Her childhood with a father who was a mining engineer and traveled a lot with a large family is definitely not the normal nostalgia. Her mother came from main line, and loved throwing it away to follow her husband to the remote ends of the US in turn of the 20th century. Her family was large and noisy, her paternal grandmother Gammy waged a constant battle with normality, all of it described in language that just makes you laugh out loud. Her marriage to an insurance man with a yen to be a chicken farmer is just another set of experiences that just leave you gasping for air as you snigger along with her.
MacDonald's book is the genesis of Ma and Pa Kettle-- no where near as cartoonish as they came out in the movies, but even more layers to them and their lives. Of course most of the layers are covered in grime and chicken manure I love this book Feb 14, Tig rated it it was ok. I should have adored this - I have loved all of Betty Macdonald's other books and I've been saving this one up as a treat.
But it just didn't do it for me. There seemed much more mean-spiritness than in her other books. Of course her spikey, pointed observations are what make her writing so delightful, but barbed humour only works well when one delights in the shafts because they're aimed at a shared and justified target. And here I found myself completely out of harmony with her. There's the ob I should have adored this - I have loved all of Betty Macdonald's other books and I've been saving this one up as a treat. There's the obvious atrocious racism - I'll pass over that because it's been said many times before that it's a serious flaw, possibly an unforgiveable flaw in the book though I found interesting the idea that what she was really objecting to was the sexism.
What I disliked as much as the racism, though, was the harping on about the filthiness and unappealing qualities of almost every local person she encountered. This woman has serious dirt issues, in that the whole subject terrifies her and that means we part company I have an active dislike of obsessing over cleanliness and think a tidy house is often the sign of a bored mind. If someone has the courtesy to bring me a whole side of perfectly cooked smoked salmon, and cuts me a slice, the last thing I'm going to be writing about is how the sight of his hands revolted me: I will be enthusing about the qualities of sharing and community.
BM can't stop mentioning everyone's filthy appearance, grubby, messy yards and unattractive children. She meets a woman on the shore who says it was such a nice day, she had to leave the housework and bring her children out to clam dig. I just found it so unpleasant - this is a farming community for heaven's sake: I suppose in the end all I'm saying is her schtick isn't mine and I found the book sneery.
One Good Egg: An Illustrated Memoir
I also get irritated by people who don't raise objections or negotiate with their partners when things seem unfair but then do that passive aggressive thing of letting everyone around know what a tough time they're having. I don't blame her for moaning about the farming - anyone would - but she makes sure we know every time her husband fails her in some way or forces her to do something she doesn't want. Either support him or ship out, I'd say and I gather she shipped out, which seemed a very good idea to me. I wonder if part of the success of this book is that it taps into the American pioneer dream in a way that brings it closer for your average city type ie sassy, snappy city girl used to all mod cons takes on Ma Ingalls' role and gives us her sharp-eyed take on it?
It clearly is a long-time favourite of many readers. Well, I'm not American, I don't obsess over hygiene and I live in a rural community where acceptance and warmth is an important part of getting along, and clearly none of those things helped. I wonder if I like the Plague and I so much because, being set in the sterile conditions of a hospital, it was not possible for BM to get bitchy over dirt?
But I also think in that, and in Onions in the Stew she finds a happier balance of enjoying the eccentric types around her and finding common ground with some, while also mercilessly skewering pretension and meanness. Here, too many of her targets seemed deserving of a little more understanding.
One Good Egg: An Illustrated Memoir by Suzy Becker
I did like the mountains, I must say, and the descriptions of the food but oh, how she rubbed in it that SHE was a gourmet and everyone else ate atrociously. View all 4 comments. Feb 10, Carol rated it it was amazing. I haven't thoroughly enjoyed and laughed outloud with a really good book in a very long time.
She is so gifted in her way of telling her story. I don't want to be a spoiler, as this is a Book Club read, and we have some fun ladies that a I haven't thoroughly enjoyed and laughed outloud with a really good book in a very long time. I don't want to be a spoiler, as this is a Book Club read, and we have some fun ladies that are a lot of fun and I don't want to ruin it. After we have met, I will add some extra thoughts that are on my mind.
It really is cute. Dec 11, Ivonne Rovira added it Shelves: Piggle-Wiggle books when I was a child — so much so that I tracked them down to read to my own children when they came along. Parts of the book are hilarious: But modern-day readers will be taken aback by the antiquated expectations for wives and the acceptable level of racism toward Native Americans in the s. And it provides a glimmer of hope that, in 90 years, Americans will have evolved sufficiently that they will be dumbstruck that mass school shootings or gunning down a black young man in the back with impunity or poisoning the water supply of an entire city or sending Auschwitz-themed tweets to Jewish journalists or threatening to rape and murder female journalists could ever have been possible.
Well, there are 2 groups of people I wouldn't recommend this book to: I can pretty much guarantee that if you don't fall into the first group, you most likely will fall into the second, so I'm not sure who to recommed it to. In fact, I myself threw down the book in disgust, and almost g Well, there are 2 groups of people I wouldn't recommend this book to: In fact, I myself threw down the book in disgust, and almost gave it up completely, when I read the last paragraph of the chapter titled "Bow and Arrow", in which she states that it's a good thing that we took this beautiful country away from "the braves", because Hiawatha they ain't.
At this point, you might be wondering why I gave it 3 stars, and in fact would give it 3. Well, I'll get into that after a summarize the plot. This is an autobiographical story written in by the author of the Miss Piggle Wiggle series. Betty marries a man named Bob, whose job has something to do with numbers and money. She's not sure exactly what.
Soon after they marry, Bob begins dreaming of running a chicken farm. Betty's mother gave her the advice, when she was growing up, that whatever your husband wants to do, say yes, because if they are happy with their profession, you are happy. This worked well for Betty's mom, who was the adventurous sort, but it does not turn out so well for Betty, because Bob moves them to the mountains of Vashon Island in Washington to a farm with no running water, no electricity, and no neigbbors within 4 miles, or town within The book takes place during their first year on the farm, through trials and tribulations, learning and growing, good times and bad, but always with a sense of humor, and a sense that despite Betty's grumbles, she will make it work.
Okay, so for the good. Like I mentioned, the book is written with a great deal of humor. This does not mean that Betty is thrilled with what her life is like now. In fact, her neighbors are shocked by her for 2 reasons: At some points, I wished she would tell him no more often, since it seems like she is the only one taking care of the darn chickens, but she was pretty progressive for the time, in that aspect, I guess. Another good part are the descriptions. She describes her actions, and especially her surroundings remarkably well. Part of it is that she personifies nature, which normally is not recommended, but she does it to perfection, hilariously so.
She also describes her neighbors so well, that if you were to meet Maw and Paw Kettle somehow, you would feel like you knew them. I have to mention another bad thing, which is her complete lack of transitions. She begins a chapter by listing, for example, "all the good things about living this way were the food, the views, All of a sudden, bam, a paragraph will begin, "The views It took a while to get used to. There you have it. The good and the bad. I'll leave it up to you to decide which outweighs which in your mind.
View all 3 comments. It took me a few pages to get into this book, but once I did I couldn't stop. It's semi-autobiographical and written in stream-of-consciousness, as Betty tells you the story of her childhood and how she ended up married to a man who dreamed of being a chicken farmer.
She thought she was marrying someone whose passion was insurance sales. Betty is hilarious and clever with an extremely dry wit as well as a keen curiosity. Everything about her adventures in chicken farming fascina It took me a few pages to get into this book, but once I did I couldn't stop.
The Egg and I
Everything about her adventures in chicken farming fascinates her, and then becomes yet another burden she must bear with tart humor. Four am wake up calls, bears, strange neighbors, bleak weather, the endless farm and housework, and the general horribleness of chickens are all narrated in her rapid-fire style. As she points out, and then is seconded by her brother-in-law who quickly becomes her favorite family member , the problem with chickens is that you feed them and care for them and they don't even acknowledge you.
Even cats show more affection! But Betty's husband, Bob, is completely enamored of every part of chicken ranching, from the early hours to the back-breaking labor to the drunken neighbors letting their cows loose on the countryside. So Betty is the straight-man in their marriage, and in the book, the only one seeing the strangeness and humor in it all. I grew up as the hugest fan of the Mrs. What a delight to finally read this book, and find it to be just as fabulous as her children's books! PS- My edition doesn't seem to be here on Goodreads.
It's the th anniversary of Betty MacDonald's birth edition, with a photograph of an enormous egg on the cover. I really loved it, because it has a forward by her two daughters about the sudden, shocking fame their family encountered, and was very charmingly written, in the exact same style as the book. The author of the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series also wrote several memoirs, this being the most famous. It's the book that introduced Ma and Pa Kettle to the world. Read through today's eyes, it's so horribly racist regarding Native Americans that I can't recommend it in my job, but it's a funny and warm book regardless.
I guess that's like saying, "It's a great story, minus the Klan meetings"--it's not that bad, but I can't set the racism aside, and I can't imagine following my newl The author of the Mrs. I can't imagine following my newly-wedded husband's dream of buying a chicken farm on a mountainside in Washington State. I plan on digging up her other books, especially her recounting of the time she spent in a tuberculosis hospital. She's a talented, but flawed, writer. Jun 16, Felisa Rosa rated it really liked it Shelves: A memoir of rural life that lit up the best-seller lists in , The Egg and I is the story of a young bride in the late s who gets dragged to the woods of Washington by her enthusiastic and unsympathetic husband.
Like Shirley Jackson's Life Among the Savages , which I just read, MacDonald's memoir captures the life of an overwhelmed housewife with a keen mind, a sharp sense of humor, and an unusual and subversive vision of her time. These were women who were trying to be good wives and moth A memoir of rural life that lit up the best-seller lists in , The Egg and I is the story of a young bride in the late s who gets dragged to the woods of Washington by her enthusiastic and unsympathetic husband.
These were women who were trying to be good wives and mothers, but who didn't always like the role they were pushed into, and said so, wittily. Both writers let the darkness creep in at the edges of otherwise breezy stories, which give the books a poignancy one might not expect from the 'harried housewife' genre. MacDonald is a strong writer, who captures the sometimes creepy beauty of the Northwestern wilderness vividly.
Her descriptions of the couple's hillbilly neighbors are funny, if a bit cruel at times. Particularly amusing are her horrified descriptions of the dull and unhealthy food pork belly and boiled macaroni her neighbors ate on a regular basis, despite their access to fabulous homegrown vegetables and wild foods. She was evidently far ahead of her time in regards to food: Wild mushrooms, fresh mussels, fresh oysters, fresh cream Unfortunately, she was not ahead of her time in regard to her take on the local Native Americans: However, over time I have come to accept that works and ideas are best judged in the context of their time, and I'm pretty sure MacDonald would have had a different take or at least had the good sense to keep her mouth shut had she been writing today.
Just as I have to grudgingly appreciate Jefferson for some of his ideas, if not all of them, I can't discount a sharp writer for espousing one view I don't agree with. I bought this on a whim from a local charity shop, based on the title, cover and blurb. MacDonald and her husband started a rural Washington State chicken farm in the s.
Her account of her failure to become the perfect farm wife is rather hilarious. The only unfortunately dated element is her terrible snobbishness towards rednecks and I bought this on a whim from a local charity shop, based on the title, cover and blurb. Co-operation, however, is not a chickenly characteristic and so at egg-gathering time every nest was overflowing with hen, feet planted, and a shoot-if-you-must-this-old-grey-head look in her eye. This book was written in and follows Betty MacDonald's adventures in the s living on a chicken farm with her new husband in Washington State.
The book is based in reality, but characters have been melded, warped, squished together, and changed for humor's sake. The book is, first and foremost, and humor book, and I will admit there were several laugh out loud moments, especially near the beginning. MacDonald certainly has a sly wit about her and since this was her first try at writing, I This book was written in and follows Betty MacDonald's adventures in the s living on a chicken farm with her new husband in Washington State.
MacDonald certainly has a sly wit about her and since this was her first try at writing, I certainly want to seek out The Plague and I, which was written later and probably more well-polished. Despite its humor, there are 3 reasons why this did not get 4 or 5 stars: The random, insulting things said about Native Americans should be taken in their context, but they are still uncomfortable to read for a 21st century reader 2.
Every once in a while, the grammar and wording was bizarre and completely nonsensicle. I'm not sure if it was an editorial problem, or what, but every once in a while I would read a sentence over and over and over and just think "That's not English. What on earth is she trying to say? By the last 70 or so pages of this book, I was pretty ready for it to end. In my opinion, a good solid 4 or 5 star book should leave you sad to see the end, not relieved.
Overall, I would recommend this book, but I would say check it out from your library it probably has it -- mine did and then only buy it if you really love it and want it for your collection. Mar 12, Mary Deborde rated it it was amazing. I have to say, this is my favorite book of all time.
First introduced to Betty's semi-fictionalized memoirs in the late 60s via my mother's book collection , I've since made it a point to search out the vintage printings of all her works. I tend to read this book once a year or so, usually during the winter months, because there is something familiar and cozy about The Egg and I - like a pair of well worn slippers. No bookshelf is complete without The Egg and I. Jul 14, Christine rated it really liked it. Betty MacDonald is one of the funniest writers I have ever come across.
Her stories about the American west during the early 20th Century and the stories including many mishaps of running a chicken farm in Port Townsend which is a wonderful little town in my region were so fun to read.
She feels like someone you would love to meet in person. She has a way with words that is like no one I have ever come across, it was wry and endlessly witty. Beware, she has some very insensitive things to say Betty MacDonald is one of the funniest writers I have ever come across.
Beware, she has some very insensitive things to say about Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest. This book was published in the 's so I decided to take it with a grain of salt. I think her intention was to be witty but it comes off pretty badly. Clearly she had some bad experiences and probably would have related them differently if it had been published today. Jan 20, thefourthvine rated it it was ok Shelves: Betty MacDonald author of the Mrs.
Piggle-Wiggle series tells the story of her early, disastrous marriage to a chicken farmer. She has a great narrative voice, a fabulous sense of humor, and a way with an anecdote. Annnnnnd she's also racist as hell. Which pretty much ruins a lot of the book. With a giant helping of open, unapologetic racism, of the Native-Americans-are-actually-subhuman variety. Mar 24, Sarah rated it really liked it.
Thought this was hysterical. Autobiographical account of living on an egg farm in a hill-billy part of Washington. Humor a little down on self sometimes, like Charlie Brown. And then winter settled down and I realized that defeat, like morale, is a lot of little things. Betty MacDonald remembers the first two years of her marriage, in which she and her husband create and run a chicken ranch located in the wilds of Washington state.
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Originally published in , the writing style reminded me of Jean Webster who wrote Daddy-Long-Legs , with its mix of charm and dry wit. MacDonald finds the humor in any situation and is as willing to poke fun at herself as she is at th And then winter settled down and I realized that defeat, like morale, is a lot of little things.
MacDonald finds the humor in any situation and is as willing to poke fun at herself as she is at the people around her. She has to fight to adjust to rural living and to the hardships and constant work involved, but she's game. There is one aspect that mars this outrageously delightful memoir; MacDonald mixes in a large helping of racism aimed at the local Native Americans, which culminates in her being glad that their land was being taken from them.
Even her husband asks her to take it down a notch, and given that the flaws she sees in them are exactly the same flaws she sees in many of the men around her, it's surprising that she never notices that she only sees white people as individually flawed. I'd like to give her the benefit of simply being a product of her own time, but as her own husband asks her to take it down a notch, it seems she was bigoted even by the standards of her time. I loved this book until I didn't. I can see why it's been allowed to sink into obscurity and at the same time I'm sorry about that -- it's such a vivid, insightfully rendered picture of a specific time and place.
Dec 17, Catherine rated it it was ok Shelves: In the first few chapters, I thought a memoir by Betty McDonald's adventurous mother or eccentric grandmother might be more interesting. She does have a gift for writing personification -- the town, the mountain, etc. The criticism I saw in other reviews -- the very negative tone of her writing, especially wh In the first few chapters, I thought a memoir by Betty McDonald's adventurous mother or eccentric grandmother might be more interesting.
The criticism I saw in other reviews -- the very negative tone of her writing, especially when it comes to "Indians," her country neighbors, the chickens, her husband -- is very true. She doesn't have many positive things to say, but I think that's her schtick.
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It's just not one that I really enjoy. Incidentally, she was sued by several of her former neighbors for her portrayal of them, even though she changed their names. Reading this makes me more anxious to get my hands on a copy of Once Upon a Flock: Life with My Soulful Chickens. Book Group selection for January I really had no idea what this book was but I knew it was old and I heard it was funny. When it arrived from the library, I saw that the copy was from the early 60's.
It smelled musty and the pages were yellowed. The spine cracked when I opened it. I had a feeling it would be wonderful and I was right. About midway through reading, I realized this is an autobiography about Betty MacDonald's life on a chicken farm in the state of Washington. That made all the stories even more laugh out lo I really had no idea what this book was but I knew it was old and I heard it was funny. That made all the stories even more laugh out loud funny, knowing that they actually happened, knowing that Maw and Paw Kettle actually existed, and Birdie Hicks and her peppy mother, and Mrs.
I loved the chicken ranch and the orchard and the forest. The farmhouse seemed so cozy. And all the chickens and animals! Living on a farm sounds like it would be peaceful and wonderful. But Betty MacDonald brings all the hard work to light. Waking up at 4am to start feeding the animals. All the cleaning and planting, cooking and canning. I loved the pressure cooker chapter!
It's not all fun and games. But the story was wonderful and if Betty's other books are as funny as this one, then I can't wait. This was a vivid and fascinating look at life on a chicken farm in the s, marred by an ugly racist chapter about Native Americans, and some portions that were punching down rather than up at MacDonald's neighbors, destroying any humor.
But MacDonald has a real way with words when describing the land and the weather, just gorgeous. I felt she was very lonely and miserable despite her naturally upbeat personality - a lot of that due to her husband. I felt better about the book after finding out This was a vivid and fascinating look at life on a chicken farm in the s, marred by an ugly racist chapter about Native Americans, and some portions that were punching down rather than up at MacDonald's neighbors, destroying any humor.
I felt better about the book after finding out she'd left that cold piece of work and raised her daughters mostly on her own. Oct 11, Dana Stabenow rated it it was amazing. Just as she falls in love with her best female friend, she finds a willing donor, her old friend Steve With this unique set of circumstances, Becker chronicles her efforts to get pregnant, with many ups and downs. While much of the details here are medical and scientific, Becker is never esoteric.
She breaks down w Suzy Becker wanted to have a baby She breaks down what's happening and what she was feeling and her drawings add levity, from Ziggy the Zygote to a quite apt conversation with her donor, where there's an elephant in the room drawn sitting at the table with them. She's hopeful yet practical, and to me the main event here is less her eventual pregnancy as her coming to terms with the fact that it might not happen; when she's faced with the phrase "achieving pregnancy" she counters with a handwritten note that "I am not an underachiever--it happens or it doesn't.
Clearly, Becker wants to be a mother, but there's an evenhanded approach here, even when she's reluctantly trying meditation. She also offers little tidbits of information about the conception process, both facts and conventional and sometimes not so conventional wisdom.
Even though this is Becker's very personal story, her forthrightness about her fears and uncertainties and eventual success in having a baby are counter to all the dire scary warnings bandied about often in the media. She doesn't sugarcoat see "A Bad Chapter" , but adds humor that is greatly enhanced by her drawings. Sep 28, Michie O'day rated it it was amazing. I am a single, straight woman, who has never wanted to have a baby. But I bought this book because I'm a Suzy Becker fan, having read her book about brain surgery an experience I do share.
By page 10 I knew I was reading one of the best love stories ever told. One need not be a mom to enjoy and learn from this memoir. It's light in tone; it's funny; it's also honest and beautiful. And the illustrations will make you gasp and laugh out loud. Apr 11, Cerenity rated it really liked it. I recieved this book for free in a Goodreads Giveaway.
This book really touched me. How much these women went through to have a child together. This book was both funny and sad at times. It is heartbreaking to hear the struggles that she went through to get pregnant. SO amazing that she dealt with all that stress and to know that everything that she went through was worth it all for the precious prize at the end. I would recommend this book to anyone. Mar 08, Julia rated it really liked it. Illustrator Suzy Becker always assumed she'd be a mother, but when "the right time" had yet to manifest naturally by the age of 39, she decided to have a baby on her own, which proved to be slightly more challenging than she expected.
Such a fun memoir with charming illustrations -- I very nearly finished it in a single day. The experience brought back so many memories as I vividly recalled having shared many of the same concerns, choices and fears before and during my own pregnancy. Jun 09, Donna D'Angelo Struck rated it really liked it.
I really enjoy Suzy Becker's work and find both her writing and her illustrations heartwarming and funny. It was good to "catch up" with Suzy after her reading her brain book years ago. I had the pleasure of meeting her in person when she toured that book, and I am so happy to see her doing so well. I wish her and her Good Eggs all the best. Mar 28, Christa Witfoth rated it really liked it.
I almost shelved it after the first couple of chapters.. I'm glad that I saw it through to the the end. Even though I couldn't relate to the lesbian couple going through IVF, I really began to pull for them. It gave me insight on how many hoops there are to jump through, if you cannot conceive traditionally.
In the end, It was heartwarming and worth the read. Dec 30, Nicole rated it it was ok Recommends it for: This one suddenly seemed applicable to my life, so I picked it up on a whim. Although I read the whole book, it was more about Solidarity Sister older lesbian couple attempting to get pregnant A quick, fairly informative read. I couldn't quite latch onto Becker's style, but I don't count that against her. Jul 17, Alyssa O'mara rated it really liked it. This is a very personal account of 2 people who want a baby and the mountains they had to summit to get there. If you ever wanted a baby and had trouble, or are having trouble now, this book is the empathetic friend that will give you courage to keep going.
It would make a great gift for someone going through the struggle as well. May 06, Lauren rated it really liked it. I received this book through the giveaway. I enjoyed reading this book and liked the humor in the writing of what is a serious topic. I did find the cartoons distracting at times, though. It was interesting to read some of the authors experiences, and I found a lot of similarities between my relationships with men and the relationships the author has in her relationships with women.
Dec 09, Jennifer Fosket rated it really liked it. I've been plowing through books on fertility and reproductive technology for a project I'm working on and this book was a pleasure. I loved the illustrated format and the author's chatty style. It felt like sitting down with a friend. Aug 13, Nae rated it liked it. Quick and entertaining read. Had a lot of heavy material about dealing with infertility but Becker writes in a very lighthearted manner.
The comics she draws also help lighten the mood. A good book to sit down and take a ride with someone in their life. Sep 16, Caitlin rated it really liked it. I was really into this book! Suzy's family story is pretty whirlwind and I felt swept along with it. The little drawings were adorable.
I read this book pretty quickly because I enjoyed it so much. Her writing style is very funny and warm. Sep 18, MJ rated it really liked it Shelves: So much fun to read and look at accompanying "scribbles" of a woman whose lover has left her and decides she want to become a mother. The trials and tribulations of acquiring the sperm, overcoming infertility, renewing friendships, finding love, moving through disappointments, all with humor. Feb 16, Kathy Ellen Davis rated it it was amazing Shelves: I really liked this book. Aug 28, Becca rated it really liked it.
Pretty much fun, with wonderful illustrations. Mar 07, Cathy rated it really liked it. Very sweet tale of one woman's quest for motherhood. Suzy Becker is a local author - how could I resist? Apr 22, Sara rated it really liked it. What a hilarious, sweet, tender book. I just read the whole thing in one day! I also loved the illustrations.