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    The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir
    The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir
    The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir

    Written by Josh Kilmer-Purcell

    Narrated by Johnny Heller

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    A happy series of accidents and a doughnut-laden escape upstate take Josh Kilmer-Purcell and his partner, Brent Ridge, to the doorstep of the magnificent (and fabulously for sale) Beekman Mansion. And so begins their transformation from uptight urbanites into the two-hundred-year-old-mansion-owning Beekman Boys. Suddenly Josh-a full-time New Yorker with a successful advertising career-and Brent find themselves weekend farmers, surrounded by nature's bounty and an eclectic cast: roosters who double as a wedding cover band; Bubbly, the bionic cat; and a herd of goats, courtesy of their new caretaker, Farmer John.

    The Bucolic Plague is a tart and sweet, touching and laugh-out-loud funny story about goats, mud, homemade soap, approaching middle age, and finding new depths of love and commitment wherever you live.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJun 22, 2011
    ISBN9781452673110
    Author

    Josh Kilmer-Purcell

    Josh Kilmer-Purcell is the bestselling author of the memoir I Am Not Myself These Days and the novel Candy Everybody Wants, and the star of Planet Green's documentary television series The Fabulous Beekman Boys. He and his partner, Brent Ridge, divide their time between Manhattan and the Beekman Farm.

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    Reviews for The Bucolic Plague

    4/5

    24 ratings19 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This was a refreshing and honest book about two people's relationship as they grow as individuals and businessmen. I could appreciate the hard work it took to start a new business and try to maintain a relationship.
    • 4/5
      This humorous and engaging memoir follows two gay Manhattanites who buy a farm / mansion in upstate New York, and restyle their lives as gentleman farmers. It's a light souffle that will leave you smiling.
    • 4/5
      Very readable memoir of a couple moving and changing their lives from fast paced Manhattan-ites to farm life in upstate new York.I found this pretty interesting. The two main characters are interesting guys with interesting lives. I found that somethings were retread a little too often (mentions of the authors life before meeting his partner were speckled through out and were pretty much always the same - yes yes we get it - you were a wacky crazy drag queen with a substance problem!) . Basically though it is a pretty breezy read - something that would go very well on an airplane trip.One thing I did not like (which is true of many "farm" books) was the detailed description of the slaughter of their turkey. I almost stopped reading the book at that point. I also didn't enjoy the light hearted references to the slaughter of their cow. Some people wouldn't be bothered by such things - I only mention them because sensitive readers such as myself my choose to give a book like this a pass based on those parts.
    • 4/5
      A fast, rather funny read--consumed it in a day. Recommendec
    • 3/5
      This is another Book Giveaway on Goodreads.com that I entered on a whim. It turned out to be much funnier than I had anticipated. The author had me midway through the prologue where he describes transporting five baby goats from his farm in upstate New York to Manhattan, a trip that takes several hours, during which time the goats develop diarrhea and he is forced to drive with his head out the window to get away from the smell. I practically fell out of my chair laughing. I knew exactly how he felt. I once transported a kitten from a breeder two hours distant from my house, a kitten that was so nervous he began pooping forcing me to drive two hours with the car windows wide open in January. Unlike the author, whose passengers were confined in a cage in the backseat of his vehicle, in my case the kitten was loose in my car and being a typical feline, sought the highest elevation on which to perch. That elevation being the top of my head, with his claws firmly implanted in my scalp for balance.I found this book both entertaining and disappointing. Mr. Kilmer-Purcell makes frequent references to his former career as a drag queen and to his partner’s career on Martha Stewart’s show. Too many references. I understand that being a drag queen and within the orbit of Martha Stewart were two defining experiences for him and his partner, but there is whole other world outside of that small universe that he seems almost unaware of.After a lengthy set-up in which the author and his partner, find, fall in love with and purchase a “mansion” in upstate New York as a weekend house that eventually becomes a goat farm, I felt let down with the rest of the book. There is almost no discussion of their friends and activities in Manhattan, where they lived five days a week. He manages somehow to devote most of the book to the mansion cum goat farm while revealing almost nothing about the surrounding area or the inhabitants.I would like to have learned more about his rural neighbors and his urban friends. How did those two worlds compare and contrast? What was their life like before they bought the weekend house? They had been a couple for almost a decade. What did they do during that decade? How did their lives in Manhattan change after buying the weekend house? Did they attempt to mingle the two worlds by inviting friends to visit them at their upstate retreat?This is a great human interest story, but I feel that a big part of it is missing. It is a quick, entertaining read that is more sequins and boas than compost and canning.
    • 5/5
      In The Bucolic Plauge, Josh Kilmer-Purcell's latest memoir, he and his partner impulsively buy a farm in Sharon Springs, New York. Hilarity ensues.I'm tempted to just finish my review right there, but I guess I should say more. Okay, so Josh Kilmer-Purcell wrote the book called I Am Not Myself These Days about his life as an alcoholic drag queen with a drug addicted male escort of a boyfriend. It still stands as one of my favorite books. I am pleased that he returned to memoir style writing after a brief forte into fiction writing with Candy Everybody Wants.Like I said, Josh and his partner Brent buy a farm. It's clear that they did not think the idea through because they have a really hard time getting the farm up and running. Not only that, but they must make the farm profitable if they want to keep it. Their solution, raise goats and grow tomato!Overall I really liked the book and managed to read it over the course of a couple days. As I read it I liked the tension that builds as you wonder if they're going to be able to pull this off and keep the farm. It has many ups and downs. It wasn't all goats and giggles. There are parts that are not comical at all such as the deterioration of Josh and Brent's relationship due to the pressure of running a farm. I started wondering if the farm was going to cause the end of their relationship.I enjoyed reading this book and found it to be a very touching story about two gays guys who buy a farm and the troubles that come with it.
    • 5/5
      I am soooooo in love with this book! Josh is an ex-drag queen and writer turnedadvertising maven, Brent is 'Dr Brent' on The Martha Stewart Show. They've been togetherfor almost 10 years and seem to thrive on the big city lifestyle despite their 700 squarefoot apartment--until they take a wrong turn on a drive and discover The Beekman Mansion.It's HUGE, 200 years old and in need of a whole lot of work--but they want it. Dreamsof leisurely weekends away from the city as gentlemen farmers dance merrily in theirheads, so they take the plunge. Then Josh sneaks in a caretaker for the place that justhappens to have a herd of goats. And, well, if they have goats now, they might as wellhave chickens. And a cow. And a garden. And then a bigger garden--MUCH bigger. Then ahandmade Christmas project became a full on artisan soap company, and Beekman 1802began--and grew...and grew...and grew. This is a wonderful tale of two Type Apersonalities taking on the bucolic life big city style, with some bonus ghosts andlegions of zombie flies thrown into the mix. It's equal parts inspiring and exhausting,but you can't help but fall in love with these guys and the small town who has come toembrace them. The good news is they have a 'docu-series' coming out in June 2010 onDiscovery Channel's Planet Green called 'The Fabulous Beekman Boys' so the laughs won'thave to stop when the book cover closes.
    • 3/5
      Nice and funny book about pursuing one's dreams and returning to a simpler kind of life, although in the case of the author his life seems to get more complicated instead. It could have been a better reading if Martha Stewart wasn't mentioned almost in every page (that's 201 mentions in roughly 300 pages), it goes way beyond mere admiration or the need to refer her as the author's partner boss, it really feels like if her name was used to promote the book at hand.
    • 5/5
      One of the best books I've read so far this year. Funny and insightful, this memoir made me fall in love with the Mohawk Valley (my old stomping grounds) all over again. Kilmer-Purcell's characters are engaging and complex, his writing descriptive and yet very clear. He's a very talented writer. I look forward to reading more of his books, and hopefully visiting the farm sometime soon.Also: best book title EVAR.
    • 4/5
      Very entertaining backstory of what is now a thriving business.
    • 4/5
      Fun book to read. Only wish it had been longer.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed reading more about the television program "the Fabulous Beekman Boys" that I enjoy so much. These men are doing something that many of us say we'd like to do, but never would - live our dream even at the expensive of lucrative careers.
    • 4/5
      Brief Description: The subtitle pretty much sums up the book: “How Two Manhattanites Became Gentleman Farmers.” After stumbling upon the rundown but filled with potential Beekman Mansion near Sharon Springs, NY, Kilmer-Purcell (former drag queen turned advertising guru) and his partner Dr. Brent Ridge (who at the time was working as “Dr. Brent” for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia) impulsively decide to purchase the mansion and the surrounding 60 acres and become weekend farmers. Their experiences are chronicled in this highly amusing memoir.My Thoughts: This was a such fun read! This is just how I like my memoirs: a writer with a wicked sense of humor, a “fish out of water” story (Kilmer-Purcell’s account of transporting a flock to baby goats to appear on Martha’s television show was downright hilarious), and celebrity close encounters (mostly with Martha Stewart herself, who Kilmer-Purcell regards with a mix of wonder, admiration, snark and disbelief). Mixed in with the light-hearted and humorous account of their farming experiences is the story of a relationship that starts to flounder due to financial strains and a schedule that leaves little time for togetherness. The fact that Kilmer-Purcell and Ridge ended up making a reality show about the Beekman (called The Fabulous Beekman Boys and airing on Planet Green) after this book was released was a relief to me, as I was rooting for this couple to stay together and continue making the Beekman a successful working farm. A delight from start to finish, I would highly recommend this book to just about anyone.
    • 4/5
      i really enjoyed this book. it tells the story of two men who buy their dream home in upstate new york and decide to turn it into a working farm again. the book follows the ups and downs of their attempt as well as the strain it puts on their relationship. the book was funny and moving. my only complaint was that it ended too soon and without a lot of resolution. since the publication of the book things have continued to happen with their farm. i hope the paperback edition (that just released) has a better epilogue as i want to know more about what happens!
    • 4/5
      Two gentlemen with great New York City jobs--one, Dr. Brent Ridge, works for Martha Stewart, the other--the author--is an advertising agency rep, when they decide on an impulse to buy an old mansion they discover while on their annual apple picking trip. They take on the task of re-doing the mansion, putting in a huge garden, and also take on 70 goats and a goat farmer to tend them. The plethora of goat milk leads to a booming online business selling hand-made goat milk soap. Ahh....the bucolic life is wonderful ....except...They are the stereotypical gay yuppie couple trying to have it all--living at the mansion on the weekends while still working full time in the city, driving and training back and forth, weeding, painting, pickling, weeding, canning, entertaining, weeding, sweeping flies (you gotta read the book), slaughtering a home grown turkey for a REAL Thanksgiving, etc etc etc. They are spending so much time trying to be perfect, that their relationship begins to suffer. When Brent is 'pink-slipped' by Martha, and Josh becomes disgusted with the advertising world and quits his job, they suddenly find themselves without a steady income, with a business that is severely impacted by the economic downturn that cost Brent his job, and with emotions they are not used to dealing with. They are in danger of losing everything---the mansion, the farm, themselves and their relationship.Told with compassion, wit, and a unexpectedly deep understanding of human emotion and vulnerability, this is a well-written memoir of middle-aged reflection and contemplation. On his thirty-ninth birthday, spent alone in his garden, Josh reflects that Flowers don't blossom then disappear into thin air. They fade. Then the plant drops its leaves. Then the stem browns. And then the whole thing topples over. I figured I was lucky to have been as colorful a bloom as I had been.... pg 225.Their ability to see the beauty and positives in their lives, including the friendships they formed in the small town, allows them to muddle through and arrive at the other side of their troubles with a recommitted relationship, a re-energized business, and a future that bodes well.
    • 5/5
      The Bucolic Plague is well written and funny. The story is interesting and has some tension and build up despite being a memoir. While it didn't make me rip through the book in one go, I never got bored with the narrative. It seems a great sort of book to read when you have a few loose moments or may be an afternoon.
    • 4/5
      This is a memoir of the author, Josh (a former drag queen turned ad exec) and his partner Brent (health expert for Martha Stewart) who buy a old mansion in the country and try to make it in pay for itself by raising goats and selling goat's milk soap. This was both funny and sad, but always interesting. Josh is a great writer with a sharp wit that he employs on himself as well as everyone else in the book. This book is as much about relationships as it is about farming and living out one's dream. This was an enjoyable read.
    • 4/5
      Oh no you don't! No sighing, sneaking past this review, and saying how good it is! Sit there and READ this.Josh and Brent, two of the most annoying perfectionist queens Manhattan has ever sucked into its lapidary drum of the effete, are bare-naked and warty as all get-out in this hilarious, touching, brutally honest memoir by the tall one. (Josh.) And he memoirs the way it feels to be human, alive, selfish and self-absorbed and sweet and lovable better than most. He's honest about how hard it is to work like a (highly paid) slave so you can have a dream come true. Then, as so many before him have, he wonders when in the HELL he's going to have time to enjoy the said dream.Then there's the short one. (Brent.) He isn't writing the book, so of course he doesn't get all the best lines. Just most of them. He's the alpha perfectionist of the pair...good gravy, he worked for MARTHA STEWART!...and he decides, on hearing the tall one articulate his dream to live in their fantabulously gorgeous mansionfarm full time, that He Will Make This Happen. Because he loves, so much, the tall one. The scene in the book where they have that conversation, about why they'd have to give the place up in the rancid economy of 2008, made me cry. What they wanted, what their dreams hung on, *pffft* because the rotten shits on Wall Street wanted morebiggerfatter bonuses.Now these two aren't guiltless little cogs in the Murrikin Machine, mind. They were both in the sizzle biz, taking home oodles of the spondulix selling people an unattainable dream's unattainable health goals for old farts (the short one) and unnecessary, overpriced goods and services (the tall one). But they made so much more out of their lives...they worked hard, they deserved their success...than the standard script for rural gay boys reads. And then they found, accidentally and because the tall one is a lousy navigator, the perfect place to turn their well-honed swordsmanship skills at these useless pursuits into the plowshares of a real, and really funny, and very satisfying life.Their website makes me drool. (Not over them, keep your minds out of the gutter.) The farm, the recipes, the products, the involving and addictive blogs, and of course Polka Spot the llama are tremendous pleasures.Their TV show, The Fabulous Beekman Boys, is a gem and it's worth seeking out on Planet Green, the little bitty Discovery Networks offshoot they run on. This is Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House for the 21st century. Buy it, read it, and heavenly days, recommend it to your friends! The boys need money! Farmer John's goats don't eat air, and that hip replacement wasn't free, and the boys have aging parents who'll need to come live with them soon enough.Think of the scuff marks. Poor short one. (Brent.)
    • 3/5
      nonfiction; memoir (advertising exec and his partner buy historic mansion and become part-time farmers/bloggers/soap-sellers = not all happy goat times, but a thoughtful reflection on life and self). I really liked the goat parts, and liked the comforting friendships found in the small town community.