Rob Levandoski (1949–2008)

Kind of a modern fable. It's fiction, with all the horrors of factory farming, and the tenderness of a young girl's heart. The main characters in the story are father and daughter- Calvin Cassowary has an abrupt career change when his father suddenly dies, leaving the family farm in sad state. Calvin doesn't want to sell the farm to developers to be turned into housing- but he can't keep it running the way his forefathers did, there's no profit. So . . . he signs a contract with a huge corporation that produces eggs, and builds layer sheds on his land. His young wife keeps a small flock of hens in the yard and sells eggs to the local customers, while the confined company hens - literally a million of them- keep the farm afloat. Until they don't . . . Meanwhile, Calvin's daughter Rhea loves tending her mother's chickens, but is horrified by what she sees in the layer sheds. As her father starts to sink under growing debt, falling egg prices and strict company rules that never allow him to get ahead, Rhea becomes more involved with the chickens and more determined to do something about those million layer hens locked up in the sheds, forced to produce for a mere eighteen months before they are turned into pet food . . . Calvin's wife passes away, and Rhea carries on her memory with the small backyard flock, and then something very strange happens which draws the attention of local media. There's lawsuits and drama galore. I can't say what or it would spoil the story for any of you. It's disturbing and intriguing. This is also a story of young first love, and a lot of it is about how the daughter's relationship with her father changes over the years, and how she finds acceptance with who she is. There's a slight mix of fantasy and reality and it all has a very tidy ending. Unrealistic maybe, but nice- and why not, for such a quirky story.

more at the Dogear Diary… (more)

I picked this up because the title appealed to me and I was a little fed up with reading about war, genocide and the perpetrators and victims thereof and thought ha,light reading.

So ok, now we are onto factory-farming, the ppressors of chickens and the poor imprisoned, debeaked little egg machines themselves and a girl who becomes their de facto patron saint, sort of.

It all romps along in a jolly sort of way, quite well-written and quite badly edited. Not copy-edited, but a proper editor sitting there sternly saying, "Now Rob, you really can't have a whole chapter on genetics from a very minor character. Its all common knowledge now".

The twists and turns of the plot become more and more unlikely as do the characters, until one wonders if the author himself knew if he was attempting satire, a jovial piece of fiction, or had an idea for a film - strictly made-for-tv market and wanted to give the scriptwriter all the right clues.

I would have given it three or four stars because it was entertaining, but then the author threw a Jodi Picoult. Bad ending. I didn't understand it (perhaps I should read that chapter on genetics again, and concentrate this time) and I didn't like it and it made sense only in the weakest way possible. As I said, bad editing and it spoiled the book for me.

*Blows raspberry*. 2 star.… (more)