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Novella Carpenter loves cities-the culture, the crowds, the energy. At the same time, she can't tremble the fact that she is the little princess of two back-to-the-land hippies who taught her to love characteristics and eat fruit and vegetables. Ambivalent about duplicating her parents' devastating mistakes, yet drawn to the thought of backyard self-sufficiency, Carpenter decided that it might be possible to have it both ways: a homegrown veggie story as well as museums, bars, concerts, and a twenty-four-hour convenience mart mere minutes away. Particularly when she shifted to a ramshackle house in inner-city Oakland and found out a weed-choked, garbage-strewn abandoned lot next door. She shut down her eyes and pictured heirloom tomatoes, a beehive, and a poultry coop.What started out as a few egg-laying hens led to turkeys, geese, and ducks. Soon, some rabbits became a member of the fun, then two 300-pound pigs. No, these charming and eccentric animals weren't dogs; she was a farmer, not really a zookeeper. Novella was nurturing these animals for supper. Novella Carpenter's part of downtown Oakland is populated by unforgettable character types. Lana (anal spelled backward, she reminds us) runs a speakeasy next door and won't hurt even a fly, aside from condone nurturing turkeys for Thanksgiving. Bobby, the homeless man who collects autos and car parts just beyond your farm, can be an invaluable area concierge. The turkeys, Harold and Maude, tend to escape on a daily basis to cavort with the prostitutes hanging around just off the highway nearby. Every day on this unusual and beautiful plantation, urban fits rural in the most astonishing ways.For anyone who has ever grown herbs on the windowsill or tomatoes on their hearth escape, or who may have obsessed over the offerings at the neighborhood farmers' market, Carpenter's history will capture your center. And if you have ever considered leaving everything behind to become farmer outside the town limits or looked at the abandoned lot next door with a gleam in your eyes, consider this both a cautionary tale and a full-throated call to action. Farm City can be an unforgettably charming memoir, filled with hilarious moments, amazing farmers' tips, and significant amounts of heart. It is also a moving deep breathing on metropolitan life versus the natural world and what we've given up to live a life the way we do.
