This Cider Still Tastes Funny
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Here’s a short review for a book of short tales.
This Cider Still Tastes Funny is retired Game Warden John Ford’s second book of anecdotes/essays/tales from his years in the warden service. If you’ve ever seen North Woods Law - or spent any time perusing the local news sections during deer season - you have some idea of what Ford’s stories are like.
He tells them with a folksy slant, including exaggerated metaphors like “as we shot down the dusty road like a couple of bullets chasing each other.” The constant appearances of these metaphors can seem grating or slow down the reading, but they add to the overall mood of the book - that of old-timey, rural Maine, where stories do frequently take a while to tell - especially when they’re about hunting or fishing.
The book does get repetitive after a few stories, but if you’re looking for an easy-to-read, light paperback to keep upta camp to flip through for a laugh, it’s the perfect choice. People from Waldo County will especially enjoy perusing the anecdotes - and might recognize a tale or two if they’ve been around the area long enough.
TL;DR: A light book full of easy-to-read, somewhat nostalgic anecdotes. Fun to peruse and an interesting glimpse into life in rural Maine in the not-so-distant past.