Cold Comfort Farm
OFF THE SHELF
Book Review for Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
The plot is simplistic and was written as a comedy about rural life in the 1920s. When it was first published in 1932 it was not without its critics, but it did sell very well. Flora Poste, the main character, was orphaned at 19 when her parents were both carried off by the 1919 Spanish flu epidemic, and she was left penniless. Her only option is to throw herself on the charity of her remote Sussex relatives, the Starkadders who live in Cold Comfort Farm. This desolate and ominous place is full of miserable, brooding, and overpowering characters, where even the animals are all full of gloom. Big Business the dominant bull, reigns over a hopeless herd of Jersey cows, ridiculously named: Graceless, Pointless, Aimless, and Feckless. They do all add to some memorable, comical, and bizarre accounts, such as the references to the cow with three legs, which reminded one group member of the cleverly written Monty Python sketches. Cousin Amos preaching hellfire and damnation to the congregation of the Church of the Quivering Brethren is another such high point in the book.
As the rustic mayhem unfolds, Miss Poste, who is a modern bossy-boots, decides that it’s her mission to bring a “higher common sense” to the lives of her relatives.
There were divided opinions on the book as some felt that there were too many questions left unanswered, the ending was too simplistic and there was a condescending pitch that the Starkadders’ lives needed ‘mending’. Generally, a well-liked book and the group scored it 7 out of 10.