Coop

A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting

By: Michael Perry

Narrated by: Michael Perry

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

In over his head with two pigs, a dozen chickens, and a baby due any minute, the acclaimed author of Truck: A Love Story gives us a humorous, heartfelt memoir of a new life in the country.

Last seen sleeping off his wedding night in the back of a 1951 International Harvester pickup, Michael Perry is now living in a rickety Wisconsin farmhouse. Faced with 37 acres of fallen fences and overgrown fields, and informed by his pregnant wife that she intends to deliver their baby at home, Perry plumbs his unorthodox childhood - his city-bred parents took in more than 100 foster children while running a ramshackle dairy farm - for clues to how to proceed as a farmer, a husband, and a father.

And when his daughter Amy starts asking about God, Perry is called upon to answer questions for which he's not quite prepared. He muses on his upbringing in an obscure fundamentalist Christian sect and weighs the long-lost faith of his childhood against the skeptical alternative ("You cannot toss your seven-year-old a copy of Being and Nothingness").

Whether Perry is recalling his childhood ("I first perceived my father as a farmer the night he drove home with a giant lactating Holstein tethered to the bumper of his Ford Falcon") or what it's like to be bitten in the butt while wrestling a pig ("two firsts in one day"), Coop is filled with the humor his readers have come to expect. But Perry also writes from the quieter corners of his heart, chronicling experiences as joyful as the birth of his child and as devastating as the death of a dear friend.

Alternately hilarious, tender, and as real as pigs in mud, Coop is suffused with a contemporary desire to reconnect with the Earth, with neighbors, with meaning...and with chickens.

©2009 Michael Perry (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Meh

I decided to be generous and give this 3 stars. I grew up on a farm so it was kinda like yeah...we did that. The writing is good but not moving, except for one chapter. Maybe city folk would enjoy it.

Beautiful

I am a long haul truck driver. Listen to audiobooks constantly. This is by far my favorite! Thank you Michael. Wonderful!

Wonderful Look at Hobby Farmer's Life

Michael Perry tells how he got involved with a few animals on a small farm in rural Wisconsin. The story is great, but even more wonderful is his mellifluous writing!

This book has gone a fowl

What disappointed you about Coop?

The gratuitous language used by the author gave off the feeling of superiority and made for an uncomfortable listen. He sounds as if he is saying: “I am highly educated and much better than you.” in several parts of his book. Did we really need so much in-depth description of making hay? No. We did not. This section went on for what seemed like years. Writing about the cogs, etc. for such a long part of a chapter nearly put me into a coma and I was driving at the time. Liabilities, sir!

What other book might you compare Coop to and why?

Perhaps I don't read books that are quite so "high-brow" because I can't really compare this autobiographical, ego perpetuating piece of literature to anything else I have read.

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

At times the author actually sounds board of his own voice.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I'm disappointed. I had had hopes that this would be more about a journey into chicken ownership and the perils of bumble-foot. What I got was a diary-esque, self-promotion. There is nothing wrong with this type of book if it is one you have planned on listening to or reading.

Any additional comments?

I give this book a solid "Meh" or possibly a ribbon for participation.
I feel the author has better to give but missed the side of the barn by a mile.

Warm and lovely

What did you love best about Coop?

I loved this book and fell in love with the author. He is humorous, wise, and definitely a new favorite.

Interesting, funny, and thought provoking

Well written and read with humor and insight. I'll look for more of his books. It kept me interested and provided a few chuckles along the way.

fun to listen too, and

Fun to listen to, and the feeling of being taken back to family life in a small community! So much sounded like my childhood.

Coop

I love this book, it was pure and honest and very funny. Reminded me of A Walk in the Woods and A Year in Provence.

Captivating and heartwarming

Fantastic, made this Alabama gal wish I had grown up in Wisconsin...please don't tell my Wisconsin born husband! As a veterinarian I just enjoyed the lovely stories about being in touch with the animals, land, family and faith. I'm now a committed fan of Mr. Perry's and will go seek his other books.

relaxing to help you sleep

I purchased this book because I heard it was funny but it wasn't really funny