Ever since writers such as the French philosopher Rousseau and the American writer Thoreau called for a return to nature, pastoral accounts of living with a sometimes idealized nature have held quite a bit of attraction for the urban, civilized reader. Yet Herriot is also a realist, who never loses sight of the hardships and backbreaking efforts such a life can demand. This keeps his books from becoming overly sentimental. His humor which does not shy away from slapstick, follows the tradition of such writers as James Thurber, but it is never bitter or sarcastic.