Author: Wendell Berry
Title: The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry
Description: This
is a collection of Berry’s essays and speeches.
Source: Free on
Kindle.
Writing style: I
had read Berry’s fiction, but this is the first extended reading I’ve done in
his non-fiction. I was surprised that he came across as much more Christian in
his non-fiction than in his fiction.
Audience: Anyone
interested in economics, ecology, sustainable living, agriculture, or
Christianity.
Major ideas: In
order for an economy to be Christian, it has to take creation into account. If
the future isn’t acknowledge as a part of the economy, it will be an economy of
death (as is modern capitalism). The industrial economy is concerned with
getting as much out of all the available resources (soil, animals, and people)
as possible before those resources are exhausted.
Wrap-up: Berry is
a powerful writer, and though I was already sympathetic to this point of view,
I found my thinking changing even more. Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit a farm
to go plant, and I hesitate to offend my neighbors and my nose with chickens,
but I will be thinking in my future shopping decisions about how to make even
more local, sustainable purchases. 5/5*
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