Country Matters: The Pleasures and Tribulations of Moving from a Big City to an Old Country Farmhouse

The typically tedious arrogance of East Coast intelligentsia must be overlooked while reading this book. It's just too funny to be dissuaded by Korda's sophomoric attitude. My husband and I kept reading lines to each other and laughing. We've taken the same road and we couldn't have said it better. It's a must-read for anyone who is planning a similar path...before you sign on the country dotted line. Oh, the days/weeks/months we sat waiting for the "remodeling crew" when we could have tracked them down at the local café. We laugh now every time we pass that café and see their trucks...now that our moving wounds have healed.

A model of English prose. Korda¹s account of country life is interesting, witty and enthusiastic. He has a keen eye for the people, places and things in rural Duchess County, New York. The book will remind readers of A Year in Provence. Korda¹s imagery, diction and grammar are outstanding. This kind of writing requires both talent and hard work. I especially recommend this book to anyone who appreciates the nuances of well written prose. It would also make a good PBS mini-series.

Anyone who has ever owned a home older than he or she is will appreciate Michael Korda's hilarious ode to country living and good neighbors. City-folk and horse-lovers who go searching for a little weekend place close to the their horses' suburban stables, Korda and his wife, Margaret, fall in love instead with a huge, 200+ year-old farm house/inn on the wrong side of the Taconic, soon discovering that country living in a real-life farming community is not the city dweller's pastoral idyll, but rather a 24/7 struggle with the elements and ancient plumbing. This is no tale of a spoiled rich guy building a fantasy retreat, but rather that of two city people (although Margaret Korda is a farmer's daughter, she's spent her adult life living in London & New York) learning to live in the country and, in the process, coming to understand and care for both the land and their neighbors. Korda describes, not merely his and his wife's adventures in stop-gap renovation, but also the local characters and customs that make Pleasant Valley a community and gradual, increasingly willing assimilation of the Kordas into that local culture. Local characters include the unforgettable Harold Roe, a jack-of-all-trades who shows up on the day that the Kordas move in and with whom they eventually develop a relationship of mutual affection and respect, and Mrs. Bacon, who lives, along with her husband and children, in the Korda's home and, with rigorous professionalism, cares for the horses. While you won't stop laughing as you read this book (I especially enjoyed the parts about the pig auction, the first outdoor horse jumping meet and the nutrition-conscious houseguests who, having arrived expecting a weekend of luxury and entertainment, are greeted instead by a blast of pesticides from a plane spraying a neighboring farmer's apple orchard), you will also come away appreciating why Pleasant Valley became the Kordas' "home" and what "home" really means -- points that Korda makes humorously and indirectly but with passion and sincerity nonetheless.

I bought this book as one of several dealing with moving to the country and what you'll encounter there. It was informative in that regard, but also surprising. It is incredibly funny. I was reading it at night and found myself laughing so much I almost fell out of bed. It is simply hillarious. Whether you are laughing at Korda or his neighbors is hard to tell, but there is a certain sweetness and regard for others suffusing the story. As a guidebook it is best for those with LOTS of money. I think I'll go into book editing. Korda appears to have inexhaustible supplies of cash and a very wry, but complacent, attitude toward parting with it. This book covers a period of about 25 years and, of course, the early ones are most interesting. It also offers a glimpse into the personal lives of what appears to be a most interesting couple. Whether or not you've read anything else by Korda, you deserve to read this...especially if you need a quick spirit pick-up.

This book will make you laugh out loud; I'm buying extras for gifts. Korda's writing is always splendid (albeit perhaps a few too many commas jump forth in this work). Another Life remains one of my favorites--if you're interested in the publishing world, buy that one too. Thanks Michael for hours of informative enjoyment.