The Shepherds Life: A Tale of the Lakes District by James Rebanks

What a lovely book. It’s not what I’d call literary and it’s not a rollicking good yarn, but it is an authentic, humanly written account of the lives of farmers in England’s Lakes district who have been farming sheep on the mountains there for 600 years or more. One of the things I liked best was the connection Rebanks feels with pre-historic peoples. He talks particularly about the showing and selling of sheep, regular calendar events, and draws a comparison with the gatherings that ancient people had to trade, socialize and even find wives and husbands. We visit these places of standing stones and ancient post holes, and it’s truly satisfying to think that a remnant of social behaviour still carries through to the present. I loved his sense of connection with the seasons, also. The book is divided into the four seasons with bits of story interwoven with descriptions of the work that is done in those times. He’s a keen observer of the plant and wildlife of each season. Of course he is a farmer through and through - despite his Oxford firsts in history! – and I loved the practical farmer’s approach to difficulties, to life and death, to foxes and crows, to his relationships with other farmers and his family, with little sentiment. Having lived and worked in rural Australia I recognized it immediately and found it true. Rebanks talks about the sheep hefting to the land, getting connected to a particular place on the mountain so that they can return to it year after year and know they are home. I think he’s talking about himself as much as his sheep.