ROOTS IN A LOVELY FILTH IBD

Sinopsis

Roots in a Lovely Filth. The bookâÇÖs title is aárefreshingádeclarationáand appreciation of what must matter, what will feed and free us. âÇïThe bookâÇÖs story concerns a pair of young unsung hero farmers, Enno and Ahnah Duden, and a secret society that gathers itself around them, to protect these innocents and deflect the dark forces that would bring them down.áThe hollowing out and erasure of the nationâÇÖs rural lifestyleáand substanceásince the early 1970s has resulted in several generations of what Lynn Miller sometimes calls 'farmer pirates,' whoámustáassume a low profile to conductátheir farming, and are treated to the skepticism and scorn.âÇïThere is aáboldásense of arrival and purpose to Lynn MillerâÇÖs new novel,áwhich is a third continuation of hisáDuden Chronicles, extending beyondáThe Glass Horseá(2008) andáBrown Dwarfá(2020). In this new book the narrator stands closeáto the reader, and keeps edging closer,áby turns dodges and hectorsáand whispers, takingáit all so personally that despite our silly selves weáreadersácanâÇÖt help but pause and reflect.áBut that is not only or even mostlyáits effect, nor the least of the bookâÇÖsáplantings,ágrowings and gleanings. Punctuating hisámasterful storytelling with aámyriadáofáquotesábotháreal and conjured,áas well as visual puzzles and historical context to rest the gaze,áthe bookáassemblesáand reflectsáa living culture, an alternative and sometimes furtively blessed reality that stands quiet and ready, often poignant witháitsáwryáencouragementsáand tart advice.Readersámayáfind themselves wakingátoáa blessed new way of living,áináa possible salvation that springs fromáfarmingâÇÖs own beginnings and versatility,áthat have served to join man,áwomanáand child,áfruit,ávegetable and animal, wild and tameáintoáone purpose over ten thousand yearsáon the land. As the narrator explains, reachingáaheadáinto the future:âÇï'The Next Testament, they would later call it...áFor there to be aánext testamentáthere firstáâÇïneeds to have been noáfirst testament, for the second coming is a reckoning (or wreck-âÇïinning)áâÇïnot a beginning. No, this time it needed to be understood as something entirely different,áâÇïnot a reboot. This time it needed to be fresh and pertinent, somehow pertinent.' (P. 281)áâÇïTilled intoáaástony, barrenádesert soil, witháan eye to the weather andáprecious little grounds for hope, this fine book has us tasting matters of substance and nurture all the way, seeing alternatives and choicesáat every step.áAfter a fitting cataclysm that conjures more than a light dusting of dread at the pandemic andáthe delusions of blundering co-conspirators, the book returns to embrace the daily round of farming life, singing a chorusáconsistingáof a set of a dozen chores that come to pass all at once. Which satisfies more than page-turners mightáimagineáwith its grace and quiet poetry.áAnd thougháby nowáthe hour is late,áthere is still timeáto gather and surmise what with our help mayálikelyábeáin store.áRoots in a Lovely Filtháis a tasty and necessary fiction to help unburden us of tired old economic ways and means,áwitháits simple pioneering toolsáand playful voicesáasking for shared strength and purposeáin the work ahead,álestáwe find ourselves exhausted and bereft in an overheated future.Paul Hunter, poet