At first sight, another ''year-of'' book sprinkled with recipes sounds distinctly uninspiring but this one is an absolute delight, thanks to Hallinan's writing style.
Hallinan and her husband, Jason, live with their young son on a 20ha property at the foot of the Hunua Ranges, southeast of Auckland.
On this small property, the couple have a handful of sheep and cattle, chooks, ducks, cats and dogs, plus a large garden. The glamorous Hallinan swapped her fabulous high-heeled shoes with flower trim for gumboots and a Swanndri, something her Auckland friends might have found puzzling, but she came from a farm, hence the book's title.
You have to love her account of growing 200 gladioli and panicking in case she couldn't sell them at Clevedon market, in which case the house would end up either looking like a florist shop or Dame Edna's boudoir. Fortunately, she sold the lot - they look really good in the photos - and blew her profits on edible goodies, including a side of smoked salmon.
She is honest about disasters, like the day the cows trampled the strawberries and knocked over fruit trees.
''At these times, I crave my single days and old city ways,'' she admits. Overall the successes well outweigh the failures, yet knowing she is not perfect will win Hallinan even more fans.
It's just a pity that the publishers didn't see fit to print Back to the Land on better paper. It really deserved it.
Gillian Vine is a Dunedin garden writer.
