read than the actual story. The book started off with promise. Novella's setting up the garden and bee hive and the obstacles she faced. It started falling flat quickly.However, I found Novella to be the book's most unlikable character. That's pretty bad when the book has pigs in it.Novella had a total lack of concern for her neighbors, from the feces and rotting food smells. A lack of concern for her animals. Dog packs killing the geese. The pigs roaming the streets.This book dwells on dumpster diving and living in the ghetto. This book makes the author out to be someone trying way to hard to be a cool 21st century hippie.

Would you ever listen to anything by Novella Carpenter again?

No, this book stinks as bad as Novella's breath. Nor would I want her living in my neighborhood.

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

Karen White's performance was the only redeeming aspect of this audio book. Had it been read by the author or someone else, I may just deleted the book and accepted my loss. I have browsed several other books by Karen White that I have added to my wish list.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Farm City?

I thought this book was a waste my money and my time.

Any additional comments?

Save your money and your credits.

I was really excited at first, then lost interest

What disappointed you about Farm City?

While at first I really loved the odd collection of neighbors and her interesting little block in urban Oakland, they eventually became uninteresting and there to make a hippie's story more colorful. I was very gung-ho rooting for Novella, urban farmer, but I just lost interest after awhile in her farming antics. It might just be because I don't have a huge frame of reference for the experience. Someone who is into farming, and urban farming, might truly connect with her and her struggles. I live in a total urban jungle and my grass is public parks, which I love because I don't have to garden or mow them. So maybe I'm just not the right audience.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I didn't have any complaints about the performance. That's a big factor for me before I buy an audiobook. She was good.