When MJV sent me this book she seemed to suggest not to expect too much. On the contrary I found it often profound. The author, among other things is a 'foodie' which is far from my reality. Many persons interested in the culinary arts will find much of that ilk in it.
It could be categorized as either an autobiography or memoir. The author, approaching middle age and a very successful journalist, enrolls in Princeton Seminary much to his surprise. Princeton has a small farm that's incorporated into its curriculum which accounts for the book's title. GOOD SOIL: THE EDUCATION OF AN ACCIDENTAL FARMHAND, by Jeff Chu, also leans much on his Chinese background. He was raised in China and California, and cooking is huge part of his family's life.
Little is revealed of the content of his seminary classes. It's the lessons from farming/gardening that fill the book with wisdom and reflections. Perhaps it's fair to say he's highly neurotic but it's out of those neuroses that he articulates deep insights about life and relationships. For example, as he grieves the death of a friend he writes; "To grieve is to feel the fullness of our humanity--the depth of our love, the reality of our fragility, the precarity of our existence." P. 274 The book is full of gems like this.
Thanks, MJV, I'm glad I read it.
Takk for alt,
Al
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