Review - 異世界のんびり農家 / Farming in Another World

I started reading 異世界のんびり農家 in February and after the first 100 pages, knew I wasn't going to enjoy this book.

This is an isekai narrative. A story about a middle-aged man who dies in our world from a long-term illness. He is then reincarnated by a god into a younger, stronger body with all the knowledge he had from his previous life, but in a fantasy world.

From the start god gives him everything he wishes for and keeps persistently asking him if he wants more.

He's given a younger body that will never get sick and a magical hoe that can transform into any farming tool. He's then put into the middle of nowhere and had to create a farm from scratch.

You would think this would be a great premise. Put out into the wilderness, having to fend for himself and working out how farming works from scratch.

But with his tool and new body he doesn't get tired. When he builds fields the next day god fills them with seeds, so he doesn't have to look for them. When he finds he needs help local magical beasts turn up and aid him. Everything is provided to him.

The final straw was when he wants a wife he finds a naked child-looking vampire princess in the woods. He saves her and she goes back to the farm with him to live and becomes his wife? There's barely any dialogue between the characters, nor reasoning as to why she's suddenly his wife.

Then an elf who's looking for the vampire turns up and joins the farm too??? FOR NO REASON!

I must admit I didn't finish this novel.

It was slow and boring. There was little reasoning to anything. There were no challenges for the protagonist to overcome. He was practically handed everything on a silver platter.


I will say that the Japanese is very easy. If you're willing to slog through a slow dialogue this would be a good book for JLPT N3 level learners. It has very simple sentences while also introducing lots of useful vocabulary.

But if you're looking for an isekai narrative that will draw you in. Skip it.

- Jennifer