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

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

by Josh Kilmer-Purcell (Goodreads Author)

4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 · rating details · 2,672 ratings · 583 reviews

What happens when two New Yorkers (one an ex–drag queen) do the unthinkable: start over, have a herd of kids, and get a little dirty?

Find out in this riotous and moving true tale of goats, mud, and a centuries-old mansion in rustic upstate New York—the new memoir by Josh Kilmer-Purcell, author of the New York Times bestseller I Am Not Myself These Days. A happy series of a...more

ebook, 336 pages

Published June 1st 2010 by HarperCollins e-books

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May 16, 2013 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rating: 4* of five

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 ab...more Rating: 4* of five

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.)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.(less)

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May 29, 2010 Jackie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-star, books-by-friends, cooking-crafting, pleasure-reading, nonfiction, work-review-related-reading

I am soooooo in love with this book! Josh is an ex-drag queen and writer turned advertising maven, Brent is "Dr Brent" on The Martha Stewart Show. They've been together for almost 10 years and seem to thrive on the big city lifestyle despite their 700 square foot 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. Dreams of leisurely weekends away from the city as gentlemen farmers danc...more

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May 18, 2013 Liz L. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As I live less than an hour from Sharon Springs, I've been to the Beekman 1802 Mercantile a few times and have had the pleasure of meeting both Josh and Brent in the store. They're both really lovely, friendly people who are happy to chat away with you.

I read the Bucolic Plague because I wanted to learn more about how they ended up in Sharon Springs and became "Gentlemen Farmers." The memoir is wisely divided into three books. The first book telling how they found their way to Sharon Spring by h...more

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Mar 27, 2013 stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, absolutely-must-read, desert-island-books, kindle, laughed, memoirs, would-rec

i literally laughed out loud multiple times. on a plane. (i am terrified of flying so this is saying something.) and i read parts of it out loud to my traveling partner. repeatedly.

the eternal battle of martha vs. oprah. the goats. THE GOATS. the lovely idea of having a farm vs. actually having a working farm. (my job illustrates how hard it is to deal with 9 cows confined, i can't imagine that many goats plus all those planter boxes at the perfect height.)

i loved brent, and i loved josh, and i...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

This is the hilarious and yet touching true story of a former drag queen and his partner who decide to buy a mansion and become farmers. The pair are New Yorkers at heart and the transition to small town life is a tough one.

They tackle everything from raising goats to exploring the crypt on their property. All the while they are making new friends and trying to keep up with their old lives. The author works at an advertising agency and his partner works for Martha Stewart. Their attempt at runn...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Jack rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A delightful book about the perils of that Perfect Country House Life. Josh Kilmer-Purcell had written a hilarious / appalling memoir, I am Not Myself These Days, about his remarkable youth as an alcoholic drag queen, living with a high-priced call-boy boyfriend. Now, happily settled into a long-term relationship, he and his partner buy a spectacular house on 60 acres, the Beekman Mansion outside Sharon Springs, NY, not far from Cooperstown.

This book traces the exhausting, nearly self-destroyin...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Diane Kistner rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh, my! Sometimes it's funny and sometimes it's sad, but always this book is SO VERY GOOD! I started reading it while I was in the middle of adjusting to planting about 10,000 square feet of plowed field in the rural Georgia countryside after only having done about one percent of that amount before as a wannabe country girl. When I was falling down from raking up 100-foot-long raised rows, I'd finally come in to read about how Josh and Brent managed their transition from celebrity doctor and adv...more Oh, my! Sometimes it's funny and sometimes it's sad, but always this book is SO VERY GOOD! I started reading it while I was in the middle of adjusting to planting about 10,000 square feet of plowed field in the rural Georgia countryside after only having done about one percent of that amount before as a wannabe country girl. When I was falling down from raking up 100-foot-long raised rows, I'd finally come in to read about how Josh and Brent managed their transition from celebrity doctor and advertising executive/former drag queen to "gentleman farmers." (That's a euphemism for working their tails off on their farm on top of having two other full-time jobs.) The fact that these men launched another business and also gourmet-COOKED what they grew is awe-inspiring.

In short: I don't know how they did it. But "love conquers all," as the saying goes, and there are so many layers of love in this book.

I have only two complaints:

(1) The uncorrected proof copy I read did not clearly show which guy was which, so I established imaginary relationships with the two of them, only to learn when I visited their web site ([...]) that the tall guy is Josh. (Now I'll have to somehow erase the startling image of the real Dr. Brent in seven-inch heels and live-goldfish tits. "Don't think of a white tiger"? It's a hard image to undo.)

(2) I couldn't believe it when I got to the end and there was nothing left to read. I felt like a Harry Potter fan who knows there will not be another book for at least a year.

I went to the Beekman 1802 web site, looking for more, smiling because I knew the "inside scoop" from having read the book. I confirmed with Josh that I had, indeed, gotten the two of them mixed up in my head. (Josh said, characteristically, "I'm the old one"!) I also learned that the docu-series, "The Fabulous Beekman Boys," is premiering June 16 at 9 p.m. on PlanetGreen! I can hardly wait! There's so much happening on the web site, too, that wasn't alluded to in the book, so I'm hoping that means everyone, including the goats, are safe now.

I found the drag queen and behind-the-scenes "Oprah and Martha" celebrity parts interesting, but they are not the reason to read this book. It is really about a dream: a dream come true, a dream in danger of becoming a living nightmare, and an awakening from and to the dream. It is about sustainable living, sustainable loving, and the importance of sustaining relationships in the face of adversity and stress. It's a book about what really matters in this world. It's about Wabi Sabi.

Especially poignant is the fact that the current "Great Recession" impacted not only me and those I am close to but the Beekman Boys and those they are close to as well--even, to a degree, Martha. The final chapters are a reminder how precious community and relationships are when times are hard. I feel so close to, and so much a part of, life on the whole planet after having read this book.

The most touching of all to me was when Josh, thinking they are going to lose the Beekman after all that hard work and hope, said "I am sure that I loved my life here." I wish everyone could feel that kind of certainty in these uncertain times.(less)

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Jul 11, 2012 Claire rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a pretty honest, refreshingly self-conscious memoir about a marketing guy and his doctor/Martha-Stewart-guru partner buying a farm--albeit an over-the-top "mansion" "farm" largely run by their co-farmer. It wasn't that funny, despite the blurbs about its hilarity that plastered the book. I imagine his first book about drag queening was laugh out loud--the prose really came alive when he briefly mentioned his alcohol-hazed days as a professional drag queen. Anyway, good for a light summe...more

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Nov 08, 2011 Robyn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, nonfiction, biography-or-memoir

Here's a good way to tell whether you'll enjoy this book. Read this quote from the first chapter: "we would spend the night in a budget motel, preferably just off a major highway--not because we couldn't afford a cozy inn, but because cheap hotels reminded Brent of vacations from his youth. They reminded me of Fleet Week, so it worked out well for both of us." If you don't know why the quote is funny, or if you don't find it amusing, this is probably not the book for you.

General opinion on the b...more Here's a good way to tell whether you'll enjoy this book. Read this quote from the first chapter: "we would spend the night in a budget motel, preferably just off a major highway--not because we couldn't afford a cozy inn, but because cheap hotels reminded Brent of vacations from his youth. They reminded me of Fleet Week, so it worked out well for both of us." If you don't know why the quote is funny, or if you don't find it amusing, this is probably not the book for you.

General opinion on the book? Poor quality writing, definitely lacking in the editorial department, but still enjoyable for what it is. Don't look for depth and remember that the author is a long-time advertising executive who wants his farm's business to be successful. There is a level at which this book is marketing Josh and Brent as a brand, just as their website, reality show, and other ventures do. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is reflected in the fluff quality of the prose of this book.

Got pretty sick of Martha Stewart being referred to every other page (I don't have any negative feelings toward her, I just feel like if your entire narrative relies on references to someone who barely appears in the story, you should wait to write the book until you have more to actually say), and on the pages where she wasn't mentioned the author kept bringing up his negative past experiences as an alcoholic drag queen with an addict male escort boyfriend. I get it, he did drag shows for years. Who cares?! Just like his constant surprise that small-town people weren't horrified that they're gay made me want to tell him to get over himself.

Some noun-verb agreement problems, tense changes mid-paragraph (I leaned, she grinned, he says, I replied), etc., make me shake my head at the editors, but for those who don't have such a loud internal grammar corrector it should be fine. Although this review sounds entirely negative, I enjoyed the story and was definitely interested to see what would happen next. I don't know if that's because I enjoy reading about small-scale farming or because I was just in the mood for some fluff, but whatever it was, I give it a "3 stars, liked it".(less)

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Aug 06, 2011 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir

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 experience...more

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Jul 16, 2011 Elisa Ramblings added it · review of another edition

As soon as I read about The Fabulous Beekman Boys on a friend blog, I so much wanted to see the reality. But here in Italy it was on a cable network and it was a little expensive to pay for a year subscription just to see 10 30 minutes passages. So I set down to buy the DVD as soon as it was available… just to discover they didn’t deliver it in Italy (actually in Europe) since it was available only for US. I even tried to buy it on streaming when I was in Mexico, and no, actually it’s not even a...more As soon as I read about The Fabulous Beekman Boys on a friend blog, I so much wanted to see the reality. But here in Italy it was on a cable network and it was a little expensive to pay for a year subscription just to see 10 30 minutes passages. So I set down to buy the DVD as soon as it was available… just to discover they didn’t deliver it in Italy (actually in Europe) since it was available only for US. I even tried to buy it on streaming when I was in Mexico, and no, actually it’s not even allow in South America… I was starting to resign myself to wait for October, my planned visit to NYC, when last night, I discover an economic format of the DVD (not the 2 disc edition I was moping on) that was available for Europe and of course I bought it immediately (should arrive soon). And since I was there, I went to my wish list and was almost buying the paperback version of The Bucolic Plague when I noticed it was available on Kindle! Yes, instant gratification, what is better in life?

Just to not sound as a complete idiot, I should probably explain why I’m so fascinated with this venture of Beekman 1802. I actually tried myself to realize my run from stressful job life change dream, but with no success; my little venture, the first coffee-bookstore open 7.00 a.m. to 2.00 a.m with wireless internet, bistro kitchen in medieval Italian historic centre on its first year of life was featured on the 2 most important travel magazine in Italy, was the subject of a bachelor degree thesis in finance as innovative business and hosted a national television channel showtime for one day… to close after 2 year due to the fact that, in the end, it was not enough to maintain itself and the people working for it. So yes, I’m vicariously enjoying Brent and Josh’s success and I wish them all the good in the world, and I’m here cheering for them and their goats, and Farmer John, and Doug and Gareth from The American Hotel, and Sharon Springs and Bubby the bionic cat and everyone in this story.

Yes, I’m still eagerly waiting for the DVD to arrive, but I think that now I will see it in a different way; since, from the outside, everything seemed perfect on that mansion, the pictures were wonderful, the recipes just out of an historical cook book, the dream even too easy to realize. I was thinking, lucky them, they are living an American dream (do you know that here in Italy, when someone realizes the dream of their life, we say it’s an “American Dream”?), and I’m happy, but also a little envious of them. Then reading the book, I understood that it was not so easy, that they, like many other before them, not only risked their future, but also their relationship. The story has an happily ever after, but it’s a “barely” stretched one, and in a way, it’s not even so sure the dream will survive its third year of life. True, the story closes before the reality showing them was aired, and now it’s at its third season, so maybe, in the end, they managed to survive third and fourth year and they are leading towards always greener pasture… again I wish them all the best.

Coming back to the story, even if this is not a fiction book, but more a memoir, the writing style is really easy and flowing, and sincerely it reads without any stopping like many of the romances I love, only that this is real life. There is even a funny story behind this dichotomy between real life and fictional story: way before I heard about the Beekman Boys, I included Josh Kilmer-Purcell on my Top Book of XXI century with his memoir I’m Not Myself These Days. I still remember some years ago going to his website and looking at the pictures of his life as Drag Queen and thinking, well, what an interesting man. It was 2006 and Beekman Mansion was, I believe, not in the picture (pun intended). Years later, browsing another website (www.beekman1802.com) I firstly didn’t recognize the co-owner of the mansion like the memoirist that so much fascinated me. But if you will decide to read the book, there is a lot of him in this story (of course, it’s real life!) and in a way, you could read this book as a sequel of I’m Not Myself These Days, just to know what happened to that Drag Queen… it’s an happily ever after story (at least until now!).

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061997838/?...(less)

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May 20, 2011 Cyndy Aleo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

After my eye-rolling at the dramatic stream-of-consciousness that was Dave Eggers' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and my inability to believe the events in Jeanette Walls' The Glass Castle, I gave up on reading memoirs for quite a while. However, when a blurb on a blog for an upcoming book crossed my screen describing a gay couple (one of whom is a former drag queen) moving to the country and becoming gentlemen farmers, I was unable to keep myself from adding the book to my ever-growi...more After my eye-rolling at the dramatic stream-of-consciousness that was Dave Eggers' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and my inability to believe the events in Jeanette Walls' The Glass Castle, I gave up on reading memoirs for quite a while. However, when a blurb on a blog for an upcoming book crossed my screen describing a gay couple (one of whom is a former drag queen) moving to the country and becoming gentlemen farmers, I was unable to keep myself from adding the book to my ever-growing list of to-be-reads.

::: Who They Are and How They Got There :::

Josh Kilmer-Purcell is an author and ad executive in New York City. His partner, Brent Ridge, is an executive at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. At least, this is what they are at the beginning of Kilmer-Purcell's memoir. On a weekend apple-picking trip away from the City, they stumble upon the quaint town of Sharon Springs, and a mansion known as the Beekman Mansion.

In a fit of impulsivity, the two buy the mansion and its associated farm, dreaming of a life away from the stresses of city life, and returning to nature. Kilmer-Purcell's memoir The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers (and its epilogue) cover three years of the couple being weekend farmers, including the stresses associated with trying to make life perfect.

::: Witty, Poignant, and Downright Charismatic :::

At whatever point I added The Bucolic Plague to my Amazon wishlist, I also signed myself up for the newsletter put out by the couple as part of their business, Beekman 1802. I'll admit that I've done little other than skim and delete the emails, as I felt disconnected without reading the book.

I can tell you that I'll be waiting with baited breath for the next email missive. Reading The Bucolic Plague marks the first time I've ever read a memoir where I found myself skipping to the end to find out if it had a happy ending; I was that involved with the people in the book.

Kilmer-Purcell begins the book in 2006, when things were still fairly okay with the economy. It's hard to imagine having the money to buy a million-dollar mansion as a second home in today's economy, and the market crash and subsequent layoffs are addressed (and factor in) in the time frame the memoir covers. With Ridge having worked closely with Martha Stewart, you don't expect the book to be as warts-and-all as it is, but it reminds a bit of the memoirs of Madeleine L'Engle, who also moved to the country and found the transition jarring.

Some readers may go into reading this memoir already knowing about the show on Planet Green (a channel my cable company doesn't carry), but for the rest, I won't spoil the book's ending. I can tell you that The Bucolic Plague is well worth the read, and I'll be looking for Kilmer-Purcell's previous memoir about his drag days as soon as I get back to the library.

Review originally published on Epinions: http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_T...(less)

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May 07, 2011 Trish rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, animals, biography, classics, funny, nonfiction, quirky

I had this book in my library and, without reading it myself, lent it to a family member to help her through a difficult surgery. She never returned it, but when I read Dawn Rennert’s review of her pilgrimage to Sharon Springs on her blog She is Too Fond of Books, I went to get it back that very day. I'm so glad I did. It would have been perfect for the sick family member, had she read it, but she didn't and I did. It was perfect for me, too. What a wonderful, funny, painful, knowing memoir of...more I had this book in my library and, without reading it myself, lent it to a family member to help her through a difficult surgery. She never returned it, but when I read Dawn Rennert’s review of her pilgrimage to Sharon Springs on her blog She is Too Fond of Books, I went to get it back that very day. I'm so glad I did. It would have been perfect for the sick family member, had she read it, but she didn't and I did. It was perfect for me, too. What a wonderful, funny, painful, knowing memoir of a pair of busy city executives finding a “weekend retreat” in upstate New York (Sharon Springs) that turns into a full-time job and lifestyle change. Not ordinary executives, not an ordinary town…and not an ordinary house.

By now, many of you will have heard already of the Beekman Boys on Planet Green’s Reality TV show, but I hadn’t until now. The truth is that this memoir is so hilarious and yet so real, in a you-and-me-and-a-drag-queen sort of way, that I couldn’t put the darn thing down. It is a lovely fairy tale about the wonders of country living. I’ve been guilty of dreams of domestic bliss and the homemade life more than once myself, but these guys do it bigger and better than I would or could. It’s no wonder the town embraced them and their 88 goats.

Without a doubt, highlights of the story include a Martha Stewart Peony Party at her homestead near New York City, the fare reduction ad campaign that was created in less than five minutes, and the first time a crew went to the Beekman house to shoot a reality show. Now there really is a TV show, but it was not at all obvious that this would be the case when the idea was first explored:

"At some point during the morning, I realized that the most exciting moment of our potential reality show would be the copyright notice in the credits. To compensate, I came to the conclusion that if I ran everywhere—physically moved my body faster—the film might seem more engaging. I galloped out the end of the drive to get the mail. I trotted to the garage to grab a trowel…For even more” sizzle,” instead of simply leading the goats out to graze as we usually did, I raced out in front of them, hollering an improvisational goat call that made me sound like a yodeling hillbilly. I turned back toward the barn and saw that the goats had stayed back, huddled together in fear in the barn doorway. They obviously preferred to skip dinner rather than get too close to the retarded scarecrow suffering a grand mal seizure.”

Do yourselves a favor and don’t wait for major surgery to take the chance to read this book. It’s funny, heartwarming, recognizable, and real. You’ll be glad there are folks like this around, and you’ll wish they lived nearby.
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Dec 10, 2010 Sabino rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A great book written in the most friendly, warm and straight-forward style to present the reality of life, in this case of the author and his partner's life.

This is a book hard to put down, once you start reading you just don't want to stop. And you will laugh until you fall off the chair/sofa or wherever you are sitting/laying down reading the book, and you will also shed some tears, as you are put into the shoes of this fantastic author, in several chapters of this book! This is a MUST read! I...more

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Nov 26, 2010 Jeff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After finishing “I Am Not Myself These Days,” I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Josh’s follow-up, a book that brings him from dancing with fish in his “tits” to kanoodling with goats in a barn.

How did two Manhattanites become gentlemen farmers, indeed? Would they be able to make the transition? Would the change better help them realize who they are as human beings? As a couple? Would they, as a couple, even survive the change? And, what would Martha (yes, THAT Martha!) think? These and many ot...more

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Nov 26, 2010 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, farming

Josh and Brent already have very busy lives in NYC when they stumble upon a renovated historic mansion with 60 acres and a big red barn in apple-picking country that just happens to be for sale. Instead of "dropping everything and starting over" as you might expect from the book's byline, they continue their demanding jobs as an advertising agent and doctor on Martha Stewart Living, respectively, and drive over 3 hours to work their "farm" on the weekends. The description of the house, the groun...more Josh and Brent already have very busy lives in NYC when they stumble upon a renovated historic mansion with 60 acres and a big red barn in apple-picking country that just happens to be for sale. Instead of "dropping everything and starting over" as you might expect from the book's byline, they continue their demanding jobs as an advertising agent and doctor on Martha Stewart Living, respectively, and drive over 3 hours to work their "farm" on the weekends. The description of the house, the grounds, local characters, dead flies, and three baby goats dropping out of their Nubian mama are rich and pretty funny. The essential ghost town of Sharon Springs sounds like the kind of place I would love to explore and I can relate to Josh's passion to get into the dirt and make things grow. But I found myself getting depressed as they continued to commute back and force, predictably spreading themselves too thin and letting the stress almost destroy their relationship. This is also the kind of memoir that leaves huge gaps in sequence; they go from tilling up a garden bed to serving a completely Beekman Farm grown Thanksgiving dinner that would rival Martha Stewart's. I'm assuming that they ended up OK since I discovered on their website that they have a show on Planet Green called The Beekman Boys but the book chooses to sum everything up in the Epilogue, leaving me to feel like their farm is actually over. The book started out as a really fun memoir and kind of lost it's way for me as their working world fell apart with the recession and the writer seems to try to fit his themes with their reality TV show they are promoting. Josh reflects on many things like aging and relationships, but surprisingly there does not seem to be any realization that the tough financial years could be the best thing that ever happened to them. I guess what really left me feeling unsatisfied was that these guys don't share much of what they have learned about "life" at all and you would think this experience would cause some major life reflection besides wanting to work on this farm. I really want to read that you can have this bucolic life without selling your soul to the workaholic devil. It's a quick read with a really nice Good Thing tip of making a candle votive out of an orange. (less)

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Oct 18, 2010 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I admit that I am a sucker for books in the "farm" genre. If someone leaves behind an urban/suburban existence to try out farming, I want to know about it. But, I am slowly beginning to realize the following: when I buy this type of book, I am providing financial support for someone else's dream and not my own. I should be saving my money for my own farm, right? Instead, I'm a sucker. The authors of these books want us to buy their dreams for them. This author actually writes that in his book! A...more

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Sep 01, 2010 Kathleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, humor, non-fiction, read-in-2010

A former drag queen turned advertising executive and his partner, the doctor on call to comment for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, tire of Manhattan bustle and purchase a weekend place to become gentleman farmers. Hilarity ensues.

There are goats that get diarrhea on their way to a Martha Stewart shoot and evil zombie cluster flies that infest the mansion. The triumphs and tribulations all gardeners experience are magnified when Josh expands his garden plot to nine times its original size. The...more

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Aug 13, 2010 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more 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.)(less)

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Aug 10, 2010 Grady rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the Year's Best Books

What more can be said about THE BUCOLIC PLAGUE that has already been so well stated by all reviewers? Josh Kilmer-Purcell is not only a gifted writer, able to blend beautiful prose with microscopically descriptive situations - both of high comedy and of sensitive insight into the many facets of relationships among human beings (and humans with animals!) - but he is more. He is able to look at the world in which we live from so many vantages that this book could easily...more One of the Year's Best Books

What more can be said about THE BUCOLIC PLAGUE that has already been so well stated by all reviewers? Josh Kilmer-Purcell is not only a gifted writer, able to blend beautiful prose with microscopically descriptive situations - both of high comedy and of sensitive insight into the many facets of relationships among human beings (and humans with animals!) - but he is more. He is able to look at the world in which we live from so many vantages that this book could easily be a study of the NOW in the history of the world!

The topic of Kilmer-Purcell's memoir is one of high romance, not in the physical sense of the term (though underlying much of his writing is as fine a description of the many secrets of what makes a relationship tick), but in the Big Dream sense. As an ad executive he and his significant other, partner Brent Ridge who is a physician now part of the Martha Stewart television family, have been together for 9 years, living the life of overworked Manhattanites, but spending enough time to take annual autumn apple picking journeys outside of the city. During one of these adventures in autumn bliss they come across rundown Sharon Springs and discover Beekman Mansion, a grand old 200 year old home on a farm - in need of repair, but for sale. Of course they fall in love with the village and the mansion and the farm and decide to enhance their lives by buying the quaint bit of nostalgia. They work weekdays in the city, but spend every spare moment of the weekends to restore the farm, the gardens, the trees, the accompanying goats, and their fellow farmer John. The work is intense but exceptionally fulfilling - until an idea they share (making soap out of goat's milk) catches on, especially with Brent's connection on the Martha Stewart show. The farm and mansion become an internet sales success, but amidst the glories they have wrought by following their dreams, Josh and Brent have communication problems exacerbated by the dip in the economy and the concurrent loss of heir jobs. But as the future looks dim the light of friendship and camaraderie of their new home village overcomes a lot and they get a keener view of the value of 'things' versus 'home'.

This book is brimming over with hilarious incidents exceptionally well told by the witty and wise Josh Kilmer-Purcell: some moments with the goats, with New York Times reporters, with the zombie flies, the fellows' first observation of the birth of triplet goats, the preparations of canning, gardening, and party planning are bound to stay in the readers memory long after the book is finished. This is a dazzling bit of writing and a heart-warming story with just exactly the right balance of wit, sarcasm, and warmth that should make it appeal to everyone who's ever pondered a dream. Bravo!

Grady Harp(less)

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Jul 26, 2010 Tattered Cover Book Store rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: a-vib-selection, cathy-l-recommends, jackie-recommends, indie-next-noteables, joe-recommends, staff-recommends

Jackie says:

I am soooooo in love with this book! Josh is an ex-drag queen and writer turned advertising maven, Brent is "Dr Brent" on The Martha Stewart Show. They've been together for almost 10 years and seem to thrive on the big city lifestyle despite their 700 square foot 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. Dreams of leisurely weekends away from the city as gentlemen...more

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Jul 05, 2010 Colin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 afte...more

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Jun 29, 2010 Lora rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, not-kid-books

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 25, 2010 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: home-library

What you need to know about me is that I love to read but reading makes me sleepy. I usually fall asleep after only a couple of pages if I read at night, so the only time I get any appreciable reading in is on my daily train commute, which is really only 15 minutes each way. And I'm a slow reader. It's a testament to the quality of this book that I read it in only a couple of days, and that I stayed up late -- hours beyond when I went to bed, even -- to keep reading it. This book broke the sopor...more

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May 27, 2012 Reid rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As one might expect from the title, an absolutely charming book. Though it has its heartbreaking moments, mostly it is just what it says, the true story of two men (a couple) who after making it (sort of) big in New York City decide on a whim to buy a small farm in upstate New York with a large and historic house on it. Of course, this turns out to be far, far more work than either ever envisioned.

Kilmer-Purcell is witty and honest. He can be catty at times, but is never scathing. He may be a bi...more

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Jun 22, 2011 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I adored every word in this book! While reading it, I wanted to rush over to Sharon Springs, make friends with these guys, and become part of their world, kind of like Ariel in Disney's Little Mermaid. This memoir was light-hearted, funny, sincere, and real, and was reminiscent to me of The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy by Robert Leleux . The Bucolic Plague inspired me to dream my own dreams, evoked nostalgic feelings in me for eras I never lived in, and caused me to stay up until 3 AM because it w...more I adored every word in this book! While reading it, I wanted to rush over to Sharon Springs, make friends with these guys, and become part of their world, kind of like Ariel in Disney's Little Mermaid. This memoir was light-hearted, funny, sincere, and real, and was reminiscent to me of The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy by Robert Leleux . The Bucolic Plague inspired me to dream my own dreams, evoked nostalgic feelings in me for eras I never lived in, and caused me to stay up until 3 AM because it was just so good I couldn't put it down.

This book had me from the beginning, goats, diarrhea, and all. The moment Josh stuck his head out the window because he couldn't breathe, I knew I was in for a good book. The zombie flies, the paralyzing panic in Martha Stewart's kitchen, all these things and more made me laugh right out loud. The part where Josh realizes that eventually Brent is going to have to find out about the 88 goats in the barn is so something that I would do and feel. I would do something like that, and then be like, uh-oh, now I have to tell my husband? Eek! I did have to skip the scene where he slaughtered his turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, especially once he related that the turkey went with ease and calm under his arm, trusting and secure. So for anyone who is squeamish about animal death scenes, be forewarned!

But this book was not just about good times- in fact, this book illustrates how you should never take anything at face value. On the surface, Josh and Brent lived a utopian, idyllic life. For a while, at least. Then in the pursuit of perfection, they lost the sense of authenticity, the simplicity of what they were doing, and worst of all who they were together. The very traits that they loved in each other became traits they despised. I found myself wanting them to know that this was happening, to calm down, appreciate what they have, realize that it does not all have to be impeccable, Martha standard perfection. Eventually, after Josh left for work without telling Brent he loved him, they realized that the most important thing they had was each other. They seem to have it together, and I hope they do.

And anytime they want to invite me to dinner and to play with their goats, I am available. Just saying.

Review originally at http://quixoticmagpie.blogspot.com/20....(less)

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Mar 31, 2011 Carin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir

Memoirs of course are my thing. And while I do like memoirs about tragedy and difficulties, I like to intersperse them with more light memoirs with humor and less angst. The Bucolic Plague fit that perfectly.

Josh and his partner Brent drive by a mansion/farm in way upstate New York and fall in love with it immediately. They start going out every weekend to their country house, gardening, raising goats, and canning vegetables. But through the influence of Martha Stewart (Brent's boss), their own...more Memoirs of course are my thing. And while I do like memoirs about tragedy and difficulties, I like to intersperse them with more light memoirs with humor and less angst. The Bucolic Plague fit that perfectly.

Josh and his partner Brent drive by a mansion/farm in way upstate New York and fall in love with it immediately. They start going out every weekend to their country house, gardening, raising goats, and canning vegetables. But through the influence of Martha Stewart (Brent's boss), their own aspirations, and a slight perfectionist streak, what once was a fun hobby turns into a more-than-full-time job, and very unenjoyable and never-quite-perfect. Their dream starts to rip them apart. Wanting to live in the country full-time and be their own bosses, they start up a website and selling goat's milk soap. Successful from the start, they begin to help revitalizing the whole town, but it is overwhelming, doesn't bring in enough money for them to quit their jobs in New York City, and it gets to be just too much. Then the economy tanks.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kilmer-Purcell is very funny. A former drag queen, he is the "sparkle" in most situations. Their neighbors are fun, open, and accepting. The goats are endearing and adorable. The problems Josh and Brent go through are both relatable by anyone who's ever been in a long-term relationship, and heart-breaking as you really get to feel like Josh and Brent are your friends and you don't want them to break up. Initially it can be a little hard to sympathize with the successful advertising executive and the successful doctor on Martha Stewart's TV show who can afford to buy a million dollar mansion on the spur of the moment, but the economy kicks their feet out from under them just like it has done for so many of us, and they end up treading water to stay afloat too.

This book is perfect for anyone who's ever wanted to escape the rat race and move to the country. It's also perfect for those of us who would never want to do that - but love to hear about it from someone else. Well-written and humorous and escapist and personal, I enjoyed it immensely.(less)

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Aug 15, 2010 Linda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I expected this to be a light and somewhat frivolous read. I picked it soley because it was about purchasing a rural mansion that was only a mile or so away from the farm I grew up on and drove past every day on my way to school - at a time when the mansion had been neglected for decades. I was pleasantly surprised to find it an easy and facinating read. Then I was equally surprised when the story about the relationship between the two guys, and their efforts to keep the mansion as the economy a...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Daniél Minton rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this book! For one thing, I'm sucker for a story about city people taking on homesteading. And this story, being about an ex-drag queen ad agent and an MD who works for the Martha Stewart enterprise who live in Manhattan then buy an abandoned mansion in the middle of nowhere on a whim, is particularly unique. There's always humor in the amateur farmer situation, especially when animals are involved. For instance, when Josh and Brent took their first trip out to the existing chicken coop...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Nick Duretta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a sweet tale of a citified gay male couple who buy an ancient mansion, complete with small farm, in upstate New York, to live out a childhood dream of getting back to nature and a simpler life. Trouble is, the expense of it all requires that they keep their city jobs, so for a year they shuttle back and forth, not only raising goats and tomatoes but starting an online soap business that flourishes after being featured prominently on Martha Stewart's TV show. One suspects that this book i...more

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About Josh Kilmer-Purcell

Josh Kilmer-Purcell is the New York Times best-selling author of I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir (Harper Perennial 2006), The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers (Harper 2010), and the novel Candy Everybody Wants (Harper Perennial 2008). He and his partner, Brent Ridge, are also the stars of Planet Green's The Fabulous Beekman Boys. Kilmer-Purcell writes a monthly c...more

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The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook: 100 Delicious Heritage Recipes from the Farm and Garden

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“For even more “sizzle,” instead of simply leading the goats out to graze as we usually did, I raced out in front of them, hollering an improvisational goat call that made me sound like a yodeling hillbilly. I turned back toward the barn and aw that the goats had stayed back, huddled together in fear in the barn doorway. They obviously preferred to skip dinner rather than get too close to the retard scarecrow suffering a grand mal seizure.

~The Bocolic Plauge, by Josh Kilmer-Purcell (2010), P. 214-215” — 2 people liked it

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