THE BUCKNOLL COTTAGE CHRONICLES

A New Yorker with a “hankering” for a country cottage buys a five-bedroom house in Pennsylvania on the advice of friends in Lowengard’s memoir.

The hankering that the author had in 2013 had specifications: The house had to be less than a two-hour drive from Bloomingdale’s in Manhattan, small enough to be cleaned with a particular Dyson vacuum cleaner without unplugging, and within short walking distance of tennis courts. The house at “Bucknoll Hills” was much larger than anticipated, but she purchased and moved into it in December. It needed significant maintenance, but she was pleased to have friends and family visit there. However, she eventually wrote up a “contract” outlining house rules, such as “As you enter, please note the gleaming wood floors throughout the cottage….It takes six years for the finish to cure, so please remove your soccer cleats and stilettos before you walk in the door.” The new Bucknoll Hills resident started a yoga class, despite disliking yoga, and learned how to maintain a fireplace. The book’s subtitle references Sex and the City, and many readers will find this fitting, as the prose ably mimics the voice of the fictional character Carrie Bradshaw with a tone that’s jokingly self-seeking, sarcastic, and sometimes punning; the latter is effectively shown in a chapter that’s dedicated to the great abundance of ticks in the region surrounding the cottage: “The uptick in ticks has divided Bucknollers into two schools, the Franticks, and the Apatheticks.” It’s unclear whether the book is intended to inform or entertain, although the latter seems most likely; according to an author’s note, the names of places and people have been changed. Lowengard also offers an account of a night at a Poconos rodeo, a discussion of bumper stickers, and a survey of houseguest games. Also of note is the fact that the book was originally published as a series of “newsletter columns,” or blog posts, and it straightforwardly retains the casual feel of a blog in printed form.

A laid-back, humorous remembrance of a cottage gone by.