A review by mmarlborough
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
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