Stella Gibbons: Cold Comfort Farm, Pt. 2

I have finished Stella Gibbons' Cold Comfort Farm, and I don't agree with the reviewer who stated that this was "very probably the funniest book ever written." I did find it a pleasant and enjoyable read. I might read it again some time in the future, but that will be some years down the road.

Perhaps the problem is that the novel is a satire, a parody on what the Wikipedia entry calls "the romanticised, sometimes doom-laden accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as Mary Webb." One of the major problems with satires and parodies is that the reader must be familiar with the subject of the satire or parody. I haven't read anything by Mary Webb or any of the other "doom-laden accounts popular at the time," so it is very possible much of the humor went right on by me. The closest I've come to the atmosphere at Cold Comfort Farm would probably be Wuthering Heights, but it lacks the intensity and seriousness of Bronte' novel. I never thought of Wuthering Heights when I was reading the novel, but the Wikipedia entry mentioned it and then I did see some resemblance.

Flora Poste has decided to live with relatives as she hasn't a sufficient inheritance to support her, and, in spite of her lengthy education, she lacks any skill or talent which would help her support herself. Once at Cold Comfort Farm, she decide to enlighten them and to improve their lives by bringing them into the 20th century. In this respect she reminds me of one of Jane Austen's heroines, Emma. Emma and Flora are both blessed with the same virtue, the itch to meddle in other people's lives.

Emma restricts her efforts to matchmaking, while Flora recognizes no such limitations on her abilities and acts accordingly. Fortunately for those around her, Emma fails, and those who were blessed with her attempts eventually were able to go on and find their own spouses. Emma, if I remember correctly, ends with three marriages, one of which is the heroine's own.

Flora, however, is amazingly successful in her efforts. She persuades Amos to buy a Ford van and preach the gospel to a much wider audience than just the small chapel in the neighborhood. His absence then allows Reuben to manage the farm, something he's been waiting decades for. Flora decides that extreme makeovers are the solution for several of the women on the farm, and this results in several marriages and Aunt Ada's (she who hadn't left the farm since she saw "something nasty in the woodpile" at the age of three) trip to Paris.

Flora even manages to find a unique solution to her own problem--her inability to support herself. She decides she's in love with her cousin Charles, so now it's his problem. Since he's wealthy (he owns his own airplane), it shouldn't be much of a problem.

I don't know whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that Fiona's efforts were so successful. I would have to wait a decade or so before making a decision. Since there is no sequel, we shall never know how it all turned out. Did they all live happily ever after?

Overall Reaction: a light novel, enjoyable reading. I remember that my reaction to the film version was the same.

Stella Gibbons: Cold Comfort Farm

I will begin reading Stella Gibbons' Cold Comfort Farm this weekend. If you are reading along with me and wish to make comments, you can enter them in the comments section to this post. When I finish, I'll put up my reactions to the novel here.

The Sunday Times reviewer said, "Very probably the funniest book ever written . . . a brilliant novel along classic lines . . . "

Now I wish I hadn't read that--usually books or films or whatever seldom if ever match such exaggerated praise.

Oh well--time to push on. This is the first book that will fulfill my New Year's resolution of reading two books every month from my TBR bookcase.

I have started Cold Comfort Farm-- 68/239 pages.

I have to say that it isn't "the funniest book every written." It is a comic novel though, with the usual low key British humor. The humor is mostly in the situation so far: Flora Poste, a young highly educated woman and recent graduate, is left an orphan. Her inheritance is small, around 100 pounds a year and no property. She has had an expensive education, and now that she is twenty, "she was discovered to possess every art and grace save that of earning her own living." Is there a touch of Jane Austen here?

Her solution to her problem of surviving--go live off her relatives. And so, after sending off letters to several relatives, she decides to accept the invitation to stay at Cold Comfort Farm. Not only does she decide to bless them with her presence, but she is also going to improve their way of living, to bring the benefits of a civilized life to them.



Jan. 18, I have finished Cold Comfort Farm


More later . . .


Any comments?