Red Dog Farm
By Nathanial Ian Miller
Little Brown & Company, 9780316575140, March 4, 2025, 272 pp.

The Short of It:

What is home to you?

The Rest of It:

Growing up on his family’s cattle farm in western Iceland, young Orri has gained an appreciation for the beauty found in everyday things: the cavorting of a newborn calf, the return of birdsong after a long winter, the steadfast love of a good (or tolerably good) farm dog. But the outer world still beckons, so Orri leaves his no-nonsense Lithuanian Jewish mother and his taciturn father, Pabbi, to attend university in Reykjavík. ~the publisher

Living on a cattle ranch in Iceland has its challenges. These are quiet people with hopes and dreams but also people desperately aware of the life they’ve been given. Orri leaves for university but returns when his parents begin to display signs of needing help.

There are beloved ranch animals lost to the elements. Early morning hay stacking on mornings so cold that their equipment won’t start. While working the land, Orri and Pabbi talk about life and reflect on choices they’ve made. His mother interjects with her observations on life. Clearly, this is a family that loves each other but there are revelations and they each choose a direction to go which eventually leads to a very dark moment.

I was mesmerized by this book. There’s not a lot of action. It’s contemplative and reflective but I enjoy these types of reads sometimes. The writing is just beautiful. I was on that ranch with these characters. This is definitely one of those armchair traveler reads.  The harshness of the ranch was comforting to me. It was consistent and genuine.

Highly recommend.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
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