Book Review: Wendell Berry, “Whitefoot: A Story from the Center of the World”

Dec 22, 08 • In Books

Wendell Berry – Whitefoot: A Story from the Center of the World (2009, Counterpoint) purchase this book (Amazon) This is a beautiful little book, and the calmest, gentlest illustrated short story about a mouse fighting for its life against a terrible flood that you are ever likely to read. That should come as no surprise to longtime fans and followers of Berry’s prolific output, which reflects the pride and commitment to tradition of his agrarian lifestyle. In his nonfiction work, Berry has argued for the merits of a philosophy he calls “solving for pattern,” which is a fancy way of saying that you should try to solve as many problems as possible at once – and do so in such a way as to minimize the likelihood of additional problems. It’s sort of a mouthful,