The subtitle of Reid’s book sums up his timely story better than any review: “A Year in the Life of an Overeducated, Underemployed Twenty-Something Who Moves Back Home.” Reid takes a part-time summer gig at CBC Radio, but the only way he can afford to do it is to move back home to his parents’ hobby farm, where puttering and meal planning takes up a good part of the day. His parents— in particular, Reid’s father and his favourite corduroy pants—are charming and familiar, which makes this memoir fun to read. But there’s no sense of journey, no introspective look at the relationship or lesson learned. After a year of coddling and sheep-dung shovelling, Reid finally moves out, and readers move on without a second thought.
This article appears in Aug 26 – Sep 1, 2010.