Republic Of Dirt
A Return to Woefield Farm
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- £8.99
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- £8.99
Publisher Description
Prudence Burns is an overly idealistic Brooklyn girl who has inherited a derelict plot of land named Woefield Farm. Her motley crew of farm hands consists of Earl, an elderly, reclusive bluegrass legend; Seth, an agoraphobic heavy-metal blogger in early recovery from alcoholism; and Sara, an 11-year-old girl with a flock of elite show poultry.
When Prudence is felled by a thyroid condition, things on the farm begin to fall apart, resulting in valiant and sometimes ill-advised attempts to restore domestic bliss. Efforts are complicated by a renegade mule, attempts to turn a hideously ugly child’s playhouse into a high-yield roadside farm stand, and an electrical station’s worth of crossed wires. Will Prudence get well? Will Seth finally get rid of his pesky virginity? Will Earl rescue Sara? And will anyone, ever, admit they might be wrong?
Told in four highly distinct, unforgettably hilarious, and sometimes heartbreaking voices, Republic of Dirt is about what happens when passions collide with pride and what it takes to save each other, our small part of the planet, and ourselves.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Clouds have gathered over Woefield Farm, the unpromising expanse of B.C. scrubland where rocks burp spontaneously out of the ground, in this funny yet surprisingly poignant follow-up to The Woefield Poultry Collective (shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour). Though the farm is looking better, something is amiss. Prudence, the redoubtable twentysomething who inherited the farm from her uncle, remains indomitably optimistic but has been felled by a thyroid condition. Near-catatonically exhausted, she is unable to boss er, supervise the rest of the collective: Seth, 21, the hilariously foul-mouthed agoraphobic alcoholic metalhead; reluctant bluegrass legend Earl, in his early 70s and now, with Prudence, co-owner of the farm; 11-year-old chicken fancier Sara, thoughtful, quiet, and wiser than most of the adults around her; and Bertie the sheep, a stabilizing presence on a farm with so many extreme personalities. When mayhem erupts during parent-teacher night at Sara s school, Sara s parents, who have left her at the farm while their marriage disintegrates,intervene, and the entire farm is drawn into the fiery orbit of this volatile, warring couple. Alternately told by plainspoken Prudence, X-rated Seth, brave and beleaguered Sara, and irascible Earl, the book is a joyful, moving return to Woefield as its entire way of life is thrown into doubt.
