The Mammoth Cheese: A Novel

by Sheri Holman

With The Mammoth Cheese, Holman delivers a sharp, contemporary story steeped in history that will captivate a new audience while gratifying readers of her acclaimed earlier work, The Dress Lodger. Beautifully crafted and driven by warm, vibrant characters, The Mammoth Cheese follows the residents of rural Three Chimneys, Virginia, on their historic journey to re-create the making of the original Thomas Jefferson-era, 1,235-pound "Mammoth Cheese." As the book opens, the town is joyously celebrating the birth of the Frank Eleven (eleven babies simultaneously born to Manda and James Frank after fertility treatments) and enjoying the thrill of notoriety as reform-minded presidential hopeful Adams Brooke visits the newborns. But as autumn progresses and the babies start to die, the community seeks to redeem itself through the making and transporting of a symbolic Mammoth Cheese to Washington, as a gift for the newly elected President Brooke. Sheri Holman seamlessly weaves together the lives of Three Chimneys, delving into her characters' inescapable family histories as they grapple with religion, divorce, politics, and unrequited love. The Mammoth Cheese is a triumphant exploration of the burdens and joys of rural America and the debts we owe to history, our parents, and ourselves.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Family, Novels, Book Club

592 pages, Hardcover

First published July 5, 2003

About the author

Sheri Holman graduated from The College of William and Mary in 1988, mastering in Theatre. From there, she became an assistant to a literary agent. In that time, she began to write her first novel, A Stolen Tongue. It was published in 1996. She then went on to write "The Dress Lodger," which was published in 1999. Sheri Holman also wrote "Sondok, Princess of the Moon and Stars," which was published in 2002; and "Mammoth Cheese," which published in 2003. Sheri Holman now lives in Brooklyn, New York with her family.

Reviews

[Terence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheri Holman is becoming one of my favorite authors. The Mammoth Cheese wasn't as much fun to read as my first exposure to Holman - The Dress Lodger - but I still enjoyed it a lot, and Holman continues to create believably quirky characters and believably "mostly happy" endings. As I've mentioned in other contexts, I am drawn toward stories where the protagonists are constantly talking past each other yet - somehow - manage to cope with all that life throws at them and come through in the end.

In The Mammoth Cheese, Holman focuses on the lives of five characters: Margaret Pritchett, whose dairy farm is rapidly sliding into bankruptcy; her daughter, Polly, a precocious 13-year-old who has an unhealthy crush on her History teacher, Mr. Marsh; August Vaughn, whose crush on Margaret is less objectionable than Polly's but is ruining his life; Leland Vaughn, August's father and preacher, who is having a crisis of conscience; and Manda Frank, whose 11-baby pregnancy briefly puts Three Chimneys, Va., on the map.

The closest Holman comes to a "bad guy" in this novel is Mr. Marsh. He first appears as one of those rebellious, inspiring teachers that can fundamentally change his students' lives but it's all a cover for the fact that he's a serial pedophile. And, yes, he can change his students' lives but not for the better. Otherwise, the story is driven by everyone's attempts to make some sort of sense and meaning out of their lives, and I had a good time finding out how they did it.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read a review that compared the plot of this book to the Mississippi River and I have to agree - not only does it pick up and drag along everything it encounters, it's S-L-O-W. In an attempt to create endearingly quirky characters, there are too many side plots and unresolved irrelevant issues, and most of the characters are unlikeable, not endearing. Far too much time is spent focusing on the teen-aged daughter's crush on her middle school history teacher. The only reason I gave this book two stars instead of one is because I enjoyed her previous novel, The Dress Lodger, and Holman writes well. This title is just one more in a long line of books that would have been greatly improved by a good editor.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't care for her selling the calves for veal and killing the dog. It had potential but I don't know what happened. Didn't care for it so I'm moving on.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would agree that this book can be compared to the Mississippi River-- that is majestic and rich with history. I loved the complex and nuanced characters, and all of the historical detail. I'm an absolute sucker for this kind of book. I am going to run out, find all of Sheri Holman's other books and read them immediately.

[Discoverylover · Rating 3 out of 5]

Left at the OBCZ at Martha's Pantry unregistered, so I'm registering it and will re-release it, possibly reading it first ;)

"When Manda Frank gives birth to an astonishing eleven babies, the world descends on her home town of Three Chimneys, Virginia. Beneath the intense media spotlight the town begins to give up it's long-held secrets: from unrequited love to more dangerous and subversive passions. Meanwhile, cheesemaker Margaret Prickett decides to highlight the plight of the rural community by creating 'The Mammoth Cheese' - a 1235 pound wheel of Cheshire which she plans to parade all the way to Washington - while failing to notice the plight of her own teenage daughter Polly, who is caught up in the dangerous romance of rebellion, and veering precariously towards tragedy..."

I finally finished this waiting for my colleague to arrive because I haven't learnt how to change a flat tyre on a car - go figure I'd get one alone in the middle of nowhere on a Friday night! But anyway, the book!

It was interesting, to say the least! The focus of the book wasn't so much on Manda Frank (who gave birth to an incredible 11 babies!), but more on a few select members of the Three Chimneys community - the pastor (Leland), his wife (Mrs. Vaugn - how can I have forgotten her name!) and son (August), and a cheesemaker (Margaret) and her daughter (Polly), who are all in fairly close contact with Manda and her family.

The book follows Margaret and her financial trouble trying to run a dairy farm to make cheese. She is extremely passionate about a politician, who has promised if he gets elected to give farmers amnesty on their debt. She works fervently to get him elected, and fails to notice that her daughter is falling off the rails, and that she has feelings for someone right under her nose....(danged spoilers!).

I'm going to send this to Skyring to release in Amsterdam in April - I hope whoever picks it up enjoys it (and if you're at the convention I'm SOOOOOOOO incredibly jealous!)

[Jo Ann Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I probably wouldn't have purchased this book based on the blurb or other reviews, I'm glad my previous time with Sheri Holman (The Dress Lodger) convinced me to give it a try.

I have to smile to myself when I envision this author sitting down at her computer and emailing an editor, "For my next book, I have in mind a subtle story about cheese, Thomas Jefferson's principles, and the darker side of a teenage crush." However, the story works, in great part because the characters are well-developed and believable. In fact, had the characters not been so interesting and credible, I would have quit early in the book. It is slow-moving because Holman is trying to say a lot here--it probably can't be helped when one is trying to tie these unlikely elements together.

[Jamie Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quirky contemporary fiction set in a small Southern town which has become the center of a media circus following the birth of eleven babies to a local woman. (This was written before the Octomom spectacle.)

That poor woman’s story is interwoven with several others, including that of an indebted small dairy farmer who desperately needs a government bailout, and the farmer’s typically self-centered teenage daughter who’s in love with her reprehensible history teacher.

The original Mammoth Cheese was a gift presented to President Thomas Jefferson in 1802; in this story, the dairy farmer is talked into creating another giant cheese as a publicity stunt. Jefferson serves as recurring theme in the book. One character is a Jefferson reenactor, and the history teacher uses some of Jefferson’s wackier ideas to try to inspire his middle-school students to rebel against authority.

The pacing is slow (we don’t get around to the giant cheese until the latter half of the book), but it suited me. I like Holman’s writing and her characterizations. The story isn’t exactly heartwarming, but neither is it utterly bleak, which also suited me. I was not entirely satisfied with the resolution of all of the storylines, but overall I really enjoyed the book, and I look forward to reading more from Holman. I’d rate this one below The Dress Lodger, but above A Stolen Tongue.

[Val · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the original mammoth cheese presented to Jefferson by the townsfolk of Cheshire, Massachusetts, in 1802: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshir...
(Note: It was a cheese from Cheshire, Massachusetts, not a cheshire cheese. It was also not mammoth cheese, which was theoretically possible, if brave ice-age milkmaids had managed to milk the mammoths.)
Some residents of the fictional town of Three Chimneys, Virginia, want to recreate the event. There appears to be only one resident who keeps dairy cows, so if they followed the spirit of the original it would be a miniscule cheese. They don't, although they do talk about Jefferson a lot. The cheese is a publicity stunt.
There is a woman in the town who has had fertility treatment and a multiple birth. She didn't do it as a publicity stunt, but it is turned into a media circus which turns sour, like spoiled cheese.
There is also a rather tasteless story about a teacher, who would have preferred less publicity.
This novel is a situational comedy, with some fairly ordinary people put in some fairly unusual situations. Some of these unfold in an amusing way, but on the whole the book is too big and too cheesy. It is also shows the lack of a copy editor to correct the grammar, vocabulary and factual errors.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

An attempt at a great American novel, this book is predictable and rife with common themes that develop and play out in a generally predictable way. I've resigned myself to boring movie plots but a novel shouldn't have to worry about the special effects budget or overly-complicated plotlines.
Yet.
This book is very readable, with fairly fleshed-out characters and authentic details that keep the reader from skimming. The lame portrait of a small town facing modernity improves with looks at dairy farms, history, politicking. The genre must include the wild drawn-out ending, but at least the threat of a cheese death sets it apart. It's not a book that I would whole-heartedly recommend (as in, I loved it, woo!) but it's a nice quick read suitable for the beach or airplane.

[Marvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover made it sound like a wonderfully goofy story, but in fact it's a pretty conventional--and largely disappointing--domestic drama. The characters--particularly the divorced mother, her 13-year-old daughter, and her farmhand (a Thomas Jefferson reenactor)--are appealing, but she puts them in some awkwardly drawn settings, and I didn't understand the function of the secondary story about the birth of 11 babies to a neighbor of the main characters.

[Charlotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the charcters in this book pretty unlikeable. "I want to run my farm unprofitably and hopefully someone will come and give me money so it doesn't fail." Although in the end she does decide to fix things herself. The underlying paradigms in the book was just very different from my own ,so it was hard to get into the book.

[Heather Clawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of those books that you read and you're pretty positive that there's some other deeper meaning you're supposed to get out of it, but the author has kind of muddled you with unecessary story lines so you can't quite grasp it.

[Permanently_Booked · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subplots upon subplots with each ending in a generic and cliche way. Topics ranging from teenage crushes on teachers to a mother giving birth to eleven babies. Politics and the church and a 1200 pound cheese. Overall it's not your classic great American novel nor is it full of feel good vibes. It's life in a generic and raw form, showing the characters at their most vulnerable and hardest points of their lives.

Animal cruelty, child and adult sexual situations and what I would label as post partum are prevalent in this novel.

[Raully · Rating 5 out of 5]

There aren’t many books with the Episcopalian faith at the center of it that are both true to that faith and literary. But this manages it. It perfectly captures the struggle between tradition and a tradition of revolution, fidelity and the Southern faith, and Christian vision and political reality. The world is always already inventing itself from the past. This book captures that perfectly. Not from the perspective of an ivory tower but from the viewpoint of average American citizens who decide (for a myriad of reasons) to reenact the Mammoth Cheese of 1801.

[Kaion · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mammoth Cheese is a good illustration of an ambitious mess being more interesting than a safe success. Say what I will about the somewhat long and meandering narrative, Sheri Holman, at the very least, never bores me!

In the backdrop of rural Three Chimneys, Virginia, Sheri Holman tackles no less than (and in no particular order): politics and media, the value and drawbacks of tradition and community, and the meaning of "rebellion" in everyday contemporary American life. These themes emerge from a many plot threads concerning various residents of the town, involving, at various points: fertility-drug-induced multiple births, Jefferson impersonators, the Civil War legacy of the South, the 'organic' movement, and cows.

Lots of cows. This is a good thing, actually, as Holman's got a great sense of place and fitting her characters to their place. I definitely felt like I knew intimately the ins and outs of independent dairy farming and small-town pastor brownnosing and-- and more simply summarized the burdens of living in a community where tradition is so fatalistic. Her many characters are excellently drawn individually (and I note a particular skill with developing insidiously repellant villains), though she struggles somewhat when they interact.

As in The Dress Lodger, Holman's most obvious weakness is the jarring tonal clashes that result when her plot threads finally collide. At these moments of conflict, her authorial voice often slips--here, Margaret's ideals of clean living sometimes become tract rather than commentary-- or the drama of the moment overwhelms logical plot progression (especially noticeable away from the Dickensenian sensibility of Dress Lodger). Yet despite these flaws, the ambition of Holman's undertaking is at times breathlessly exciting, and her patience pace yields moments of real dividends. I'll definitely by following what Holman writes next. Rating: 3 stars

[Marilyn Saul · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well...I stuck with it. I was determined, despite many negative reviews, to give this book a fair reading. Holman had a bone to pick with fertility drugs and she made her point. But that wasn't the core of this book, which, sadly, just ended up being individuals who, though I started out liking, ended up being singularly unlikable, with August being the single exception. A protestant Priest obsessed with himself and giving out singularly bad advice to people in his role as pastor, advice that benefits only his own self importance in his view as himself as the center of the universe. A strong woman (whom I originally admired) who hasn't the parenting skills of a slug and raises her daughter in a prison designed only to further the mother's self obsession in the guise of protecting her daughter from the world. Then there's poor Manda, talked into taking fertility drugs because her idiot, worthless husband wants a son, and then talked into keeping all eleven embryos at the risk of bearing all eleven damaged rather than saving some to become wholesome survivors; never a thought by anyone of how horrible this is for her own body and spirit, how thoughtless to manufacture through drugs a passel of damaged infants, all the time spouting "God's will" when it is really just modern medicine playing god and the pastor hoping to put their small town on the map and claim fame and fortune. I made it through about 300 pages before I started hating everyone (but August); then did a lot of skipping through way-too-long passages of sermons by the despicable pastor, and Thomas Jefferson quotes and analysis (enough already), finishing, finally, thank goodness, the last 150 pages. I'll pay attention to the other reviewers next time, especially those who said the book is way too long. Oh, my....it is WAY too long!

[bup · Rating 5 out of 5]

Partly I miss Virginia, so this book by somebody who really knows her through and through was a welcome drink of water.

The characterizations are wonderfully vivid. In fact, I realized part of the way through, when I was having trouble getting through parts, it wasn't that I didn't like the book, or the careful, observant, dry-humored writing, it's that I detested some of the characters. On purpose, of course. Books aren't interesting if everyone's an angel.

Nobody in this book is perfect. One character comes close.

If you love Virginia, you'll love this book. If you like Thomas Jefferson, you'll love this book. If you simply appreciate somebody who writes what they know, you'll love this book.

If Sheri Holman reads this, I apologize for the following, but I'm obsessive, and some stuff I could not get past:
-Rhode Island does not have 2 electoral votes. I know vote distribution changes with every census, but no state will ever have 2 electoral votes.
-The Federalist Papers were written and published in 1787 and 1788, not 1786. I'm reading them now. They couldn't have been written before the constitutional convention.
-Comets are not one-night events.
-You said 'spared' once when you meant 'sacrificed.' 'Spare one cow for the sake of the herd' doesn't make sense.

All this happened within one or two chapters around chapter 10, so I blame the editor around those parts.

I hope you write more books like this. This is like reading someone's soul.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't hesitate to snatch The Mammoth Cheese off the shelf of an indy bookstore in Portsmouth, NH. I'd recently begun another of Holman's novels, The Dress Lodger, and admired it, but had stalled out due to its extraordinarily high ick factor (unusual for me -- see my review of that book). Still, Holman's storytelling interested me enough to grab this one without a second thought. A novel about the forging of an epic artisanal cheese? Featuring a character who is a Thomas Jefferson reenactor?? Could I pass up a novel featuring two things I love, cheese and my friend Steve's career as (yourthomasjefferson.com)? Of course not.

I flew through this rich, enjoyable novel, thanks to Holman's talent for building character and the tension she created between wry, believable comedy and fairly tragic (but still believable) lousy circumstances. All in all it was an excellent read, although the novel's conclusion disappointed mildly. I won't spoil it for readers, but I will contend that just about any resolution of this plot was bound to disappoint. After all, how exactly does one resolve a narrative about one giant cheese created in tribute to a previous giant cheese? There's just no fitting close. Still, the novel is worthy and I highly recommend it.

[Heather Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as being about the abuse of power. It takes as its victims the emotionally fragile, and its aggressors are those in power: teachers, preachers, politicians. It's the story of a cheesemaker and Nth generation dairy farmer in rural Virginia. She backs a politician because of his farm-friendly platform and pledges to make him a "Mammoth Cheese," as the people of Massachusetts once did for Thomas Jefferson. While she is caught up in her task, her teenage daughter develops a crush on a schoolteacher who has less-than-admirable intentions in teaching her about rebellion. Meanwhile, another woman in the town gives birth to 11 children after her pastor convinces her not to selectively abort any of them, and is left, with her husband and young daughter, to deal with the effects.

It's a good story, engaging. Holman is clever, and never lets you too far into the head of the teacher, the most vile — and unrepentant — of the abusers. But it's a device and, given the teachers leftist leanings, maybe one to counterbalance the obvious parallels to recent political policy. If you can't et inside their heads, you can't sympathize with them.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book for several reasons. For the most part, I found that even though this is somewhat "lighter" fiction, it still resonated with a lot of very revelant truths.
1) It had more believable characters than most. Their personalities were very consistent, with the book revealing how single character traits can have both good and bad sides to them- just as human beings are in reality.
2) The characters' struggles were very, very revelant to life as it is today. Especially as it deals with politics and how individuals are supposed to pick, vote for, & support an individual based on his public persona alone - and no one really knows what they are truly made of underneath.
3) There are certain timeless "relationship" problems that everyone goes through. Almost the entire cast has personal problems that one can identify with if one is at least in their 30's. I would think for younger readers (or readers that have never had to really struggle financially), they may not be able to really connect with a lot of the issues.
4) For readers that do not appreciate history, I imagine this book would be boring in parts.

[Diana E. Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up at a Book Exchange and took a gamble on it since it was a hard-cover book without the slip cover to give any information on what the book was about. It turned out to be a disappointment, but I managed to get through it to the end.

Fortunately, the 2nd half had more substance, but it wasn’t enough to save this book. It is a discombobulated story about a woman who delivered 11 children after fertility drugs. Add in a woman who is about to lose her farm and along the way discovers that the man she has taken for granted for 13 years may be more than a friend. Top this off with a new President being elected and the community deciding to reenact delivering a “mammoth cheese” to him. Too absurd to really explain.

Would give this book a miss!

Diana Young- World Traveler – currently sailing in the South Pacific for six month and #1 Amazon Best-selling author of Financial Fitness for Beginners.

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

So here are some of the plot ingredients of this novel: a 1200-lb block of cheese to be delivered to the President of the United States, a 13-year old girl who is insufferably self-important and melodramatic, a farm hand who reenacts the role of the historical Thomas Jefferson, a school teacher whose radical father had to escape to Canada during the 60s and who himself has secrets to hide, and a woman who gives birth to 11 children at one time(!!!)--to me these are the promising makings of a good comic novel or absurdist tale in the spirit of, oh I don't know, Catch-22 or something. But noooooooooo! Instead you get an almost 500-page behemoth of a novel that attempts to be serious, almost as though the novel were written by Polly (the afore-mentioned 13-year-old) herself. Yes, this novel needed to be half as long and twice as funny. As it is, it is merely cheesy, and we all know how cheese smells.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

his is a very nice read! I enjoyed the setting of a dairy farm in rural Virginia very much for this book. A woman who farms and milks Jersey cows, for her own cheese production and sales faces econonmic difficulties, in today's day and age. With love, tragedy, adventure, and a bit of history all together in a very good read. The author did a great deal of research for the setting of this book, but in light, I still thought it was a bit unrealistic, that anyone can support themselves and family on a dairy farm that only sells cheese. Not sure how this would be economically feasible. I guess that is why the farm was in financial distress??? and who, what and why would any farmer milk their cows by hand now in this time, unless you were Amish, and even then some have milking machines?
I think the author could have done a bit better dairy farm research. Just pulling an udder or two does not cut it for this book.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Mammoth Cheese came as a loaned book from my male co-worker, which now somewhat suprises me since this book is more than definitely a 'female sort-of' novel.
The storyline of this novel is somewhat fresh and original, however I felt as though the character development lacked and therefore the story did not evolve as successfully as it could have. The author writes to a specific demographic and culture, this book would be well received by middle aged women in the south and southern mid-west. I read several comparison of this author to Barbara Kingsolver, which I didn't find particularly correct. There is a sense of attachment to Kingsolver's characters and plot that I didn't find here.

I would not be pressed to pass this book along, it was a good lengthy read, but when I finished it, I just felt ho...hum and indifferent.

[Maria]

I love quirky stories and learning something new - this fits the bill. Set in Rural Virginia, it weaves in modern issues like multiple births/infertility treatments, a presidential election, the loss of the family farm, a creepy teacher, a Thomas Jefferson impersonator and artisanal cheese. The main characters decide to recreate the Mammoth Cheese, a 1,235 pound wheel of cheddar given to Thomas Jefferson on his inauguration in 1801. The town pulls together to create their own cheese and to bring it to the inauguration. Some nice VA history (without overkill) and some heart-wrenching characters.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received this as a birthday present, not something I would've necessarily picked-out for myself. But, once I started reading it, I know why I got it as a gift. It's set (primarily) in a small Virginia town that is just oozing with history. It's practically littered with Thomas Jefferson trivia. (In fact, it includes a Jefferson impersonator as a main character.) And, of course, it's full of CHEESE. How could one go wrong with that combo?

Seriously, though, the novel does have some heavy themes to offset the quirkiness. Guess the two kinda go hand-in-hand when it comes to the Southern Gothic genre . . .

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed Holman's previous book, The Dress Lodger, but this one left me cold. One, it may have the worst title in book history. Two, it has a creepy pedophile male teacher and that IMMEDIATELY makes me dislike a book. And three, it has so many subplots and themes that it becomes unwieldy. It is part political satire, part religious critique, part love story, part coming-of-age story. Too much going on for it to be enjoyable. Characters in this book tend to make lengthy, self-important speeches and that becomes tiresome. Similies and metaphors are used with a heavy hand as well. I wish Holman would have condensed this Mammoth Cheese into smaller, more palatable stories.

[HRS Mullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up at used book store just because of the very odd title. Loved it. It is a gentle political satire with a good heart, with everything a novel needs: a romance, a coming of age story, a moral center, a few deaths, a few laugh out loud situations, and a few breathtakingly beautifully written passages you have to read over again. It reminded me of Thomas Wolfe Bonfire of the Vanities, only taken to politics in rural America.
The author nails the angst of a teenager growing up in Virginia without becoming cloying or tedious. Several odd and surprising characters were well drawn and you learned to love them. I will read another book by this author.

[Ozma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable, well written, well crafted book. There are so many intersecting plot lines. It is like the story behind the painting "American Gothic," the struggles of farming families and towns -- both with current economy problems and the legacy of our founding fathers and whether we live up to it or not. This book has nearly everything -- overwrought romance, multiple births, Thomas Jefferson, a hotly contested presidential election, underage sex, and cheese too! Give it 30 pages to get into it.

[Rajesh Kurup · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Virginian who has been away too long, I really connected with this book. She did a good job portraying the lives of rural Virginians without being patronizing. The constant Jefferson are an added bonus for me.

However, I would reluctantly agree with the reviewers who said that the book was slow. While the little subplots connected themselves in the end, they did tend to drag down the pace of the story.

I would recommend the book to those who are willing to spend time getting to know the many characters and subplots but not to those that are looking for a quick poolside read.