1973. Acclaimed graphic designer and erotic artist Tomi Ungerer escapes New York for a remote wreck of a farmhouse near Lockeport, Nova Scotia to begin a life of self-sufficiency and nature. Wife Yvonne goes with. Cats, dogs, sheep, ducks, geese and goats soon follow and are loved and butchered and cooked. Vegetables are planted: it’s the good life all right - but thankfully all mention of sowing and yields is quickly skipped over in preference for a study of the bonkers locals, the real stars of the show. Sketched affectionately in poetic, no nonsense prose Ungerer tells their tales: of secret drunkenness; of strange backwoods beliefs; of weird sex; of fishing and accidents and death: alas, they’re forever burning things down and shooting themselves and others. One guy is killed by hunters who think he’s a bear. Another treats a broken, infected finger by getting his brother to pull the nail off with a pair of pliers. It’s a harsh and fascinating life, all told without a trace of judgement, without any forced humour - yet it is often a hilarious book. A beautiful book too: 150+ of Ungerer’s illustrations vividly complement his words and bring the ducks and dogs to life - not to mention sexy Yvonne, who cavorts through the pages like a Woodstock-era Felicity Kendal. Highly recommended.
Written for Real Travel Magazine, April 2011
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