BOOKS

FARM FOR LIFE: MAHI, MANA AND LIFE ON THE LAND

by Tangaroa Walker

Penguin — $38

Don’t read this book — or at least its introduction — if you don’t think you’ll be entertained by the killing of a cow when a car hits one and farcical complications ensue. As the title of that section indicates, “Farmers Are Weird”.

They are also, Walker is at pains to point out, frequently misunderstood by the rest of the population, who blame them for every national misadventure, from economic downturns to polluted waterways. His aim to provide an apologia for rural life is clearly stated. He wants to “Share what I love about my job with other people. I want them to understand why we do what we do.”

His vernacular has survived the ghost writer’s attentions: “At school, I was the dumb ass because they didn’t have a