More Spit Than Polish at Tolman Pond

Tolman Pond is a scrawny, dilapidated farm in Nelson, N.H., that has survived by exchanging livestock for human beings: the farm is now a boardinghouse run by ""Ma'' Tolman, a mountainous, immobile figure who brandishes her kitchen spoon and stands sovereign in the surrounding chaos. These are astoundingly innocent anecdotes about life at Tolman Pond, and humor and characterization rely heavily on hyperbole and can be as tired as old vaudeville; yet the effect is pleasing, if only for the niceness of it all. There are kitchen stories, dog stories, and the focus of this book is on the bevy of curious and eccentric characters who populate this weedy household. Herein lies many an uproarious scene. (August)