Michael Perry s Coop

Despite
the title, Michael Perry’s Coop isn’t really a chicken
book.  Although there are a few layers and broilers involved, Coop is really a
Garrison-Keeler-style, meandering memoir about raising a family while
being part of a bigger family of your own.  Even though you
probably won’t learn much, the book is worth a read simple for the joy
of it.



On the other hand, maybe
you will learn something…just not about chickens.  I’ve seldom
seen such unselfish love portrayed in a memoir — the author seems as
devoted to his step-daughter as to his own offspring, and he honestly
dotes on his parents despite having fallen out with their
fundamentalist religion.



In the end, I suspect
that at least half of U.S. backyard chicken-keepers started their flock
with some larger family objective in mind.  Perhaps you wanted to
feed your family quality food or to give your kids a chance to learn
about biology hands-on.  So maybe Michael Perry’s book is really
the epitome of chicken literature after all.