The Shepherd’s Life, by James Rebanks, chronicles the lives of three generations of shepherds in the north of England, their days of caring for the flocks of the fell. But just as important as the flocks is the impact of the outside world on this way of life.
Perhaps most interesting to me was the subordination of profit to the importance of passing on values and protecting what is really valued. It’s not held up as some sort of panacea or idyll, as he recognizes its flaws and almost inevitable consequences, but the refusal to worship at the idol of profit in preference to defending a way of running society implies a recognition that tomorrow’s excess penny doesn’t pay for that which is destroyed by its sale. Would that such a mentality existed in the bankers’ world.
While I found the structure a trifle repetitive, I always find a peek into another world enjoyable as well as instructive, and this is very well done.
Recommended.
