Lake Wobegon Days

by Garrison Keillor

book data

1,530 ratings, 3.58 average rating, 158 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		18%
4		36%
3		32%
2		9%
1		2%

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published

April 26th 1999 by HighBridge Audio (first published September 1985)

details

Audio CD, 1 pages

isbn

1565113144 (isbn13: 9781565113145)

description

Learn about the statue of the Unknown Norwegian and why Lake Wobegon never made it onto the map, and many other small-town stories. 4 cassettes.

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Jul 22, 2008

Elaine rated it:

(review of isbn 0670805149)

bookshelves: classics-or-should-be

recommends it for: Everyone, but especially those who survived the 1940s and 50s.

As a child of the 60s, I have gotten used to books having to be dark and meaningful. Happy endings are rare and suspect. So it is with pleasure that I discovered Garrison Keillor's books. He makes me smile, sometimes nostalgically, but sometimes just out of clear enjoyment of someone saying what I've always felt but never knew how to put into words. I encourage readers to give this book a chance. How anyone can read about Lake Wobegon's citizenry and not love this book is beyond me. A church nam...more

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2 comments

Jan 31, 2007

erin rated it:

(review of isbn 0571146333)

Read in October, 2006

recommends it for: nostalgists, cynics, introverts

I'm amazed that Garrison Keillor is seen as the written equivalent of Norman Rockwell; His stories are only nostalgic if you aren't paying attention. The Lake Wobegone of his childhood is a dark, oppressive place, where the laughs are generally at someone's expense and everlasting embarrassment. For those of us who identify, the grim humour and beautifully rendered stories evoke not nostalgia, but a satisfaction that those years are long past.

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Jul 27, 2007

Leslie is currently reading it (review of isbn 0670805149)

bookshelves: currently-reading, readingsporadicallyorinspurts

Read in July, 2007

recommends it for: Anyone who enjoyed A Prairie Home Companion

Garrison Keillor is a rambling kind of person/writer who just keeps spewing details and weaving threads in a fabric of Lake Wobegon. His somewhat satirical take on a small town, his own hometown - possibly, I still can't figure out if this is a work of fiction or not, and frankly I don't mind - reminds me of stephen leacock's sunshine sketches of a small town, nostalgia and humour, pride in one's hometown, made up or real. A book to be savoured, read in the right place.

"“Human...more

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Apr 24, 2009

Kathryn rated it:

(review of isbn 0140129189)

bookshelves: 2009

Read in April, 2009

Garrison Keillor is the originator and host of A Prairie Home Companion, a radio show that has been running more or less constantly since 1974; he also hosts The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor, a five-minute radio segment (usually heard on NPR stations) that is also reproduced in written form on the Internet (via a link on my weblog, if you want to see it). As part of each episode of A Prairie Home Companion, he gives the comedic storytelling segment, “News from Lake Wobegon.” In 1...more Garrison Keillor is the originator and host of A Prairie Home Companion, a radio show that has been running more or less constantly since 1974; he also hosts The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor, a five-minute radio segment (usually heard on NPR stations) that is also reproduced in written form on the Internet (via a link on my weblog, if you want to see it). As part of each episode of A Prairie Home Companion, he gives the comedic storytelling segment, “News from Lake Wobegon.” In 1984 he gathered up a lot of his Lake Wobegon material from the radio show, added to it, and produced his first book, Lake Wobegon Days, which I am now reviewing. (Ja, I liked it.)

Lake Wobegon is a town in Minnesota, orginially settled by New Englanders, with a large contingent of Norwegians and Germans who later showed up. The town is not shown on any map, though it’s supposed to be a little to the north and east of St. Cloud Minnesota; and the county that Lake Wobegon is located in, Mist County, does not show up on the maps, either. Everyone in town is either Catholic (going to Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility) or Lutheran, except for those who belong to the Sanctified Brethren. With a population of only about 800 per the last census, not much happens in Lake Wobegon, which suits most of the hard-working citizenry just fine, as they are fairly suspicious of anything new.

The book is made up of comedic personal recollections of the author, on a variety of topics; the early chapters deal with the history of Lake Wobegon (named New Albion by the early New England settlers in 1852), including the New Albion College (which lasted only about six years, and ceased operations after a student was killed by a bear). Later chapters weave back and forth from the mid-19th century to 1984, with the same last names appearing over and over (as is right, with small town history), and with the author speaking of his own family, his schooling (he was born in 1942, which makes him 16 years older than me), the Norwegian bachelor farmers outside of town, theological issues between the Catholics, the Lutherans, and the Sanctified Brethren (the author is one of the latter), the disaffected youth (there’s not much to do in town, once one is past the age of about fifteen), and whatever else the author can think to mention about the town. So, there really is no plot; and the book is rarely laugh-out-loud funny; the humor is quite dry and quite muted (the kind where you nudge the person next to you, and say, “Listen to this one!”), as benefits Minnesota (I’ve been told that the only spices Minnesota recognizes are salt and pepper, and they aren’t too sure about the pepper).

Oddly enough, the well-known characterization of Lake Wobegon as a place where “all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average” does not appear in the book; that is from the radio show. And, finally, for those who have read the book, they may wish to go to the April 4, 2009 issue of The Onion (available online), which noted “Two Dozen More Bodies Found In Lake Wobegon”.(less)

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Aug 29, 2008

Shaindel rated it:

(review of isbn 0641814658)

recommends it for: fans of Keillor, Midwesterners

I love Garrison Keillor. Being from the frigid Midwest (okay, Indiana's not as cold as Minnesota), I always feel at home reading Keillor. I discuss that in a little bit in an interview here:

http://www.outsiderwriters.org/content/v...

when asked if having a poem on The Prairie Home Companion website means more if you're from the Midwest.

Lake Wobegon Days = fun, humorous, and heartwarming.

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Nov 22, 2009

Stephanie rated it:

(review of isbn 0670805149)

Read in November, 2009

recommends it for: fans of "A Prairie Home Companion"

LAKE WOBEGON DAYS, the fictional tales of a small Minnesota town, was written by Garrison Keillor in 1985. Keillor is the host of the popular “A Prairie Home Companion” radio show.
Lake Wobegon is full of hard-stock people of Norwegian and German descent, brimming with endearing quirkiness. There are the same locations mentioned on “Prairie”: the Chatterbox Café, Bunsen Motors, Ralph’s Grocery, the Lutheran Church, the Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility Church.
The re...more

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Apr 23, 2009

Gordon Gauss rated it:

(review of isbn 0670805149)

Read in June, 2004

Spending many years in Minnesota it is difficult to escape the works of Keillor. Lake Wobegon becomes a Saturday evening ritual. The characters, although fictional become real. You recognize someone you know in almost every program. Oh yes, this is not Television but Radio performed at it's finest.
To show you how real it is to some people, when I moved to Southern California and was standing in Ralph's Supermarket (Ralph's prett good grocery on the program),
I was wearing a Lake Wobe...more

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Mar 16, 2009

Dave rated it:

(review of isbn 0670805149)

Read in March, 2009

This was probably the only book I've ever read where the narrator's voice in my head was not my own. It was Garrison Keillor's! If you enjoy Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion radio show, then you will almost certainly enjoy this book. It is one HUGE dose of Lake Wobegon. Not only that, his anecdotes are filled with much more un-pc humor than the show features, what with swears and murders making it into the mix. I especially enjoyed his tales of childhood, as they brought me back to my own...more

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1 comment

Oct 10, 2009

Brett rated it:

(review of isbn 0670805149)

bookshelves: classy-fiction

Read in October, 2009

It's hard for me to know for sure if I can really separate my own nostolgia for small town upper plains life from my reading experience, so I guess my judgement is a little suspect on whether Keillor is a great author or not, but for my money, he is. Lake Wobegon Days finds that sweet spot for condemning the darkness in small town life, but celebrating the joys in equal measure. Keillor's voice is natural and unaffected--he doesn't mind talking about day-to-day items of life, and he builds his ...more

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May 18, 2009

Tara rated it:

(review of isbn 0670805149)

Read in May, 2009

This book was amusing enough in it's own right as a series of small-town-frontier-fun stories, until some synapse in my head fired and started comparing it to Steinbeck's Cannery Row or The Pastures of Heaven, also comprised of short 'life-in-a-micro-community' vignettes. Suddenly, the book seemed to fall short - there was no discernible central theme, and since the stories were neither chronological nor centered around a main character [though arguably the narrator provides one, the book opera...more

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Nov 30, 2008

Mike rated it:

(review of isbn 0670805149)

Read in November, 2008

This book is hilarious. It took me a month or so to read it and every time I picked it up, I had a good, physical laughing reaction. I picked it up at a garage sale for 25 cents, but would easily have parted with 35 cents just to read the chapter titled “School.”
The story starts with the origin of the town of Lake Wobegon and then proceeds to be a story of the author’s boyhood growing up in Lake Wobegon. Most people would enjoy this book. Adult men should get a real kick ...more

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Dec 14, 2008

Jacki rated it:

(review of isbn 0641814658)

Read in December, 2008

I'm going to have to take a break on this. I'm only on page 148 & I'm totally bored with it. It's taken me 2 days to read that much. That's really unlike me. So. I'm going to start another book & read this one little-by-little I guess.

Alright. Well. I finished it. Finally. This book really did nothing for me. I pretty much had to force my way though it. I admit, there were funny parts, but getting to them was pretty painful. I kept reading because it came to me so highly recommende...more

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4 comments

Dec 31, 2008

fbuser1212431286 rated it:

Read in December, 2008

Lake Wobegon Days is a nostalgic look at a fictional small town in Minnesota. The unnamed baby boomer author grew up there, but had moved away some years before supposedly writing this book. He clearly cherishes his memories of growing up there. But, he’s moved on. Lake Wobegon is no longer his home and he knows it.

While much of the book revolves around the author, much doesn’t. He speaks of the history of the town, right from its founding. Along the way, he discusses ...more

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Mar 15, 2008

Liz rated it:

(review of isbn 0140131612)

Read in April, 2008

recommends it for: Anyone desperate to read the last book they've got, but only if they're desperate

(4/8/08): Toilsome. That's a good word to describe this book, if it even is a word. (It ought to be, if it's not.) Four hundred plus pages and not much to it.

Yes, I understand there's not really a plot to it. In fact, I'd bet there's a particular term to describe the type of writing Mr. Keillor endeavors. I don't know it and I just don't care for it. Yeah, there are some interesting parts about how town life affects so many of its residents (one of the problems - too many characters...more

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Aug 01, 2009

Emily rated it:

(review of isbn 0670805149)

Read in January, 1990

Only six people voted on this? I'll have to add my two cents! This is a masterpiece of Americana. Fantasy Americana! If you're from the mid-west, or if your people came from the mid-west, you have to read this book. I only gave it four stars because the asides are distracting and sometimes take you far from where you were. Getting back isn't always easy. This is one of my favorite books of all time, though. Like comfort food. I read it when I'm feeling nostalgic and sentimental...

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Aug 06, 2009

Cmacauley rated it:

(review of isbn 0670805149)

Read in September, 2000

Keillor shows his skill as a novelist in this tale of romance and humor. It was sych a good book that the moment I finished it, I turned to the first page and read it again, all the way through. I have never done that with any other book, nor would I contemplate doing it ordinarily, but this book was just a pleasure to read. I have not been overly thrilled with some his other books, though; I think his style can vary from funny and heartwarming to dull and silly.

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Dec 31, 2008

Kye Alfred Hillig rated it:

(review of isbn 0670805149)

Read in January, 2009

This book was a bit too much. It was like Keillor had an idea and was going to make this book whether it wanted to be or not. With a cast of literally hundreds of characters this book reads like a history book from school. There are some funny and really witty things that Garrison puts his characters through. There was actually some points where I chuckled only lightly for a couple moments. It was a little stuffy for my taste. It also doesn't help that on the back of the book Keillor is chewing ...more

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Aug 16, 2009

Terri rated it:

(review of isbn 0670805149)

bookshelves: pbs-box

Owns a copy — Read in August, 2009

Yes, I've finally read Garrison Keillor's stories of Lake Wobegon. What's crazier is that it took me over six months to finish it. Mostly because I had to start reading something else, and didn't get back to this book. Worse still, I only had about 20 pages left.

If you enjoy Keillor's stories on his NPR radio program, "A Prairie Home Companion," you will enjoy reading the stories of the people living in Lake Wobegon.

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Mar 27, 2009

Jo rated it:

(review of isbn 0571170064)

bookshelves: 2009

Read in September, 2009

For some reason I had this idea I'd like to read this, so when I found it on my parent's bookcase I borrowed it. I think I thought it would be a nice story about small town America life, but it wasn't. It was a very surreal reading experience, because I got the impression it was supposed to be funny, but I couldn't work out how/why. I did eventually start noticing some of the jokes about halfway through, but it still wasn't incredibly funny. The beginning bit, about the history of the town, ...more

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Feb 04, 2009

Hunter rated it:

(review of isbn 0670805149)

Read in February, 2009

Keillor's immortal style, blending touching semi-autobiography with vignettes of small town life (both hilarious and sad), is the heartiest comfort food in American fiction, but nothing beats hearing these stories every week on his radio show A Prarie Home Companion on NPR, with the warmth of the crowd and the echoing laughter rising and receding underneath his sonorous baritone.

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