 "Lake Woebegon Days" | 2009-10-11 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1LM32AJXPVNHV |
After reading two reviews which were not as wonderful as I thought they should be, I decided to write my opinion of this book. I've read it twice since it came out some years ago, and it has been my favorite book of all time! I too have been a regular listener to Keillor's radio show.
The thing about the book is this: the first 60 pages, I think, set the stage for this book - it gives the history of Lake Woebogon and tells about the descendents of our favorite charactersl Thovaldsens, Bunsens, Diemers, and many others are traced back to their ancestors. Since I was not yet fully acquainted with these families, I found that part of the book rather boring, but now I believe I will re-read those chapters with a new knowledge of the family quirks and traits. As soon as I hit the chapter on "Protestant", which I was reading in the bathtub, I nearly drowned from laughing so hard. From then to the very last word, I could not wait to hurry home from work and cram as much reading as possible into the time until I needed to fix dinner for my family. I just loved the book! I found myself loaning the book then to every friend who had a delicious sense of humor. I picked up every copy of the book at a half-price bookstore to loan to others. Books like this must be shared - they lift the spirits of people and take them out of their work-a-day stressful lives.
Since then I have read every Keillor book I could get my hands on and listened to every CD or tape he has made. Incidentally, another big favorite of mine is The Sandy Bottom Orchestra, an
absolutely delightful book written by Keillor and Jenny Lind Nillson.
I just cannot recommend Lake Woebegon Days enough. |
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 "Yikes" | 2009-06-17 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2UVALBUHC7E2X |
| O.K. maybe I am just not intelligent enough to "get" this book. I enjoy listening to his radio program so I thought I would give this book a go. I was hoping that it would be sort of like my favorite author's work which is Jean Sheppard. I thought that it had all the makings with a funny individual writing a book about how boring it was to grow up in a little weird town. This book disappointed me in many ways. The main disappointment was the complete lack of laughs. Also this book has no rhyme or reason it just goes on and on about how the town came to be with little stories written about random people. I hate to ever blast books on here but I feel that this book just came up short in every way. |
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| "I've read this book three times...." | 2008-06-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1MUTOOOSAUT6A |
| and I find it amazing and amusing every time.The citizenry of the fictional little town of Lake Wobegon and Keillor's brilliantly devised history of the town captivate me with every reading and I always "hear" the narrative in his calm, soothing voice, which to me makes it that much more enjoyable. Garrison Keillor is a storyteller par excellence and an American treasure. |
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| "A Little Town on the Edge of the Prarie" | 2008-03-21 |
| - Reviewed By User: A8GW35S1P8AZJ |
Many people who express frustration with Keillor's writing complain that it simply doesn't "do" anything for them. For me it doesn't have to. In an age when rampant cynicism is en vogue, it is refreshing to be thoroughly amused by something other than hypocrisy or idiocy-- Keillor's prose exposes intertwining threads of small-town life and how they reflect on the human experience.
Anyone that is familiar with Keillor from his radio appearances will be satisfied to learn that his writing reads like he speaks. Its rather hard not to imagine Keillor mumbling each sentence in his low-pitched, calming voice as you read along.
Keillor captures the human imagination so well by juxtaposing the complex (and simple) thoughts of a few people living in a town that values its simplicity and familiarity above all else. Lake Wobegon has all the essential characters: a small café, a grocery, a Catholic church ( Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility), a Lutheran Church, and the Sons of Knute (a Norwegian lodge). As has been noted, in places it reads like a collection of short stories rather than a unified story with a continuous plot.
I still struggle with understanding what makes this book (and Keillor in general) so captivating for me. The best I can do is to say that Keillor maintains reverence for the simple American life while candidly examining the anxieties and aspirations of small-town Americans. Furthermore, even if only for brief spells, Lake Wobegon Days offers and outlet to appreciating the nuances that define our lives.
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| "Not even remotely funny or entertaining" | 2008-02-21 |
| - Reviewed By karmal64 |
Being a Minnesota resident all my life, a paying member of MPR (the irony of which you'll see below) and the product of a family of artists, writers and musicians of many generations (another irony which you'll see below), you think I'd be just as arty and fawning when it comes to Keillor's non-existent humor as the rest of the local artsy-farsty crowd. However, I'm here to tell you that there are a few smug little local Minnesota myths that many self-styled Minnesotans need to experience a sad realization in lieu of:
1) "Minnesota Nice" isn't particularly any nicer than the "niceness" in any other state despite how smugly the anchor people here GUSH(!) about it on KARE 11 and WCCO Channel 4 News or WCCO AM 830 radio. However: MN polite? Sure. MN possibly just might kill you with kindness? Quite possibly. Just try making friends with those same local self-described MN Nice types, and you'll quickly see what I mean. Indeed, many outstate would-be transplants who got the cold shoulder (no pun intended) have instead learned to call it Minnesota Ice, for they described their MN experience as one of loneliness and isolation, and if possible they soon moved elsewhere because of how cliquish it is here.
2)During inclement weather, chances are anyone here who make the observation ("Nice weather, huh.") as their first example of alleged MN dry humor, clearly has little or no understanding of what dry humor actually is. Trust me, whenever many local types encounter the REAL DEAL they kind of go dull in the eyes at best, or think that you're being "negative" at worst. Either way, the recipients of your attempt at suble understated humor will be even be less inclined to act MN Nice.
3)And finally: Garrison Keillor isn't funny. GASP! Sorry folks but it's true. And this book is no exception. Despite all their MFA and liberal arts degrees, the "arty" and "whimsy" types at NPR and elsewhere still can't connect the dots enough to see the glaring and ironic parallel between Keillor's humor and the fable about the Emperor's New Clothes. But then again we're the state famous for that sixties folk singer who never could sing worth a damn, and let's not forget that kooky governor who couldn't work and play well together with others.
Don't get me wrong I love this state excluding its aforementioned smug self-deluded foolishness, and I've some wonderful friends and family here. Art is the one area of human endeavor that is wholly subjective. So if you like Keillor or not you don't owe anyone any justifications. But if you're anything like me, just the sound of Keillor's voice on NPR is enough to make me wince, groan and quickly shut off the radio. And you'd be surprised what some think of him at the Literary Loft Center. I was. It ain't good. |
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| "The lost art of storytelling is still alive and well" | 2007-09-09 |
| - Reviewed By dalet16332 |
| I love oral history. Keillor's stories are like the one's we sometimes have the good fortune to hear while having a cup of coffee with a neighbor while the winter wind whistles outside and the cat is playing with a ball of yarn. Some are so funny that tears come to your eyes. Some are so tender and touching that tears come to your eyes. Keep your hanky handy. |
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