THE ROLLING PIN

Those who liked the stories Uncle Fritz told in It Was All Very Strange (1953, p. 479) will appreciate a second installment, but for our money they still trip themselves by making too much of an effort to be funny. This time the stories are all connected with Uncle Fritz' search for a family heirloom, a stickpin that had been given him by an aunt. When the stickpin disappears, the fantasy of queer characters and animate objects plays itself out- as Uncle Fritz meets up with a travelling park bench, a talking frog, a hobo banker and so forth. It could be read at bedtime- a chapter a night- but heavy handed improbabilities drown what they are meant to spoof and are without the grace that could cultivate a good sense of humor.