Green Mountain Farm (Paperback)

by Elliott Merrick (Author), Lawrence Millman (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Green Mountain Farm" is flat out the best and most entertaining book I've ever read about nearly everyone's secret dream: moving to the country and living there happily and successfully. -- Howard Frank Mosher

Product Description
A story about the thrills and perils of renovating an old farm on a shoestring, a warm and wise book about living simply in the country while pursuing the writer's craft. In 1934, in the depths of the Great Depression, Elliott Merrick and his wife bought a ramshackle farm on a Vermont hillside for $1,000. Merrick, a young writer with a healthy dose of idealism and a determination to live in the country, had just sold his first book to Maxwell Perkins at Scribner's. "I had an idea that I would be rich and famous henceforth," Merrick wrote, but added, "nothing could be farther from the truth . . . As I look back, I'm amazed that we could so blithely have crossed our great Rubicon on a spiderweb. But it turned out to be one of those fortunate mistakes--one of those fraught-with-peril enterprises that you might never have embarked on if you had known the consequences--like being born, for instance." Green Mountain Farm describes Merrick's and his family's often haphazard attempts to make a go of it on these stony, wintry acres, in a house that was falling down around them. As Merrick puts it, "We did everything wrong, but it came out right." They were dirt poor, but through it all, believed wholeheartedly in going directly after the things they wanted most: to write and to farm, however they could. A lyrical, funny, richly fulfilling book about old houses, farming, writing, and the joys of country life, this book is as fresh today as when it was originally published more than fifty years ago.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 209 pages
• Publisher: The Countryman Press (November 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881504351
• ISBN-13: 978-0881504354
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #658,011 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, April 14, 2002

By	Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book tells the story of a writer who settles in Vermont in 1934 with his family. It is filled with personal stories of adventures that the family had and the people that they met. Early in the book, an immigrant ski maker convinces the family to move up to the Northeast Kingdom. Merrick describes the early days of the ski industry, when people still wore homemade equipment on the slopes. He also describes his part in the 1930s survey of farming practices, contrasting his own experiences working his farm to supplement his writing income.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A cozy journey to a simple way of life, December 27, 2002

By	Scott Sauchuk (Plympton, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Green Mountain Farm (Paperback)

Green Mountain Farm is one of my favorite books on county living. The book focuses not on "how-to" but rather on nature, eccentric characters, contented introspection, and concise philosophical musings. The book is a collection of essays describing a life that many of us dream about: leaving the city to create a happy and successful life in a beautiful countryside. Merrick writes in excellent prose, full of crystal-clear imagery, wit, and occasional humor, easily carrying the reader into his world.

Merrick converts the tedium, never-ending farm work, and other hardships of life on a remote farm into benefits. Even mistakes are fortunate. "We did everything wrong, but it turned out right." Perhaps this rosy view of such a life was mostly due to Merrick's outlook: "It's a matter of temperament, you see."

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Live in the Past, Live in the Now, November 5, 2008

By	Happeeface "Happee" (Maryland) - See all my reviews

I paraphrased the title because I couldn't find the sentence in the book for this review, but this was Elliott Merrick's philosophy of life. You do have to "live in the past" when you read this book, but I'm sure Mr. Merrick would forgive us.

This book is a wonderful collection of essays chronicling the history of his family's life in northern Vermont during the 30's. He and his wife bought the rundown farm and raised a family there. I felt I was there too because the essays are so beautifully written. The Merricks were rich in love for their home and family which was far more important to them than being rich in money.

If you like the Good Life by the Nearings who lived in Vermont at roughly the same time you should enjoy this too. The Merricks and Nearings had very different philosophies concerning the use of animals and the right way to live, but both families write a clear window to the past. The Merricks were a family with children who did use animals for food and work. The Merricks also didn't realize how useful it would be to encourage visitors to work for their supper. The Nearings were childless and determined to support themselves on their farm. Still, they all loved their pieces of Vermont.