This
book is more of a memoir than anything else. Purifoy shares her
experiences of the various places she has lived and the repairs made on
houses and rooms. She includes vignettes of the people she has
befriended in these places too. She writes quite a bit about their
their current home, an old house, how it is falling apart, is a money
pit and how the trees are dying. This book was not the inspirational
one about placemaking that I had anticipated. I almost felt like I
was reading Purifoy's journal entries, selected at random.
The
book is informative even if not inspiring. I learned that poison ivy
is an American original. I was surprised to find out that the plant
becomes more vigorous with increased carbon dioxide in the air and
the poison has doubled in strength since the 1960s. (49)
Tree
lovers would like this book as it includes much about them. Purifoy
has a nice way with words. Her work is a pleasure to read. I just was
not that interested in her reliving her experiences. I would have
rather had her thoughts on places and what makes them peaceful or
invigorating or a blessing. While she included a few of such thoughts
at the very beginning, the rest of the book was pretty much memoir.
My
rating: 3/5 stars.
Christie
Purifoy has a PhD in English literature from the University of
Chicago. She is the author of Roots
and Sky: A Journey Home in Four Seasons.
She lives with her husband and four children at Maplehurst, a
Victorian farmhouse in southeastern Pennsylvania. You can find out
more at http://www.christiepurifoy.com/
Zondervan,
224 pages.
I
received a complimentary copy of this book through Handlebar. My
comments are an independent and honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment