Cold Comfort Farm

by Clare West (Retold by), Stella Gibbons

The farm lies in the shadow of a hill, and the farmyard rarely sees the sun, even in summer, when the flowering sukebind hangs heavy in the branches. Here live the Starkadders - Aunt Ada Doom, Judith, Amos, Seth, Reuben, Elfine... They lead messy, untidy lives, full of dark thoughts, moody silences, and sudden noisy quarrels. That is, until their attractive young cousin arrives from London. Neat, sensible, efficient, Flora Poste cannot bear messes (they are so uncivilized). She begins to tidy up the Starkadders' lives at once...

Genres: Fiction, Classics

144 pages, Paperback

First published December 27, 2007

About the author

Clare West has over twenty years' TEFL classroom experience in the UK and overseas, and has led workshops for teachers in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Greece, and Argentina. For most of her teaching career she was involved with long-stay students on Cambridge examination courses, and engaged in the development of strategies to improve students' reading and writing skills.

She is now a freelance author, with a special interest in the literary and cultural aspects of language learning. Current writing projects include contributing to the Oxford Bookworms Library and Dominoes series, writing supplementary materials such as grammar workbooks, as well as being the Series Editor for the Oxford Bookworms Playscripts series.

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh! That took me way longer to read than it should have. It started out so fantastic - I loved Flora and her friend and their hilarious conversations. It felt like a return to the witty classic novels that I love (yes, I'm talking about you, Mr. Wilde!). But things started going awry when she arrived at Cold Comfort Farm. There were so many characters that I was often confused. Also, the author wrote in the form of the slang/speech of the country relatives and it was oftentimes hard to follow. It picked up again towards the end, but I was still left with unanswered questions about Aunt Ada Doom.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertainingly satirical

[M.Marie.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apparently a British classic, I stumbled across this as an example of proto-scifi mentioned in a Tor article. It was surprisingly entertaining for an octogenarian comic satire. I can't wait to watch the Kate Beckinsdale film adaptation.

[Pscholfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

This humorous book was written in 1932 and it still is funny!

[Elisha Condie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just re-read this for a book club and wanted to say how much I really love it. Gibbons has a gift for naming characters so perfectly (like J.K. Rowling does). The Starkadder family from Howling, Sussex (these names!) take in their orphaned cousin Flora Poste. She is there to tidy up the farm as well as the lives of the goofballs who live there.
There's Amos, the hell-fire preacher, Aunt Ada Doom who "saw something nasty in the woodshed", Seth, the oversexed scoundrel, as well as a bunch more cousins who need tidying up.
The dialogue is witty and the writing is good. It's a fun book to read.
And the whole reason I edited my review is because THIS COPY - the one with the cow on the front is *NOT* the one to read!! It is "retold" by someone else who edits Gibbon's original dialogue- and it's lame! Get the original. I just can't make it change on my GoodReads list for some reason.

[Nicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

The kindle edition was terrible. I found it quite irritating that there were so many typing errors, spelling mistakes anv formatting issues. It was not as if the book was free so it should have been perfect. I'm not sure what the writer was on when she wrote this book but it was the strangest book that I've read in a while. I didn't really find it funny at all like some reviewers have mentioned. I didn't even find the book well written and not sure why it is a classic. Quite disappointed because it sounded much better than it was.

[Kiersten · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only problem with this book is that I really did want to know what "narsty" thing she saw in the woodshed...

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure if is is the right book. I couldn't find the edition B07MR6T6NB in goodreads DB but when I tried to add it, it said it was a duplicate. So pardon that I am reviewing a different edition published in 2018 by Reading Essentials.

I enjoyed this book, but didn't find it funny. Quirky perhaps. Maybe I just haven't read enough Tom Hardy to get it. Was a little bit of a slog as it meandered where it was going but Flora was a fun character....I can see how this might be a better film. Maybe a director can underscore what I'm supposed to find funny.

[Mrs Kelly Benning · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the few books I read AFTER seeing the film adaptation, and I must confess that although I enjoyed the book, the movie was better! I wonder if I would've felt that way had I read the book first. No way to know now. The movie is just such a wonderful bon-bon of a film! One of my all-time favorites that I can watch often and never tire of. The book did not hold me in its grip at all like the film does. Still, a fun, humorous read that I can easily recommend.

[Maite Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is simply wonderful. In fact, I have only signed up again here in order to write this review and hopefully entice other people to read it. Stella Gibbons is superb, witty and intelligent. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Get a copy now!

[Nessy Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not quite the right book - I read the Original, which doesn't appear to be listed...
It is an extraordinary satire that manages to be funny when the reader hasn't read the works being satirised. Cold Comfort Farm is a gem!

[Christine Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolutely wonderful novel. It's nearly 100 years old but this comedy of manners was new to me. An impoverished young woman goes to live with her eccentric relatives on a farm and sets about improving their lives. A pure delight

[kp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing.

[Jeannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

simple read....

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quintessential English, fun.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw the Kate Beckinsale film version of this years ago, and it stuck with me. For a long time I've fancied reading it and finally took the plunge. I'm glad I did, as I think this was even better than I remembered. Yes I know the book is usually better than the film but even so the vague memories of actual events and more of a feel for the characters definitely crossed from the film to the book making it more "real" in my head.

[Mira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Argh! I hate it when this happens. THIS IS AN ABRIDGED VERSION. So it's not the real book, and it's spoiled the real book for me. Argh.

Having said that - this is charming and witty - and it was a good read. But it made me feel foolish because obviously I can handle the grown up version but I read it to the end.

Ah well.

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book and the movie.

[Nanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such fun!
It seems like a cross between Emma and Thoroughly Modern Millie.

[Mary Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

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