Review

How to Breed Sheep, Geese and English Eccentrics

Author:  Valerie Poore

Published:  January 8, 2014

Genre:  Contemporary Fiction

This is without a doubt one of my favourite books - it is a real charmer, and I loved it.

There is a whole host of truly wonderful characters and supporting characters that helped shape this story and paint it in bright multi-coloured layers, and they all had me laughing out loud at their antics.

Maisie, our heroine, armed with a hard-earned university degree decides to rather try her hand at farming instead, and sets out to do so with hilarious consequences.  Her eccentric mother, who lives in a world of her own thinks nothing of wearing her ancient wedding dress to help mend fences on the farm or to wear her moth eaten cocktail dresses or ball gowns around the house.  I adored her.

Maisie’s photographer boyfriend started off as quite a bland character, but he is proof that if you hang around people who are eccentric, or even just slightly eccentric, it may just rub off on you.  He is as clueless as Maisie is about farming and doesn’t show much interest, but between the two of them they came up with the most bizarre of all schemes involving runaway sheep. So funny :)

What is a farm without animals?  This farm had the best animals ever.  There is Emily, the ewe, who was constantly scheming and leading everyone else astray, to Wellington the charming little ram ......... who rammed, and Miss Gee, the goose who terrorises everyone – there was enough craziness on this farm to keep you entertained forever.

This was an excellent read, and is one of those books that will stay with me for a very long time.  Great characters, and great story.  I loved it.