Response to Coop

The cover of the book Coop

COOP

The book Coop written by Michael Perry allows us to follow the adventures of a rural Wisconsin farmer as he manages his farm and starts a family. Now from my description one may think that a 350 page book about the life of a country farmer could get redundant but the book is surprisingly entertaining.

I was skeptical about the book at first but after reading the the first two chapters I could not put the book down. I was first intrigued because the book used so many vivid descriptions to portray life on the farm, it reminded me of childhood days spent on the farms of my family friends and neighbors.The book was easy to relate to for me for a number of reasons. One of the main reasons being that the book is about a real rural Wisconsinite. The book is not only about a real rural wisconsinite but it is written by one. I, being a fellow Wisconsinite attending UWSP, feel like I can relate to his small town stories and understand his crude WI humor. 

I can also relate with the author and the book with the fact that we were both raised very religiously. The religious atmosphere he explained growing up was almost identical to mine. Perry struggles with how to raise his daughter in terms of religion, which is something I know I will struggle with in the future when I have children. 

Another reason I enjoyed the book is because it is humorous  I enjoy that Perry is able to add humor into such situations and keep the book still relevant, well kind of relevant. There are many parts of the book where Perry trails off into somewhat irrelevant tangents. Tangents in a book is either a win or lose situation, either readers hate the random tangents or readers, like me, love the tangents. I love the tangents because it provides a further outlook into what the author is writing. I also enjoy the tangents because they remind me of the fast paced thinking I often get caught up in while trying to write or explain something to someone. 

Overall, I thought Coop was a great book. I would have never picked up a book about pigs, chickens, and farming in WI if it were not introduced to me in English 202 class. Who would have known that a book of that subject could display such emotional detain in writing and interject as many feelings into its readers as it did.  I feel like UW-Stevens Point is the best place to be if you feel like this book would fit your life.