That Distant Land - a Review

 

That Distant Land: The Collected Stories by Wendell Berry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Berry is a gifted writer. He preferences the land, the world, and its value over all else. People are meant to belong to the land. The price of crops means less than value of work. A dying ancestor means more to his community than modern medicine’s care for him.

A collection of 2 dozen short stories, most of which can be read in an evening, I reread this after 15 years or so, and found it valuable.
It’s a good introduction to the Port William world, or a great way to fill in the story after reading Jayber Crow or Hannah Coulter.

Many points brought me to tears out of nostalgia, which critics declaim. Maybe they’re right. Berry longs for a world that has passed away. But the values of that world can reorient our moral compass in very helpful ways.

View all my reviews