Are you from CA and moved to The Middle of No Place? (Or from The City to The Country?) Did you try to live “off grid?” Did you mistake a coyote for a wolf? Do you think 2016 had the wrong person elected? If so, read this book, This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America by Navied Mahdavian. However, if you think the right person was elected in 2016, keep walking.
If you are looking for an interesting, but slightly self-centered, memoir, this is it. Now, I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it, but a lot of what Mahdavian and his wife did is on my, “Really? You think you know more just because you’re from the city?” and “OMG you did NOT just do that!” list. However, I am also thinking that he represented the people of this small town well by having people being multi-layered and not just “country bumpkin characters.” But there are characters in this town!
I know these people. I know there is more than meets the eye. I know the traditions and their thoughts. (I might not agree, but I know them.) There are not “just Trump idiots” (but oh boy, there are a few) and “the good guys” (and by that I mean the only good guys are them). There is the “we are trying to bring movie culture to this John Wayne town” attitude when they try to bring the movie theater back (I could have told them, that wasn’t going to work), and yet, I still enjoyed it. I like Mahdavian and how he writes and illustrates and I like watching his journey.
The pace is quick, but not necessarily rushed. We see how he deals with things around him. The story is well written and the experiences relatable, and both interesting and a little humorous. The illustrations are simple and expressive, not over the top or underwhelming. They have a nice mixture of being a bit cartoon-like and realistic. Would we be friends? Probably not. Will I read more created by him? Yes, I will.