Garrison Keillor

My favorite old quirky place, Lake Wobegone.

People there are loveable in spite of themselves, awkward, shy, and a few even have unexpected secrets. Lots are nosey and some find high adventures within the city limits. There the snow dictates the rhythm of all life, where the locals and even the local dogs fall in love with a wayward swan who doesn't fly south. Certainly, there you find just about every decent, sometimes complex, emotion a human being is privileged to experience.

There's lots show more that isn't there. No red hats, no black-masked agents in military gear, no cruel abandonment of seniors, the sick, the poor, and children. And I don't believe they had even one small billionaire among them.

I visited there to recall fondly what Lake Wobegone was like and how it made me feel once upon a time.

How might the fictional town be doing now? Would they still be kind and mostly neighborly, forgiving old hurts, indiscretions, and tools never returned? Wonder if they would welcome their home-grown, the goofy 6ft 3 inch man who invented them, remembered all their names, knew the week's exact weather, and gave each resident or brief visitor the breath of life. Would they welcome that writer and narrator who has had his own serious troubles in the last years? Would he recognize anyone?

Would time in Lake Wobegone have marched on to now be more diverse, more inclusive, even welcoming to outsiders? Would new climate patterns begin to be discussed in earnest by the resident farmers in the back corner at the Chatterbox Cafe?

Or, would all those good, normal, quirky people of the recent past have goose-stepped into 2025 too? show less

I’ve been a big fan of Garrison Keillor for years. I’ve been to three of his live shows, and I read his newsletter each day. I’ve read most of his books, and although many are about his fictional Lake Wobegon, this one is the one that merges fiction and nonfiction the most. He is a character in the book, and, in fact, this book is a part of the story. Presumably, it wouldn’t have existed had someone not retrieved the manuscript from the trash and passed it back to him. Apparently, he show more felt it was too much of a mish-mash to present to a publisher. And it is that. A mish-mash. I’m guessing that readers who are not Keillor fans probably would bail on this book a short way into it. Those of us who accepted his mish-mashness decades ago, will stay with it to the end. It’s got the usual funny, clever, and head shaking characters as well as the not to be believed situations he puts them it. In this book, they’ve lost their senses because of the consumption of tainted Norwegian cheese. The book is very short, just under 200 pages, so if the reader finds him/her-self (can’t bring myself to use a plural pronoun to refer to a singular antecedent) getting frustrated with Keillor’s ramblings, be assured it won’t last long. And the writing and humor are worth sticking with the book. show less

I have mixed feelings about this book which someone left in my own Little Free Library. I had always seen many books by this author but never felt compelled to read any of them. I noticed the word Democrat in the title so I started to browse through it. It seemed interesting enough so I started reading it. Then I got a creepy feeling when I learned that the author was one of those men who was recently accused of sexual harassment. I decided to finish reading the book anyway.

Basically the show more book glorifies Democrats and bashes Republicans. I was surprised at the hateful rhetoric used in this book against Republicans because this book was published in 2004. The venom is just the same as now (2018) regardless of which side of the fence one stands on. I did not know this partisan hatred had been so deep for so long. I felt depressed after reading this book, not relieved.

One thing that did surprise me, however, was that the author, who is from rural Minnesota, is such a staunch Democrat. So much for stereotypes (although I personally don't believe in them).

I probably would not recommend this book, more because it is dated than anything else. However, I'm glad I had the chance to read it. show less

THAT TIME OF YEAR was a Christmas gift to myself, because I was a Prairie Home Companion listener for over thirty years, since it was introduced to me by a Minnesotan friend (from Mankato). Alternately hilarious and deeply moving, it had me chuckling and laughing out loud as I read it in bed each night for the past week,annoying my wife to no end, as she was trying to read her own book. Besides the usual Lake Wobegone weird tales and trademark Keillor humor, songs and limericks, we also show more learn much about the author's childhood, filled with loving aunts, and how he stumbled into radio, his workaholic habits and close shaves with strokes, heart problems and brain seizures, which finally forced him into a reluctant retirement at 74. He also tells of his three marriages and all the dear friends and family he has outlived, and even offers an explanation about how he was "hung out to dry" via unfair accusations made during the #metoo movement, causing Public Radio to sever ties with him, ending one of my favorite daily five-minute shows, "The Writer's Almanac." He tries not to be bitter about this, but it was obviously a bitter pill. Bottom line: I LOVED THIS BOOK. It is classic Garrison Keillor, pulling no punches, 78 and at the top of his game. We're almost the same age. Let's hear it for the old guys. My very highest recommendation.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the REED CITY BOY memoir trilogy show less