The Year of the Goat
40,000 Miles and the Quest for the Perfect Cheese
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A fascinating one-year sojourn across America in search of greener pastures—and the finest goat cheese* Many people dream of leaving the workaday world for a life of simplicity and freedom, and Margaret Hathaway and her then-boyfriend Karl did just that. In The Year of the Goat, the reader can jump in the “goat mobile” with them as they ditch their big-city lifestyle to trek across forty-three states in search of greener pastures and the perfect goat cheese. Along the way, the reader is introduced to a vivid cast of characters—including farmers, breeders, cheese makers, and world-class chefs—and discovers everything there is to know about goats and getting back to the land. But readers beware: When it comes to goat cheese, it can be love at first bite. “Hathaway’s descriptions of the various characters they meet—both human and goat—are funny and vivid. . . . This is a book for anyone who’s ever imagined going back in time to a simpler life—or anyone who loves cheese.”—Entertainment Weekly “Back-to-the-land fantasies aren’t new, but Hathaway gives theirs a modern twist.”—Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hathaway and Schatz were happy living together in New York City Schatz was Time.com's picture editor, and Hathaway a former manager of Magnolia Bakery. Still, they wondered "what sort of people" they'd be if they lived in the country, and in this offbeat memoir Hathaway narrates their search. The idea of raising cows wasn't affordable or appealing, but goats were intriguing, especially since their cheeses were so tasty. Before long, the couple decided to leave New York for a yearlong "goat odyssey," searching out everything "goat" that struck their fancy. Starting in New York with a tasting session with ma tre fromager Max McCalman, they traveled the country visiting goat farms, auctions and shows. While they had a lot to learn how to milk goats, how to trim their hooves they were also trying to find a model lifestyle for themselves. Eventually, they realized they wanted a farm with some vegetables and some animals, but not so many that the farm would become a factory. More than anything, they wanted "a modest life" surrounded by people they loved. Back-to-the-land fantasies aren't new, but Hathaway gives theirs a modern twist by emphasizing "terroir," the idea that "food is rooted in the land," and of connecting "the palate to the place." Local-eating, slow-food activists will find much to chew on here.
