Customer Reviews

Bitterbrush Country: Living on the Edge of the Land

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Although I've read many books by and about women in the West, this is a refreshing new twist on the oft-told memoir in which the author marries a sheep and cattle rancher and grows to love the wide open and arid spaces of Southern Idaho, as well as the interesting characters she meets along the process. What's new about it? Peavey is the daughter of noted western historian Alvin Josephy, and spent every summer of her childhood at the family ranch in Joseph, Oregon. the book is a collection of her commentaries on Boise's National Public Radio station, and shows that she has inherited her father's wonderful felicity with the English language, as well as his sensitivity to issues in the contemporary West. This book belongs on one's bookshelf along with those by Terry Tempest Williams, Gretel Erlich, Kim Barnes, and Terri Hein. This is the perfect gift for those who grew up on a farm or ranch, or have just visited one!

I highly recommend this book to all - those that love the life of a Western ranch and those that are just curious. You will be entertained and enlightened by these essays. You will laugh and develop a deeper sense of compassion. Diane is a wonderful writer and brings her stories to life with powerful word pictures. You won't regret soaking up this book!

I lived in the area she writes about for awhile. It is a special place but her claim to it is patronizing.

Also, really stupid title. What does that mean living on the edge of the land? Is it a platform suspended above the land, or maybe it's a boat just off shore, maybe she means outerspace. Why can't she just live on the land like the rest of us? It is this separation between places where we live and natural environments that indicates she more urbanite than country girl.

To anyone who grew up in rural areas, this is superfluous pabulum. I bet Peavey is in fact a big city girl that never got over the "quaintness" of rural life. I find her writing phony. Peavey writes like she is the only one enlightened enough to be able to appreciate the space and quiet of the West. We really do know what a privilege it is to live here, we just don't find it necessary to think up excessive adjectives for every rock, tree, or sunrise. I read one essay, scanned a few more, and promptly returned the book back to the library thankful that I did not buy it. The cover on the book is nice though, so I gave it a star for that.