Book Review: Pastures New by Clare Balding

Pastures New by Clare Balding isn't a straightforward romance, but more like a women's fiction book about a woman inheriting a farm (although there is a strong romance thread which really comes out towards the end of the book). I listened to the audiobook, which she narrates herself.

This is Clare Balding adult fiction debut (although she’s written some non-fiction and some children’s stories about race horses). As she studied English Literature at Newnham College Cambridge you would think she’d be well qualified to write.

I’ve followed Clare’s career with some interest as she was two years ahead of me at University and I remember her as an imposing figure stalking the corridors (or I should say ‘the corridor’ since Newnham College is famously one long corridor). She was the kind of self-confident girl who stood out, even at Cambridge, especially as she was also President of the Union (a post funnily enough also held by my second cousin some fifteen years later but I digress).

The story is about a carefree woman in her late thirties, Alex, who suddenly wakes up in her late thirties, realizing she's spent her whole life trying to avoid responsibility, but that actually makes her very isolated. In this way she reminds me a bit of Charlie in Christmas at Tillingford Hall - clever, acerbic and a bit of a mess.

I was honestly quite impressed with this book. I thought it was a well-written and absorbing story, with lots of interesting characters. My favourite character was Gwen, who reminds me of Stacey's mother in Gavin and Stacey (also called Gwen); she’s that sort of very practical Welsh housewife, always feeding people and just getting on with things without a fuss. The heroine, Alex, was slightly harder to like because she was a bit of a hot mess and really needed to sort herself out, which she sort of did by the end but you still feel she couldn’t have quite managed without all those people around her to help her. However, friendship and teamwork is a key theme of the book, so that works.

The descriptions of the Welsh countryside (funnily enough, exactly the part of Wales where that same second cousin now lives) and the problems facing farmers today (including a lack of phone signal) really brought this book alive and made it feel topical.

They always say, ‘write about what you know’ and Clare has certainly taken this advice to heart; horse racing is a big theme in this book (she was a jockey and her father was a racehorse trainer). She writes interestingly, knowledgeably and passionately about the subject and I enjoyed learning more about this world.

Pastures New is a really warm-hearted, joyful, cosy book with lots of cute dogs, funny sheep and friendly villagers; everything you want from a countryside novel. I really enjoyed it and I'm very happy to recommend it.