The Land of Little Rain

The Land of Little Rain - Mary Austin

I stumbled upon this book on a website where I was searching for another book that was referenced on the Thomas Jefferson Hour.

This is another turn of the century woman writer and it's interesting that there was something about this era where certain ahead of their time women like Helen Hunt Jackson, Pearl Buck, Mary Austin, etc. were able to showcase their work. 

Lyrical, poetic, whimsical, and yet somehow scientific. I was intrigued by her observations but I soon tired of them towards the end, finding myself more curious about the writer herself than about her nature observations. I think I will request her biography next.

She lived in the Owens Valley which is east of Kern County on the eastern side of the Sierras. She makes some pithy little profiles about characters (both animal, plant, and people) that she encounters in this arid land: prospectors, buzzards, Paiutes, Shoshone, coyotes, etc. They are short essays about different topics. She has a dry humor and it was an enjoyable book. 

Of course I want to explore the Owens Valley. Some of my family members have camped at Alabama hills which is in the area. Perhaps I will make a literary tourism pilgrimage to Mary Austin's home and imagine her roaming around and contemplating. 

https://www.noehill.com/inyo/cal0229.asp