Very enjoyable novel set in small town USA that could be 50 years ago, so it is often a surprise when they mention something from the present, webcams, PCs etc. The book is about growing up, family, community and farming and possibly other issues and it deals with these seriously and well, but is not an ernest and preaching sort of a book. It has a homespun, apple pie sort of atmosphere to it. It is well put together and gets across some of the difficulties of life for the poor in rural areas fairly well. ( )

The Mammoth Cheese is full of surprises. I expected a light funny read, but this book is chock full of people with common problems and a few not so common. There are many stories taking place in the novel and they all twine together nicely.

In the small town of Three Chimneys, Virginia, Margaret Prickett is a single mom to 13 year old Polly. Margaret is trying desperately to keep the family dairy farm afloat. Threatened with foreclosure, she puts all her hopes and energy into electing Adams Brooke president. Brooke’s campaign promise of forgiving the debts of all family farms keeps Margaret going through a very challenging year. She tends the farm, makes cheese, raises Polly and works tirelessly on Brooke’s campaign.

Meanwhile, her neighbor, Manda Franks, has just given birth to 11 babies. You didn’t misread that. Eleven. The town – and the whole country – have gone into typical media frenzy over the births. The only person seemingly not thrilled by this historical event is Manda (and the nutcases who write threatening letters).

Many other characters and minor stories enter into play. August Vaughn has worked on Margaret’s dairy farm for many years. He’s been in love with her since they were teenagers, but she’s clueless. August still lives with his parents, the Reverend Leland Vaughn and Evelyn, and he travels around the region portraying his hero, Thomas Jefferson.

Some characters are just despicable; Holman may have gone a little overboard with her portrayal of Polly’s father Francis and of Patrick Lewis, the local weatherman-turned-feature reporter. Mr. March, Polly’s history teacher, is the lowest of the low.

There are so many themes running through this book, it could almost make up three or four books – but because Holman weaves it all together so nicely, it didn’t feel overwhelming. Some of the issues include:
--corporate farms vs family farms
--food politics
--coming of age
--the ethics of fertility therapy
--dishonesty in politics
--patriotism
--media responsibility
--strengths and weaknesses of community
--unrequited love
--child sexual abuse

One of the things Holman does so well is depicting setting. I felt damp and dank after reading the description of Leland’s visit to Manda’s after some of the babies come home:

“Manda, could I trouble you for some Tylenol? I have a vicious headache,” said the preacher, wanting to break the depressing spell cast by the wet dogs and the musty food, the unmucked pen and the relentless drizzle. He was getting soaked, and a dull pain was blooming behind his left eye. (snip)This would be the weather in Hell, Pastor Vaughn thought dully. Not an infinite inferno, but one long unsettled day in between seasons, too hot to wear a sweater, too rainy to go without one, a muggy, clammy, oppressive sort of day, when all the world’s sins would stick to a man like dust from the road.

Made me want a shower.

Holman does a great job with her characters (with the exceptions above) and the story, chunky as it could be, really flows. And what is the mammoth cheese? It’s a 1,235 pound block of Margaret’s artisan cheese destined for an unforgettable road trip to Washington D.C. I won’t reveal more – but Holman’s book is not predictable! Recommended. ( )

What attracted me to this book was its title. A book about Cheese? i thumbed thru a few paages & found the writing was great. The introduction, where a woman gives birth to 11 babies seemed a bit much, but once the main characters appeared, Margaret, whoe husband has left her but she is still struggling to run their dairy farm the traditional way, Polly, her teen-age daughter who wants to save the farm, but discovers first love with someone completely unsuitable, & August, the only son of a family of preachers who main pleasure in life is to pose as Thomas Jefferson all of whom live in a small town just outside the political whirl of Washington DC. The story is set in the present, as another reviewer pointed out - it could hardly be more present day, and all of our hopes, pleasures & foibles are present with all their consequences, some unintended but all entertaining. ( )

This book has lots going for it but the cover isn't one of them. It is ugly. This book is full of details about cows, cheese making, and small towns. It was also very prescient. I read it just when the economy started going south and diary farmers are in trouble in a big way and selling off their herds for pennies on the dollar, the Octamom had just delivered her eight babies, and their was a populist running for President. It is a story about communities and how they function as much as it is about cheese. This is a nice slow easy gentle read. The central story has well developed characters and is somewhat of a domestic drama. However, that story gets lost in lots of other subplots. The separate plot lines come together at the end but not in an obvious way. This book moves too slowly and could have benefited from some better editing to tighten up the story lines and make them more concise. It is one big messy kind of thing - just like life. ( )

I was thoroughly entertained by this book, a conglomeration of daily grind, humor, horror - a lot like life. It's a coming-of-age story about eighth grader Polly Marvel in love with her history teacher. It's also a coming-of-age for her mother Margaret, divorced and desperately trying to hold on to her family dairy farm. It is the story of Leland Vaughn, the local Episcopal priest, a most persuasive man who finds himself appalled by the outcomes of his persuasion.
Their lives intertwine with others in their small town as everybody in the novel sees what he has given his life to and learns what is ultimately important. ( )