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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
Betty and her husband head to Washington
State to start a chicken farm. Betty's
citified look at the country and her
backwater neighbors is a hoot.
State to start a chicken farm. Betty's
citified look at the country and her
backwater neighbors is a hoot.
I love memoirs. I really do. (At least ones that aren't about bed-jumping celebrities who are awful writers and even worse people, but I digress.) Betty MacDonald is a great writer and I enjoyed her style for the most part. I didn't care, however, for her patronization of her neighbors. They were kind to her and helped her often, but she was not always kind in her descriptions of them. I also found her relationship with her husband somewhat painful. This might have been tainted by my knowledge of their later divorce. And since she wrote the book after their divorce, I'm sure she wrote with some bitterness as well. It was a difficult life they were living without running water, electricity, indoor plumbing, etc and lots of hard work without the benefit of much help or sleep. MacDonald describes the life with humor and some understandable whining. The whining did get old after awhile though, understandable as it may be. Other reviewers have mentioned that her subsequent memoirs are more upbeat and enjoyable. I am anxious to read them and see for myself.
A humorous memoir of living and working on an isolated chicken farm on Washington's Olympic Peninsula in the late 20's. The farm did not have running water or electricity but a number of eccentric neighbors, who despite their differences, were dependent on one another.
The challenges that MacDonald faced from hauling water, working with a balky wood stove, finding entertainment, to cougars, bears and forest fires are detailed with self-deprecating humor.
Her racist remarks about the local Indians are difficult to take, but also are a reflection of the time.
I wondered about her sort of distant descriptions of her husband, Bob, until I found out that by the time she wrote the book, she had been divorced from him for a number of years.
The names she uses for one set of neighbors, Ma and Paw Kettle sounded very familiar. Evidently they became characters in several movies and TV shows.
I really enjoyed the story of the local moonshiner (this was during prohibition) rousting out his customers to fight a fire by letting them think his still was in danger.
The challenges that MacDonald faced from hauling water, working with a balky wood stove, finding entertainment, to cougars, bears and forest fires are detailed with self-deprecating humor.
Her racist remarks about the local Indians are difficult to take, but also are a reflection of the time.
I wondered about her sort of distant descriptions of her husband, Bob, until I found out that by the time she wrote the book, she had been divorced from him for a number of years.
The names she uses for one set of neighbors, Ma and Paw Kettle sounded very familiar. Evidently they became characters in several movies and TV shows.
I really enjoyed the story of the local moonshiner (this was during prohibition) rousting out his customers to fight a fire by letting them think his still was in danger.
This is the true story of the author's adventure as a newly-wed starting a chicken farm with her husband on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. I couldn't decide whether to give it three or four stars. It is a story filled with humor as Betty, who was raised taking piano, ballet, singing, French and dramatic lessons is suddenly thrust onto a farm with no electricity or running water. She tells of the busy day to day life of a chicken farmer's wife and of their eccentric mountain neighbors.
An interesting and funny look into the life of a woman in the early 20th Century in the Washington state area with it mainly focusing on her childhood and life on the farm with her husband, Bob, and the rather weird and wonderful Kettles.
This is one of my nanna's favourite books, which was nice to read as it oozed the sort of humour and comedy she enjoys.
This is one of my nanna's favourite books, which was nice to read as it oozed the sort of humour and comedy she enjoys.
When I was first approached about taking part in the audiobook tour, hosted by Jess @ The Audiobookworm, as I had had this audiobook on my tbr, I absolutely jumped at the chance to join in. That's because I grew up watching the Ma and Pa Kettle movie series with my dad who is a huge fan of the characters. I'm pretty sure I've seen all of the movies featuring them including The Egg and I, starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert as the MacDonalds and Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride as the MacDonald's neighbors, Ma and Pa Kettle. which is the film that kick started the spin off series featuring the Kettle family. I didn't realize that The Egg and I was actually based on the real life Betty MacDonald's memoirs until quite recently, so of course I needed to find out exactly how the source material stacked up to the classic movies that I've been watching since I was little.
As it turns out, I really enjoyed this memoir, especially Heather Henderson's narration. I found myself much more interested in Betty MacDonald as a character than I expected to be. A good deal of that is due to her wry and witty sense of humor which really comes across well in audio form. The parts dealing with the chicks are some of my favorite scenes. Also, like the movies Ma and Pa Kettle completely steal the show - Ma in particular. Ma is a brash, no-nonsense woman who does the best she can for her family in their situation. She gets plenty of laugh out loud moments. Pa is also pretty great, and although he's described differently than the actor portraying the character I couldn't help but imagine him and his manner of speaking while listening to the audio. Finally, I just wanted to mention that the only reason I gave this story four stars is due to the representation of Native Americans which is incredibly insensitive and stereotypical. Overall, though, I'm glad I took the chance on this humorous memoir on audiobook. I will definitely need to read MacDonald's other memoirs.
By the way, I thought I would share one of my favorite one of my favorite scenes from Ma and Pa Kettle (1949), the first movie of the spin off series featuring the characters. Warning: If you're bad at math, this probably won't help matters! Check it out here.
You can see my leg of the audiobook tour here on my blog.
As it turns out, I really enjoyed this memoir, especially Heather Henderson's narration. I found myself much more interested in Betty MacDonald as a character than I expected to be. A good deal of that is due to her wry and witty sense of humor which really comes across well in audio form. The parts dealing with the chicks are some of my favorite scenes. Also, like the movies Ma and Pa Kettle completely steal the show - Ma in particular. Ma is a brash, no-nonsense woman who does the best she can for her family in their situation. She gets plenty of laugh out loud moments. Pa is also pretty great, and although he's described differently than the actor portraying the character I couldn't help but imagine him and his manner of speaking while listening to the audio. Finally, I just wanted to mention that the only reason I gave this story four stars is due to the representation of Native Americans which is incredibly insensitive and stereotypical. Overall, though, I'm glad I took the chance on this humorous memoir on audiobook. I will definitely need to read MacDonald's other memoirs.
By the way, I thought I would share one of my favorite one of my favorite scenes from Ma and Pa Kettle (1949), the first movie of the spin off series featuring the characters. Warning: If you're bad at math, this probably won't help matters! Check it out here.
You can see my leg of the audiobook tour here on my blog.
Betty MacDonald (author of the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series) tells the story of her early, disastrous marriage to a chicken farmer. She has a great narrative voice, a fabulous sense of humor, and a way with an anecdote.
Annnnnnd she's also racist as hell. Which pretty much ruins a lot of the book. So, FYI: interesting, funny memoir of a way of farming that is now totally gone, in a part of the country not many people write about. With a giant helping of open, unapologetic racism, of the Native-Americans-are-actually-subhuman variety. Read with caution.
Annnnnnd she's also racist as hell. Which pretty much ruins a lot of the book. So, FYI: interesting, funny memoir of a way of farming that is now totally gone, in a part of the country not many people write about. With a giant helping of open, unapologetic racism, of the Native-Americans-are-actually-subhuman variety. Read with caution.
I’ve wanted to read The Egg & I for several years, ever since I found out that my grandmother and grandfather had a small farm in Port Orchard, around the same time Betty MacDonald had the chicken ranch in Port Townsend (they would have been 60 miles apart, but experiencing similar challenges and beauty). My grandparents (all of them) died before I reached age 13, so I ever had a chance to know them as adults. It felt like reading this book would give me a better understanding, in some way, of who my grandmother was.
So when Audiobookworm Promotions advertised the release of it in audiobook format for the first time ever, I jumped at the chance. This is the kind of story very well-suited to an audiobook. The wry humor falls in the same storytelling vein as authors like Garrison Keillor, so listening to it was breezy and fun.
It’s always interesting to experience an actual historic novel- that is, written by someone living in that era, with all the ideals of the era and no consideration that these values may be incorrect. Historical fiction is fun, but always written from a modern perspective, so it lacks the raw punch of true historic accounts. Listening to Betty’s understanding (aka society’s expectation) of what it means to be a wife, her offhand racist comments toward First Nations, and her exasperation with the “current fad” of chicken ranching was both awkward and honest. Knowing this could have easily been my grandmother, I wanted to show her that she, too, could have wants and needs apart from catering to her husband. But, of course, that was the era.
Slight cringe-worthy moments aside, the dry wit applied to this memoir makes it fun. And it doesn’t romanticize the self-sufficient country life or the area. It seems an apt read, given the rise of homesteading. And of course, listening to it fortified my resolve to never homestead.
I recommend it for fans of memoirs, the 1940s, homesteading and country/ranch life, western Washington, and dry humor. And I definitely recommend it in audiobook format.
So when Audiobookworm Promotions advertised the release of it in audiobook format for the first time ever, I jumped at the chance. This is the kind of story very well-suited to an audiobook. The wry humor falls in the same storytelling vein as authors like Garrison Keillor, so listening to it was breezy and fun.
It’s always interesting to experience an actual historic novel- that is, written by someone living in that era, with all the ideals of the era and no consideration that these values may be incorrect. Historical fiction is fun, but always written from a modern perspective, so it lacks the raw punch of true historic accounts. Listening to Betty’s understanding (aka society’s expectation) of what it means to be a wife, her offhand racist comments toward First Nations, and her exasperation with the “current fad” of chicken ranching was both awkward and honest. Knowing this could have easily been my grandmother, I wanted to show her that she, too, could have wants and needs apart from catering to her husband. But, of course, that was the era.
Slight cringe-worthy moments aside, the dry wit applied to this memoir makes it fun. And it doesn’t romanticize the self-sufficient country life or the area. It seems an apt read, given the rise of homesteading. And of course, listening to it fortified my resolve to never homestead.
I recommend it for fans of memoirs, the 1940s, homesteading and country/ranch life, western Washington, and dry humor. And I definitely recommend it in audiobook format.
I read this whole book without realizing this is where Ma and Pa Kettle come from. Not that I have much to do with Ma and Pa Kettle but those characters were something I remember older relatives talking about when I was young. This book hasn't necessarily aged well, what with the casual racism, but it was still interesting to see the life of a farm wife in the 1920s.