I was feeling pretty nostalgic when it came to choosing a book to read. I first read Stump Farm when I was twelve-ish. Growing up near farms and having ancestors who built homesteads out of forests and fields decades ago in the vast space that is now Canada, I could picture my grandpa living out many similar story lines as the main character. Not only did I related to the book, it made me laugh at the antics and love the history of our beautiful country.
The Stump Farm is really just a collection of memories of author Robert J. Adams while growing up post war era on a plot of land in Alberta. Full of stories about chores, cows and outhouses, it sounds pretty darn close to stories I've heard from my grandparents. Add a few more luxuries and the stories could have come from my friends's mouths.
Now, given that I read this book a good ten years ago, its a pretty easy read. I read it on the flight to Calgary and back. Thats probably, at the most, two hours. How fitting though? Reading about life on the prairies of Alberta while flying to Calgary. Fitting, but thank god we are past riding horses to school. So its a quick read, but full of laughs. Each chapter is a different anecdote, from "My Boy Always Wins" and "Double-clutch" to "There's Noting Like a Good Ceegar" and "Our Biffy is a Two Holer". Can you get more hick than that?
Its probably not for everyone, but if you aren't familiar with how small town Alberta ran in the late 1940s its a quick way to learn, and if you are it will warm your soul. Final opinion? Its an entertaining, easy read by a Canadian author and it made my patriotic heart smile. No deep thinking in this one - just straight humour.
- Kim
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