oliviasbookshop's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
saralynnburnett's review
4.0
What a hilarious book! Flora is an uppity young woman who loses both of her parents and finds out that she's not as well off as she thought. She goes to stay with a friend in town who encourages her to earn her way by working and they can share costs while Flora lives with her. However, Flora decides to mooch off of relatives instead and for various hilarious reasons, chooses her cousins at Cold Comfort Farm to live with. The characters on this farm are a absolutely riot. I have no idea how Stella Gibbons dreamt them up because they are so random. You'll meet Aunt Ada Doom - who (famously) 'saw something nasty in the cowshed' when she was younger and has been crazy since, Amos, who preaches hell and brimstone every Sunday at church, Elfine, the glamorously beautiful diamond in the rough, and of course Feckless, Graceless, Aimless, and Pointless, the cows. Another memorable character is Judith - who has a very unhealthy obsession with her son Seth.
Flora decides to apply her upper class principles to this woe-begotten family farm and with the aid of her book, The Higher Common Sense, she goes about fixing all of their problems, starting with Adam, who washes the dishes with a twig (so she buys him a mop).
This book has sharp wit and loads of references to both contemporary and older novels - it was a joy to read! I highly recommend!
Flora decides to apply her upper class principles to this woe-begotten family farm and with the aid of her book, The Higher Common Sense, she goes about fixing all of their problems, starting with Adam, who washes the dishes with a twig (so she buys him a mop).
This book has sharp wit and loads of references to both contemporary and older novels - it was a joy to read! I highly recommend!
mmarlborough's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I hesitate in writing this review as I know it’s a beloved Classic, but I just didn’t get it? 🫠
Flora becomes an orphan and decides she doesn’t want to get a job to survive. Instead, she writes all of her distant relatives to see who will take her in. She goes to Cold Comfort Farm where each relative is a trope: the crazed old madwoman, the religious zealot, and the sex pot. Flora attempts to change each family member and have an impact on the farm.
Gibbons wrote this as a parody of literature set in the country in 1932. Parts of it definitely were funny. I really enjoyed the beginning of this but once Flora got to the farm, things shifted in tone, pace and comedy. Overall, it just wasn’t a great reading experience for me as it felt meandering and scattered. Maybe I haven’t read enough of the books she is mocking to fully understand the intricacies of what she is doing on the page. Maybe it’s just not for me. Who’s to say? There’s a film version of this with A list British actors that I think I’ll check out and see if it resonates more with me.
✨Trigger Warnings: Death of a Parent, Adult/Minor Relationship, Racism
Flora becomes an orphan and decides she doesn’t want to get a job to survive. Instead, she writes all of her distant relatives to see who will take her in. She goes to Cold Comfort Farm where each relative is a trope: the crazed old madwoman, the religious zealot, and the sex pot. Flora attempts to change each family member and have an impact on the farm.
Gibbons wrote this as a parody of literature set in the country in 1932. Parts of it definitely were funny. I really enjoyed the beginning of this but once Flora got to the farm, things shifted in tone, pace and comedy. Overall, it just wasn’t a great reading experience for me as it felt meandering and scattered. Maybe I haven’t read enough of the books she is mocking to fully understand the intricacies of what she is doing on the page. Maybe it’s just not for me. Who’s to say? There’s a film version of this with A list British actors that I think I’ll check out and see if it resonates more with me.
✨Trigger Warnings: Death of a Parent, Adult/Minor Relationship, Racism
theinkwyrm's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
It was slow going in the beginning, but the last 25% was quite enjoyable. I liked how the romance element between Flora and Charles was handled, and I also really enjoyed the relationships that Flora developed with some of her cousins. I was disappointed that we didn’t get to find out what Aunt Ada saw in the shed or what happened between Aunt Ada’s husband and Flora’s dad or what Flora’s rights are, but it doesn’t really make much difference for the plot overall, so there you go. All in all, this is no Jane Eyre, but still an enjoyable read.
It was slow going in the beginning, but the last 25% was quite enjoyable. I liked how the romance element between Flora and Charles was handled, and I also really enjoyed the relationships that Flora developed with some of her cousins. I was disappointed that we didn’t get to find out what Aunt Ada saw in the shed or what happened between Aunt Ada’s husband and Flora’s dad or what Flora’s rights are, but it doesn’t really make much difference for the plot overall, so there you go. All in all, this is no Jane Eyre, but still an enjoyable read.
isabella_reads's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mollyangstman's review
A total delight from page 1 til the end. Weird funny sweet sad etc.