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March 2008—
You will find yourself laughing aloud on every page. Just when you think you have the tone figured out, up comes another twist in the plot, another zany hardscrabbling country character, an oddly sensible malapropism, a crazily meaningful place name. |
Bob Spear
Reviewer, Heartland Reviews: |
Summer 2006—
This is a rollicking good read. Max is always funny, and this book is probably one of his best. We’re talking laugh out loud to draw strange-looks-from-my-wife type of funny. |
Morgan Chilson
Reviewer, fresh fiction: |
Monday, Feb. 6, 2006—
...THE MOON BUTTER ROUTE is a joy! Wally's 12-year-old perspective will take you back to your own childhood, in a way that leaves a funny ache in your stomach. Of course, that ache could just be from laughing so hard. Categorized humorous fiction, I wouldn't take a drink while reading, as you may choke through your laughter. |
Nancy Mehl
Reviewer and Kansas author, Wichita Eagle: |
Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006—
...Readers will be captivated by this rollicking tale about a boy who finds himself stuck in the middle of a community creatively dealing with the trials of Prohibition. He is surrounded by a cast of characters that would keep anyone on their toes.
...The indomitable spirit of the characters in "The Moon Butter Route" and their hysterical adventures make every page a joy. The book gave me an almost terminal case of the giggles.
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Carol Ann Robb
Adult Librarian, Pittsburg Public Library, Pittsburg Morning Sun: |
Sunday, Dec. 18, 2005—
...I'm happy to report that "Moon Butter Route" is a worthy successor to "The Revival." Like "Revival," "Moon Butter Route" has a young boy, Wally Gant, who goes to work for one of the local moon shiners in the small southeast town of Epic (Armageddon is just down the road a bit). The language is sometimes earthy, but the humorous situations are laugh-out-loud funny (what kind of mind comes up with goats on a hearse? Perhaps it's better not to ask). Just pick up the book and read it.
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Laurel Johnson
Reviewer, Midwest Book Review and New Works Review |
Wonderful, delightful book!! Thanks so much for the privilege of reviewing it. —Laurel
The Moon Butter Route
by Max Yoho
ISBN 13 -- 978-0-9708160-4-7
ISBN 10 -- 0-9708160-4-9
194 pages at 12.95 US trade paperback
Dancing Goat Press
3013 SW Quail Creek Rd.
Topeka, KS 66614
I'm pleased to announce that Max Yoho is back. No one writes a humorous story better than this award winning Kansas storyteller, and this coming-of-age tale is written in the finest Yoho style -- immensely entertaining and one-of-a-kind.
Wally Gant is a typical 12-year old growing up in an area of southeast Kansas called "the Little Balkans", a mining area populated by a variety of European immigrants. Wally has a secret summer dream of building a steam boat and heading down the Mississippi to free slaves from the canebreaks of Louisiana. In 1940s America, he isn't certain how many slaves remain but feels there surely must be a few stragglers somewhere. That's a big dream for a boy who narrowly escaped being named Walnut at birth. But fueled by his mother's fried weenies, Wally pursues his dream until another priority takes its place. The local dairy needs help and employs Wally at the astounding wage of fifty cents a week!
The Strang Dairy has developed a lucrative three-prong operation. They deliver milk, cream, moonshine, and a wildly successful product called Moon Butter. That Kansas is a dry state has little effect on sales. A wise man once said, "Kansans will vote dry as long as they can stagger to the polls." That voting record has little to do with their appreciation of good moonshine and addiction to Moon Butter. So Wally learns the dairy business from the inside out. Mr. Strang is "older than God's wheelbarrow" but runs the Moon Butter route efficiently from his ancient delivery truck. Ruby Strang holds the secret to making Moon Butter and guards that secret with her life. With the Strangs as benefactors, Wally soon perfects the art of cussing and is annointed into the bootleg business with honors.
One of Max Yoho's strengths is creating wonderful characters and making them real through his delightful writing style. Wally counts among his friends: Mose Washington, a man whose "abscessed" wooden leg can be cured only by moonshine and Moon Butter; Mew Washington, a voodoo queen whose home is guarded by a gallant watch crow; Booger Red, a big cheese bar owner on the Moon Butter route; a father whose word is law and who keeps his battered Model T running with white lightning; a mother who has laid in enough weenies to feed the entire population of Kansas during wartime; and an albino girlfriend who's tougher than she looks by a darn sight.
I recommend this book with untempered enthusiasm. Yoho's die hard fans will love it and readers who have not discovered him yet have no idea what they're missing. I can't remember when I've been so well-entertained by a book.
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Bill Shaffer
Producer/director public television KTWU, Channel 11, Topeka: |
It is with pride that I point to your latest tome and refer to it as:
another cock-eyed masterpiece!
Like a fine steak or a great wine, your writing deserves to be savored—read twice or three times or more!
I thoroughly enjoyed The Moon Butter Route and look forward to having my own copy. Although the characters were certainly larger than any in real life, they were all so warm and fun, it was very hard to put the darn thing down. |
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