Trauma Farm

A Rebel History of Rural Life

By: Brian Brett

Narrated by: Michael Puttonen

An irreverent and illuminating journey through a day in the life of the affectionately named Trauma Farm, with numerous side trips into the natural history of farming. Beginning naked in darkness, Brian Brett moves from the tending of livestock, poultry, orchards, gardens, machinery, and fields to the social intricacies of rural communities and, finally, to an encounter with a magnificent deer in the silver moonlight of a magical farm field. Brett understands both tall tales and rigorous science as he explores the small mixed farm - meditating on the perfection of the egg and the nature of soil while also offering a scathing critique of agribusiness and the horror of modern slaughterhouses. Whether discussing the uses and misuses of gates, examining the energy of seeds, or bantering with his family, farm hands, and neighbors, he remains aware of the miracles of life, birth, and death that confront the rural world every day.

Trauma Farm tells a story that's poetic, passionate, practical, and frequently hilarious, providing an unforgettable portrait of one farm and our separation from the natural world, as well as a commonsense analysis of rural life.

©2011 Brian Brett (P)2013 Post Hypnotic Press Inc.

Critic reviews

"Trauma Farm is a superb, wise, witty, and vivid weave of barnyard tales with deep insights into the fraught symbiosis of animals, plants, and man. Brett is a bold thinker and a tough yet lyrical writer." (Ronald Wright, author of A Short History of Progress)

"Brett's specialty is finding the unusual among the commonplace." ( Montreal Gazette)

"Brett's wit and giddy ambivalence makes this account a stretch more provocative than similar rural memoirs, and an altogether compelling read" ( Publishers Weekly)

First book I've ever returned

Honestly, I wanted to like this book. I believe that a big part of my issue was with the performance but the story was so monotonous and slow I just couldn't take it anymore. The narrator was droning! I just couldn't listen for another second.

Really like the content of this book

I would classify this book as natural history. Though it begins a bit slow, the stories are wonderful and I love how it touches on so many current problems with agriculture and our food supply in an engaging and accessible way.

This is only the 2nd book I've listened to, so I don't have much to say about performance.

Horrible

What disappointed you about Trauma Farm?

He babbles about nothing. I am 100% positive that the writer got stoned and decided to write a book.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The speaker's voices makes you want to shoot yourself.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

NOPE !

The narration is torturous.

What disappointed you about Trauma Farm?

The narration is incredibly slow and boring.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Michael Puttonen?

Anyone else.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not a bad story, I don't agree with all the author's views but the story is interesting.