How Not to Do Vermont

The subtitle of Ellen Stimson's book Mud Season says almost everything you need to know: How One Woman's Dream of Moving to Vermont, Raising Children, Chickens, and Sheep, and Running the Old Country Store Pretty Much Led to One Calamity after Another.

I like "fish out of water" stories. I like Vermont. I like small-town life. I like people who follow their dreams, particularly when their dreams are much like mine: reinventing themselves, chucking the rat race, and seeking a simpler life.

I wanted to like this book, too, but I found myself rolling my eyes at the "adventures" of the new family in town. There's not much sense of tradition here, but plenty of entitlement, with an apparent attitude of "I don't know how you managed before I got here with my great ideas for improving things."

Stimson also seems completely oblivious to the realities of money management and thoroughly lacking in good old Yankee thrift -- not good for someone who's simultaneously renovating an old house and venturing into retail by buying a country store. The store was founded in 1816. You'd think there'd be some shame associated with running it into the ground. You'd also think that the prospect of financial ruin would cause you to give up your manicure appointments. But you'd be wrong on both counts.     

Stimson's heart's in the right place, but I read to the end with the same feeling the locals probably had: waiting her out.

Excerpt:

I took an inventory of the store and began making my shopping lists. Peltier's seemed to have plenty of canned gravy and bread, but was a little short on the divine accoutrements of Vermont country life. I could fix that up in a jiffy.

Note: This book counts for the Color Coded Reading Challenge and the Mount TBR Reading Challenge.