Bum Lambs and Red Tractors by Virginia BabcockMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The beauty of Bum Lambs and Red Tractors is its slow, easygoing pace. It makes you feel as if you've been transported to rural Utah, where you get to watch the lives of some interesting and very real, people. It is a love story, but it's also packed with information about farm life and a world among some members of the Mormon church.
I enjoyed standing beside Leon and Marion, watching them fall in love. Leon was attracted to Marion as soon as he saw her and knew he wanted to get to know her better. But Marion reacted differently. She had been spending much of her life evaluating her situation. Did she want to stay on a farm like the one she'd been raised on? Did she want to go back to school? She had a been an engineering major, but hadn't finished her degree. What would she have to sacrifice if she tied her life to someone else's plans? And what would she give up if she didn't? Their romance was real, because they both recognized their needs and desires as separate people.
My father grew up on a Kansas farm and spent his college days working hard to get off that farm, but in his final years he seemed to miss the life he'd left. I saw some of him in both Marion and Leon, which meant a lot to me. I also enjoyed the way their lives were shaped by their church. I don't want to give the wrong impression here. Bum Lambs and Red Tractors is NOT a preachy novel, but it does show how a strong church family can affect someone's life. I loved that, too.
I recommend Bum Lambs and Red Tractors for anyone who enjoys books with lots of detail and well written characters.
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