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That Time of Year: A Minnesota Life
With the warmth and humor we've come to know, the creator and host of A Prairie Home Companion shares his own remarkable story.
In That Time of Year , Garrison Keillor looks back on his life and recounts how a Brethren boy with writerly ambitions grew up in a small town on the Mississippi in the 1950s and, seeing three good friends die young, turned to comedy and radio. Through a series of unreasonable lucky breaks, he founded A Prairie Home Companion and put himself in line for a good life, including mistakes, regrets, and a few medical adventures. PHC lasted forty-two years, 1,557 shows, and enjoyed the freedom to do as it pleased for three or four million listeners every Saturday at 5 p.m. Central. He got to sing with Emmylou Harris and Renée Fleming and once sang two songs to the U.S. Supreme Court. He played a private eye and a cowboy, gave the news from his hometown, Lake Wobegon, and met Somali cabdrivers who’d learned English from listening to the show. He wrote bestselling novels, won a Grammy and a National Humanities Medal, and made a movie with Robert Altman with an alarming amount of improvisation.
He says, “I was unemployable and managed to invent work for myself that I loved all my life, and on top of that I married well. That’s the secret, work and love. And I chose the right ancestors, impoverished Scots and Yorkshire farmers, good workers. I’m heading for eighty, and I still get up to write before dawn every day.”
In That Time of Year , Garrison Keillor looks back on his life and recounts how a Brethren boy with writerly ambitions grew up in a small town on the Mississippi in the 1950s and, seeing three good friends die young, turned to comedy and radio. Through a series of unreasonable lucky breaks, he founded A Prairie Home Companion and put himself in line for a good life, including mistakes, regrets, and a few medical adventures. PHC lasted forty-two years, 1,557 shows, and enjoyed the freedom to do as it pleased for three or four million listeners every Saturday at 5 p.m. Central. He got to sing with Emmylou Harris and Renée Fleming and once sang two songs to the U.S. Supreme Court. He played a private eye and a cowboy, gave the news from his hometown, Lake Wobegon, and met Somali cabdrivers who’d learned English from listening to the show. He wrote bestselling novels, won a Grammy and a National Humanities Medal, and made a movie with Robert Altman with an alarming amount of improvisation.
He says, “I was unemployable and managed to invent work for myself that I loved all my life, and on top of that I married well. That’s the secret, work and love. And I chose the right ancestors, impoverished Scots and Yorkshire farmers, good workers. I’m heading for eighty, and I still get up to write before dawn every day.”
384 pages, Hardcover
Published December 1, 2020
62 people are currently reading
183 people want to read
About the author
Garrison Keillor
282 books845 followersGary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show A Prairie Home Companion (called Garrison Keillor's Radio Show in some international syndication), which he hosted from 1974 to 2016. Keillor created the fictional Minnesota town Lake Wobegon, the setting of many of his books, including Lake Wobegon Days and Leaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories. Other creations include Guy Noir, a detective voiced by Keillor who appeared in A Prairie Home Companion comic skits. Keillor is also the creator of the five-minute daily radio/podcast program The Writer's Almanac, which pairs poems of his choice with a script about important literary, historical, and scientific events that coincided with that date in history.
In November 2017, Minnesota Public Radio cut all business ties with Keillor after an allegation of inappropriate behavior with a freelance writer for A Prairie Home Companion. On April 13, 2018, MPR and Keillor announced a settlement that allows archives of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer's Almanac to be publicly available again, and soon thereafter, Keillor began publishing new episodes of The Writer's Almanac on his website. He also continues to tour a stage version of A Prairie Home Companion, although these shows are not broadcast by MPR or American Public Media.
In November 2017, Minnesota Public Radio cut all business ties with Keillor after an allegation of inappropriate behavior with a freelance writer for A Prairie Home Companion. On April 13, 2018, MPR and Keillor announced a settlement that allows archives of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer's Almanac to be publicly available again, and soon thereafter, Keillor began publishing new episodes of The Writer's Almanac on his website. He also continues to tour a stage version of A Prairie Home Companion, although these shows are not broadcast by MPR or American Public Media.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
April 1, 2021
3.5 stars, not rounded up to 4, and I'll tell you why later.
I have very, very fond memories of Garrison Keillor from my years of living in Minnesota. I remember waking up to a recording of whale sounds emanating from my clock radio when Garrison was the morning host on KSJN, Minnesota Public Radio's St. Paul station. I loved hearing the diverse music that he played during those early morning shows. When Prairie Home Companion started in the Twin Cities in the mid-1970s, I went to performances at several outdoor venues: the St. Paul Sculpture Garden, Minnehaha Park and Nicollet Island. I even went to the Swayed Pines Fiddle Contest somewhere in Central Minnesota that Garrison hosted. I also remember having lunch with a friend at the late, lamented O'Gara's pub on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul, and seeing Garrison sitting all alone in a back booth. We were both too shy to go up and say hello. So you see, I have a history with Garrison Keillor, and that's why I checked this audiobook out of the library.
I loved the first half of the book. I loved hearing about Garrison's childhood in Anoka and about his family, including all those aunts. I loved the story of how he quit going to swimming lessons at the Y and instead spent the time reading in the Minneapolis Public Library. I especially loved hearing about his time as a student at the University of Minnesota (my alma mater). I also loved hearing about how he ended up with a job in radio, and his description of that morning show that I woke up to. He even mentioned the whale sounds!
If Garrison had stopped with the early years of Prairie Home Companion, before it hit the big time, I probably would have given the book five stars. Unfortunately, the second half of the book was deadly dull and boring. Way too many stories of people I wasn't interested in, and not enough about his marriages and his family. There is virtually no mention of his son from his first marriage, Jason, who was part of the Prairie Home Companion staff for many years. In addition, there was a huge focus on the deaths of numerous people who barely got a mention earlier in the book, so that their significance in his life remained somewhat of a mystery. I do give Garrison credit for the poems, limericks and songs that interspersed some of the duller sections. They kept me going until the end.
In summary, I think this book would have been much better with substantial editing, perhaps even breaking off the first half into its own volume. I'm not sorry I read it, but I can't really recommend it overall. Maybe, if you're interested, just listen to the first half.
I have very, very fond memories of Garrison Keillor from my years of living in Minnesota. I remember waking up to a recording of whale sounds emanating from my clock radio when Garrison was the morning host on KSJN, Minnesota Public Radio's St. Paul station. I loved hearing the diverse music that he played during those early morning shows. When Prairie Home Companion started in the Twin Cities in the mid-1970s, I went to performances at several outdoor venues: the St. Paul Sculpture Garden, Minnehaha Park and Nicollet Island. I even went to the Swayed Pines Fiddle Contest somewhere in Central Minnesota that Garrison hosted. I also remember having lunch with a friend at the late, lamented O'Gara's pub on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul, and seeing Garrison sitting all alone in a back booth. We were both too shy to go up and say hello. So you see, I have a history with Garrison Keillor, and that's why I checked this audiobook out of the library.
I loved the first half of the book. I loved hearing about Garrison's childhood in Anoka and about his family, including all those aunts. I loved the story of how he quit going to swimming lessons at the Y and instead spent the time reading in the Minneapolis Public Library. I especially loved hearing about his time as a student at the University of Minnesota (my alma mater). I also loved hearing about how he ended up with a job in radio, and his description of that morning show that I woke up to. He even mentioned the whale sounds!
If Garrison had stopped with the early years of Prairie Home Companion, before it hit the big time, I probably would have given the book five stars. Unfortunately, the second half of the book was deadly dull and boring. Way too many stories of people I wasn't interested in, and not enough about his marriages and his family. There is virtually no mention of his son from his first marriage, Jason, who was part of the Prairie Home Companion staff for many years. In addition, there was a huge focus on the deaths of numerous people who barely got a mention earlier in the book, so that their significance in his life remained somewhat of a mystery. I do give Garrison credit for the poems, limericks and songs that interspersed some of the duller sections. They kept me going until the end.
In summary, I think this book would have been much better with substantial editing, perhaps even breaking off the first half into its own volume. I'm not sorry I read it, but I can't really recommend it overall. Maybe, if you're interested, just listen to the first half.
March 16, 2021
In the interest of full disclosure, let me tell you about the bookmark with which I kept my place as I read Garrison Keillor's autobiography. It is a ticket stub from the Edmonds Center for the Arts. It admits one to the Prairie Home Productions performance of "Garrison Keillor with Rich Dworsky, Piano" on Friday, 13 September 2019. The show was not an episode of Prairie Home Companion; that long-running radio programme concluded on 1 July 2016. It was instead a very tall man in a wrinkly suit telling stories and reciting poetry from memory and leading us in old Gospel hymns and love songs of the forties. And we loved it because we love Garrison Keillor. My sweet bride took a photo of him with his arm around my shoulders in the parking lot after the show. So what do you think I'm going to say about his autobiography? I once opined aloud that Keillor was the prophet of 20th century America and the person with whom I was speaking did not take it at all well. I think it was because Keillor is insufficiently overtly theological. My sense is that he has better theology than many preachers because he occupies himself with practical theological questions when nobody is looking, has a well-developed sense of guilt, and had the good sense to escape the Anabaptist Plymouth Brethren and find his way into the Episcopal Church. As a person who has made both radio and TV programmes myself, I am in awe of what he created in "Prairie Home Companion." Doing radio live is an act of bravery or stupidity or both. And I have done live TV! It was so comfortable to read this book, very much like having a conversation with him over coffee at the Chatterbox Cafe or maybe a beer at The Sidetrack Tap. The Lake Wobegon novels are funnier but this book reveals more of the inner man. With all his admitted faults intact, I admire his genius and I love him like a brother.
February 16, 2021
Long, rambling, repetitive, dull, death-focused and depressing memoir that has some interesting spots, starting strong but devolving into a lot of lamenting and navel-gazing. Keillor is a sloppy writer who has somehow become rich and famous by remaining a college hippie in a light-colored suit that broadcast to a public radio audience. The book needs some serious editing and someone to coach him in telling stories that are worth reading about. But he doesn't want an editor or coach, he thinks he does just fine by waiting until the last minute to throw things together.
If you want to hear drawn-out history of his 18 aunts or his upbringing in a strict Christian church in Minnesota, then you probably are a Prairie Home Companion fan who thinks long dull stories with punchlines that take forever are entertaining. In book form after he tells about his relatives for the hundredth time you'll wonder why he didn't include so many other things about his life in the book.
Keillor barely talks about his three wives, almost nothing about his kids, there's a single paragraph about his late grandson without much explanation, and then you have to trudge through the last third of the book, which is like a death knell for everyone he knows. I've never read so many stories about non-famous dying friends and relatives as I have in this book. He somehow thinks we'll be interested in it, but I kept turning the page saying, "Who cares?"
There are a few bright spots, but my theory is that his non-stop mentioning of his faith and his love of women is actually a diversion to avoid telling us everything that he is ashamed of in life. He admits quite a few times that he's a lowly sinner unworthy of his success, and that when he was young he was a real rebel who had a two-faced life: a Bible-verse memorizing angel with family and church, a devilish smoking and drinking wild man at school and with friends. He doesn't really tell us much about how he rebelled into adulthood, even though some of us have heard rumors that those stories are there. I know people who have personal information about Keillor that would surprise readers and contradict the picture he paints of himself, but he has personal relationships that are discreet and those stories will probably remain private even after he dies.
One problem with the book is how he stereotypes everyone, particularly Minnesotans. If he has a bad habit he blames it on being a Minnesotan, even though there are very different people in the state--the Twin Cities has more of the liberal community-oriented egotists that he aligns himself with, while the rural parts of the state are much more conservative and individualistic. But he describes New Yorkers, cab drivers, Californians, Danish, and other with broad strokes that makes everyone sound the same. Some would call that anti-diverse bigotry.
Another problem is that for some reason he decides to get political about two-thirds way through the book, slamming George Bush and Rudy Giuliani after 9/11 and taking easy pot shots at Trump, while loving the Clintons and claiming Bill's lying about his White House affair as being no big deal. And of course he goes overboard praising Michelle Obama. He justifies it all claiming that he is a true Minnesotan in being liberal and that he'd jump off a bridge if Minnesota voted for Trump, but reality is that the Twin Cities is liberal Democrat while the rural parts of the state are conservative Republican. It's the only state in the nation with a split legislature, so Keillor fails to represent the state's true diversity.
I'm glad I read the first two-thirds of the book, but the last third goes on and on about nothing but deaths and his travel itinerary for doing his show. I wouldn't read the book again. It seems like it's just a long obituary to himself and others...which is no surprise since one of his first jobs writing was to do obits for the local paper.
Keillor also loves to insert limericks in his book (including a final one that starts with the book's title), and while he is proud of them they are sophomoric and at times offensive. The hippie college boy is alive and well in his late 70s, complaining about corporate public radio and the #MeToo movement shutting him down. It's a sad ending to what he makes out to be a fairly unhappy life.
If you want to hear drawn-out history of his 18 aunts or his upbringing in a strict Christian church in Minnesota, then you probably are a Prairie Home Companion fan who thinks long dull stories with punchlines that take forever are entertaining. In book form after he tells about his relatives for the hundredth time you'll wonder why he didn't include so many other things about his life in the book.
Keillor barely talks about his three wives, almost nothing about his kids, there's a single paragraph about his late grandson without much explanation, and then you have to trudge through the last third of the book, which is like a death knell for everyone he knows. I've never read so many stories about non-famous dying friends and relatives as I have in this book. He somehow thinks we'll be interested in it, but I kept turning the page saying, "Who cares?"
There are a few bright spots, but my theory is that his non-stop mentioning of his faith and his love of women is actually a diversion to avoid telling us everything that he is ashamed of in life. He admits quite a few times that he's a lowly sinner unworthy of his success, and that when he was young he was a real rebel who had a two-faced life: a Bible-verse memorizing angel with family and church, a devilish smoking and drinking wild man at school and with friends. He doesn't really tell us much about how he rebelled into adulthood, even though some of us have heard rumors that those stories are there. I know people who have personal information about Keillor that would surprise readers and contradict the picture he paints of himself, but he has personal relationships that are discreet and those stories will probably remain private even after he dies.
One problem with the book is how he stereotypes everyone, particularly Minnesotans. If he has a bad habit he blames it on being a Minnesotan, even though there are very different people in the state--the Twin Cities has more of the liberal community-oriented egotists that he aligns himself with, while the rural parts of the state are much more conservative and individualistic. But he describes New Yorkers, cab drivers, Californians, Danish, and other with broad strokes that makes everyone sound the same. Some would call that anti-diverse bigotry.
Another problem is that for some reason he decides to get political about two-thirds way through the book, slamming George Bush and Rudy Giuliani after 9/11 and taking easy pot shots at Trump, while loving the Clintons and claiming Bill's lying about his White House affair as being no big deal. And of course he goes overboard praising Michelle Obama. He justifies it all claiming that he is a true Minnesotan in being liberal and that he'd jump off a bridge if Minnesota voted for Trump, but reality is that the Twin Cities is liberal Democrat while the rural parts of the state are conservative Republican. It's the only state in the nation with a split legislature, so Keillor fails to represent the state's true diversity.
I'm glad I read the first two-thirds of the book, but the last third goes on and on about nothing but deaths and his travel itinerary for doing his show. I wouldn't read the book again. It seems like it's just a long obituary to himself and others...which is no surprise since one of his first jobs writing was to do obits for the local paper.
Keillor also loves to insert limericks in his book (including a final one that starts with the book's title), and while he is proud of them they are sophomoric and at times offensive. The hippie college boy is alive and well in his late 70s, complaining about corporate public radio and the #MeToo movement shutting him down. It's a sad ending to what he makes out to be a fairly unhappy life.
February 2, 2021
Having attended PHC shows since back before before they went national, I was eager to read Garrison Keillor's memoir of his Minnesota life. His journey from awkward, gangly kid to awkward, gangly radio show host to awkward, gangly author is delightfully written and surprisingly honest and introspective. Keillor's touching account of realizations and regrets touched with moments of grace were moving and spot-on. Come for the funny; stay for the heart. Actual rating: 4.5
March 26, 2022
I've read most of GK's books and enjoyed them. This one, though, is more autobiographical and it is the best, IMHO. If you enjoy Prairie Home Companion, you'll love learning about the beginning of the show, the incredibly talented musicians, the skits with Tom Keith, Fred Newman, Tim Russell, and Sue Scott, the evolution of Lake Wobegon characters, and GK's family. In the middle of all the Ukraine war news, this book was a spirit lifter, for sure.
February 26, 2021
Please don’t get me wrong. I adore GK. I was a devoted PHC listener for many, many years. And I enjoyed reading about his life and how the show got started. I just felt that he felt the necessity to, at almost 80, bare his soul. And it was honestly too much information.
February 12, 2021
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That Time of Year: A Minnesota Life by Garrison Keillor is a memoir. Some might be confused because it seems like Keillor has written about his life for the past 40 years with his tales of Lake Wobegon. But the real Keillor is a departure from the character who came from a town where all women were strong, all the men beautiful, and the children above average.
My husband bought me autographed copies of That Time of Year as well as Keillor’s Lake Wobegon Virus (click here for my review). One inscription reads “From one aspiring writer to another,” which was just perfect and humorous, just as I’ve known Keillor to be for the past 40 years. I also bought the Audiobook and followed along with my book, because I’ve always enjoyed Keillor’s melodious voice.
Garrison Keillor grew up in Anoka, Minnesota, (the Halloween Capitol of the World) along the banks of the Mississippi River. His family had been part of the community since 1880 and was spiritually-based in The Bretheren. “I’m still a Bretheren boy; a little profanity I can tolerate, but obscenity turns me away. I have agnostic friends, but I don’t tolerate the intolerance of religious faith. Scripture is clear on how to treat strangers or foreigners of any race or creed or gender. They are brothers and sisters and life is a gift and we need to be wise in the knowledge of death. We learn this from scripture.” I had always assumed, as many others might have, that Keillor was Lutheran or jealous of them for all his stories about Lutherans in his Lake Wobegon stories.
Keillor weaves a tale of his childhood that is full of distinct memories. It always amazes me when I read memoirs and someone looks back on their childhood as I barely remember mine! He talks of his 18 aunts (I thought our kids had it bad: nine aunts and nine uncles here) and the fun he had with and without people around.
He talks of starting out on his own, of his first sexual experience at age 20 with what turned out to be his first wife. “We were both lonely and loved classical music and hockey… We had believed that marriage would make us friends, but we had little to say to each other. We languished for three years, separated, and a month later told me she was pregnant. So we moved back together.”
Meanwhile, Keillor was working in radio and dreaming of being published in the New Yorker magazine. “As a poet, I was a mild nuisance, but on radio, I was useful, at least to some people. Entertaining them at 6am when they really needed it.” It took until he was 30 before he sold a story to the New Yorker. Meanwhile, he had this radio show, which expanded and he took on the road during the summers.
Then the chance came to move his show to Saturday nights, a syndicated deal that dropped in his lap due to the right timing. He took the name “A Prairie Home Companion” from the Norwegians graveyard in Moorhead, Minnesota, which was called “A Prairie Home.” And right from the beginning there were skits and songs and advertisements that a fan would recognize today: the Chatterbox Cafe, where the elite meet to eat, and Ralph’s Pretty Good Grocery; if you can’t find it at Ralph’s, you can probably get along without it. The American Duct Tape Council: it’s almost all you need sometimes. Martha’s Kitty Boutique, for people who care about cats, and the Ketchup Advisory Board.
And of course, the stories from Lake Wobegon. For the first two years of the show, Keillor didn’t keep notes, so names were all mixed up and the continuity was off. My favorite character was always Father Emil of Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility, and Sister Arvan. Soon, a ten-minute monologue in the middle of the show became a 20-25 minute segment in the last half of the show.
“I’m from Minnesota, a state that ranks 47th in the use of irony. A serious state. A state where every year nature makes serious attempts to kill us. Then it’s summer and time for giant carnivorous mosquitos, who no bug repellant discourages. A Crucifix helps, but you have to hit them really hard with it.”
There are many stories from the show, which went on the road every summer, and the guest stars that frequently visited, like Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and guitar legend Chet Atkins. And he talked about his farewell in 1987, after marrying his high school foreign exchange student that he’d reconnected with, and moving to Denmark, her homeland. But Keillor returned, first to New York, and eventually back to Minnesota. In total, he was on the air for over 40 years. Along the way he ended up getting divorced and married again and had a daughter who suffers from Angelman Syndrome.
I was very interested in hearing Keillor’s side of the story to an email flirtation that got him fired in the early days of the #MeToo movement. Of course, I was disappointed that a married man would even think of flirting with a colleague, especially when he was in a superior position. I thought the whole Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill dialogue that happened in the early 1990s changed office behavior and was sad to see that Keillor was not immune. It just reminded me that we should never place anyone too high on a pedestal, or they may fall off.
Overall, a highly satisfying read. I feel I know my favorite humorist better, and enjoyed the book as much as one of his fiction works. I’m also glad I got to see him live in front of an audience twice. He truly knows how to weave tales, funny and poignant.
That Time of Year: A Minnesota Life by Garrison Keillor is a memoir. Some might be confused because it seems like Keillor has written about his life for the past 40 years with his tales of Lake Wobegon. But the real Keillor is a departure from the character who came from a town where all women were strong, all the men beautiful, and the children above average.
My husband bought me autographed copies of That Time of Year as well as Keillor’s Lake Wobegon Virus (click here for my review). One inscription reads “From one aspiring writer to another,” which was just perfect and humorous, just as I’ve known Keillor to be for the past 40 years. I also bought the Audiobook and followed along with my book, because I’ve always enjoyed Keillor’s melodious voice.
Garrison Keillor grew up in Anoka, Minnesota, (the Halloween Capitol of the World) along the banks of the Mississippi River. His family had been part of the community since 1880 and was spiritually-based in The Bretheren. “I’m still a Bretheren boy; a little profanity I can tolerate, but obscenity turns me away. I have agnostic friends, but I don’t tolerate the intolerance of religious faith. Scripture is clear on how to treat strangers or foreigners of any race or creed or gender. They are brothers and sisters and life is a gift and we need to be wise in the knowledge of death. We learn this from scripture.” I had always assumed, as many others might have, that Keillor was Lutheran or jealous of them for all his stories about Lutherans in his Lake Wobegon stories.
Keillor weaves a tale of his childhood that is full of distinct memories. It always amazes me when I read memoirs and someone looks back on their childhood as I barely remember mine! He talks of his 18 aunts (I thought our kids had it bad: nine aunts and nine uncles here) and the fun he had with and without people around.
He talks of starting out on his own, of his first sexual experience at age 20 with what turned out to be his first wife. “We were both lonely and loved classical music and hockey… We had believed that marriage would make us friends, but we had little to say to each other. We languished for three years, separated, and a month later told me she was pregnant. So we moved back together.”
Meanwhile, Keillor was working in radio and dreaming of being published in the New Yorker magazine. “As a poet, I was a mild nuisance, but on radio, I was useful, at least to some people. Entertaining them at 6am when they really needed it.” It took until he was 30 before he sold a story to the New Yorker. Meanwhile, he had this radio show, which expanded and he took on the road during the summers.
Then the chance came to move his show to Saturday nights, a syndicated deal that dropped in his lap due to the right timing. He took the name “A Prairie Home Companion” from the Norwegians graveyard in Moorhead, Minnesota, which was called “A Prairie Home.” And right from the beginning there were skits and songs and advertisements that a fan would recognize today: the Chatterbox Cafe, where the elite meet to eat, and Ralph’s Pretty Good Grocery; if you can’t find it at Ralph’s, you can probably get along without it. The American Duct Tape Council: it’s almost all you need sometimes. Martha’s Kitty Boutique, for people who care about cats, and the Ketchup Advisory Board.
And of course, the stories from Lake Wobegon. For the first two years of the show, Keillor didn’t keep notes, so names were all mixed up and the continuity was off. My favorite character was always Father Emil of Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility, and Sister Arvan. Soon, a ten-minute monologue in the middle of the show became a 20-25 minute segment in the last half of the show.
“I’m from Minnesota, a state that ranks 47th in the use of irony. A serious state. A state where every year nature makes serious attempts to kill us. Then it’s summer and time for giant carnivorous mosquitos, who no bug repellant discourages. A Crucifix helps, but you have to hit them really hard with it.”
There are many stories from the show, which went on the road every summer, and the guest stars that frequently visited, like Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and guitar legend Chet Atkins. And he talked about his farewell in 1987, after marrying his high school foreign exchange student that he’d reconnected with, and moving to Denmark, her homeland. But Keillor returned, first to New York, and eventually back to Minnesota. In total, he was on the air for over 40 years. Along the way he ended up getting divorced and married again and had a daughter who suffers from Angelman Syndrome.
I was very interested in hearing Keillor’s side of the story to an email flirtation that got him fired in the early days of the #MeToo movement. Of course, I was disappointed that a married man would even think of flirting with a colleague, especially when he was in a superior position. I thought the whole Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill dialogue that happened in the early 1990s changed office behavior and was sad to see that Keillor was not immune. It just reminded me that we should never place anyone too high on a pedestal, or they may fall off.
Overall, a highly satisfying read. I feel I know my favorite humorist better, and enjoyed the book as much as one of his fiction works. I’m also glad I got to see him live in front of an audience twice. He truly knows how to weave tales, funny and poignant.
July 13, 2021
Two penguins standing on an ice floe. And the first penguin says, "You look like you're wearing a tuxedo." And the second penguin says, "What makes you think I'm not?"
May 25, 2022
This got 3 stars because after a terrific first half, the book goes downhill. He becomes repetitive, obsessed with bodily functions, death and sex. I guess after a strict fundamentalist upbringing, he considers constant discussion of that last to be worldly but it's just kind of gross.
Loved his radio show and listened for most of the 40 years it was on the air. The book is different. I would have liked to hear more about his son, Jason, who worked on that show and about other long term players like Margaret Moos. I did enjoy the discussion of Altman and the making of that trainwreck of a movie.
I would also have liked to read less lyrics to old hymns and discussions of the deaths of people he hadn't even brought up before. Don't get me started on him talking about his parents fumbling with each others clothes in a cemetery, his wife's perfect butt and his friggin' limericks.
I think his show began to go downhill for me when his musical guests became his singing partners.
Every. Single. Time. When you invite people like Emmylou Harris and Renee Fleming on your show, people get their hopes up. They tune in to hear those voices and not yours. We still want to hear you in the sketches and telling your stories but not dragging down the harmony on Allison Krause.
And back to those limericks. They are not as funny or as clever as he seems to think they are and they just keep a'coming.
This book is probably for die hard fans. First half's good though.
Loved his radio show and listened for most of the 40 years it was on the air. The book is different. I would have liked to hear more about his son, Jason, who worked on that show and about other long term players like Margaret Moos. I did enjoy the discussion of Altman and the making of that trainwreck of a movie.
I would also have liked to read less lyrics to old hymns and discussions of the deaths of people he hadn't even brought up before. Don't get me started on him talking about his parents fumbling with each others clothes in a cemetery, his wife's perfect butt and his friggin' limericks.
I think his show began to go downhill for me when his musical guests became his singing partners.
Every. Single. Time. When you invite people like Emmylou Harris and Renee Fleming on your show, people get their hopes up. They tune in to hear those voices and not yours. We still want to hear you in the sketches and telling your stories but not dragging down the harmony on Allison Krause.
And back to those limericks. They are not as funny or as clever as he seems to think they are and they just keep a'coming.
This book is probably for die hard fans. First half's good though.
June 10, 2021
I have been a listener of PHC for years and loved this autobiography of Garrison Keillor!
December 18, 2020
After listening to Mr. Keillor for 30+ years, I can’t read anything he’s written without hearing it in his voice. And when the writing is his memoir, it makes the story immediate and authentic, exactly how you’d want his life story to be. Throw in lyrics, limericks and assorted other verse, and this book is brimming with character and heart. And while he’s probably best known for his PHC monologues, they only occupy a surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, small part of this story, because like the rest of us, he is the sum of a couple thousand adventures and experiences. All the better, because I learned much about the reasons why he has been so successful and am grateful that he has explained it all so clearly. Five-star reading.
February 2, 2021
A gentle history
That Time of Year. If you enjoy Garrison Keillor's paced and gentle writing style,then this book will suit you just fine. It's a walk through his life with an emphasis on his creative endeavours.The ups and downs that enliven any life are described with what seems to be an open and honest manner and his thoughts about getting old are touching. With regard to his work,it's interesting and a nice read. The limericks are a hoot and his alternative lyrics to popular songs are hilarious. Made me wish I'd been to one of his shows, but there you go...... A good book which I enjoyed.
That Time of Year. If you enjoy Garrison Keillor's paced and gentle writing style,then this book will suit you just fine. It's a walk through his life with an emphasis on his creative endeavours.The ups and downs that enliven any life are described with what seems to be an open and honest manner and his thoughts about getting old are touching. With regard to his work,it's interesting and a nice read. The limericks are a hoot and his alternative lyrics to popular songs are hilarious. Made me wish I'd been to one of his shows, but there you go...... A good book which I enjoyed.
May 2, 2022
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. Garrison Keillor's occasionally juvenile humor had worn thin in recent years. But this autobiography was sincere and honest and sentimental. I especially enjoyed his description of his childhood which had many similarities to my own, with a high degree of independence and a family that did not show much emotion but always had implicit love. Garrison's stream-of-consciousness style gets a little hard to follow at times, so it does not read like a typical biography. But many of the reflections are worth re-reading. I will probably get my own copy of this book (checked it out from the library), and I would recommend it to friends.
December 20, 2020
Full disclosure- my husband is a big GK fan, so we traveled on all the PHC cruises. We got to know the musicians well, a wonderful group as GK says. So I come to read this book with much knowledge of the material within. This is a great read, an honest appraisal of a seemingly very good life, Hard for me to know what someone totally unfamiliar with him would make of it, I think they would enjoy it too, but familiarity with his story, his sharp wit, his self deprecating comments, makes this a must read of a very special man.
March 14, 2022
I’ve long believed the good and lovable things about a person can’t exist without the balanced existence by the annoying, obnoxious parts. In this book Garrison Keillor is honest about his talent for holding the attention of an audience and ability to both bring an audience to laughter and tears. He’s also honest about his flaws and the complexity of his personality.
I’m so grateful he wrote it because his show was one of my favorite things about life, and I get a little sad almost every Saturday at 5 PM Central Time.
I’m so grateful he wrote it because his show was one of my favorite things about life, and I get a little sad almost every Saturday at 5 PM Central Time.
December 18, 2020
I've been a long-time Garrison Keillor fan and his latest book did not disappoint. He communicates with honesty, humility and humor and the stories he tells are entertaining and enlightening. I thoroughly enjoyed the pace and the details he included.
Keillor has had an interesting life and career, and he has gone through some trials. He shares the lessons he learned like a wise old friend. I remain a devoted fan.
Keillor has had an interesting life and career, and he has gone through some trials. He shares the lessons he learned like a wise old friend. I remain a devoted fan.
January 6, 2021
A beautiful and searingly honest memoir. Keillor takes the reader into his confidence as he would a close friend. As I think GK would be the first to admit, he's had an extraordinarily rich life; the kind of life that leaves one feeling like the proverbial child standing outside the candy store peering in through the window. Nevertheless, this book (like almost all of Keillor's others), was a joy to read.
October 19, 2024
“THE MINNESOTA LONER”
The late writer, politician, U.S. ambassador Clare Boothe Luce said, “Autobiography is mostly alibiography.” The elephant in the room in Mr. Keillor’s memoir involves accusations of sexual misconduct by a female colleague in 2017 and would the author address the issue. He does. ‘That Time of Year’ was published in 2020. A more impartial report can be found in the Washington Post October 20, 2021 article “Inside Garrison Keillor’s attempted comeback after his #MeToo downfall” by Paul Farhi. The #MeToo maelstrom was at its peak when Keillor became one of its targets. The tipping point of the movement occurred when very powerful producer and scumbag predator Harvey Weinstein was justly accused, arrested, trialed, and sentenced for numerous sexual crimes. However, the justifiable anger by women created an environment where men were presumed guilty and had to prove their innocence to the public. Male heads did roll. Some I viewed as unjustified. In knee-jerk reaction, the seventy-five-year-old Keillor was immediately shitcanned by Minnesota Public Radio and the company scrubbed all 1,577 episodes from its archives (the episodes were eventually made available again.) The author was also quickly dropped by his longtime publisher, Viking-Penguin, and The Washington Post ended his weekly column. Mr. Keillor gives his side of the story near the end of the book in a short chapter. He still has a dedicated fan base but the ole dude appears toxic to most of the entertainment industry. His last two works have been self-published and have sold well.
While I was curious about his take on his fall from grace, I was more interested in his upbringing and how a self-described loner rose to such heights of success. I’ve enjoyed many of his written works in his insightful wit and deadpan humor that is similar to my home here in Maine. The memoir is dripping in religious references. That is understandable because of his upbringing in a very conservative sect called the Brethern Church. It was a rural upbringing but close to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Near the beginning of his memoir, he states that he has high-functioning autism, also known as Asperger’s syndrome, which added a great deal of clarification for me while reading it. I too am an Aspie. The memoir explains how he, a middling student, gravitated towards writing and into radio. He attributes his success to being a workaholic and serendipity. Mr. Keillor acknowledges that key moments in his life could have gone in another direction without the involvement of other key people. The author was clueless about his rising fame, oodles of money he was making for Minnesota Public Radio and gives ample credit to others who helped make Prairie Home Companion, his novels, and New Yorker pieces such successes. His self-deprecation and occasional moments of arrogance are on display. The memoir has funny material but also a lot of shocks and sadness. The author also laments how Minnesota Public Radio evolved from a jerry-rigged little station into a corporate culture.
I have never listened to even an excerpt of his Prairie Home Companion radio program. My introduction to him was his successful second novel ‘Lake Wobegon Days’ back in 1985. I enjoyed it very much and have read several of his other fictional works. Some I liked and others not so much. All his works have made me laugh often. He was 78 when he wrote this memoir, so it’s understandable that quite a bit of it deals with our own mortalities, loss, and finding purpose in our lives. I found most of ‘That Time of Year’ to be interesting, entertaining, and often insightful. There are a handful of dry-reading pages. Mr. Keillor’s writing is more like a meandering lazy hike instead of enduring a rapid-heart triathlon. The man said he’ll keep on writing if he physically can. Good for him. I’ll be there to read his stuff… if I physically can too.
The late writer, politician, U.S. ambassador Clare Boothe Luce said, “Autobiography is mostly alibiography.” The elephant in the room in Mr. Keillor’s memoir involves accusations of sexual misconduct by a female colleague in 2017 and would the author address the issue. He does. ‘That Time of Year’ was published in 2020. A more impartial report can be found in the Washington Post October 20, 2021 article “Inside Garrison Keillor’s attempted comeback after his #MeToo downfall” by Paul Farhi. The #MeToo maelstrom was at its peak when Keillor became one of its targets. The tipping point of the movement occurred when very powerful producer and scumbag predator Harvey Weinstein was justly accused, arrested, trialed, and sentenced for numerous sexual crimes. However, the justifiable anger by women created an environment where men were presumed guilty and had to prove their innocence to the public. Male heads did roll. Some I viewed as unjustified. In knee-jerk reaction, the seventy-five-year-old Keillor was immediately shitcanned by Minnesota Public Radio and the company scrubbed all 1,577 episodes from its archives (the episodes were eventually made available again.) The author was also quickly dropped by his longtime publisher, Viking-Penguin, and The Washington Post ended his weekly column. Mr. Keillor gives his side of the story near the end of the book in a short chapter. He still has a dedicated fan base but the ole dude appears toxic to most of the entertainment industry. His last two works have been self-published and have sold well.
While I was curious about his take on his fall from grace, I was more interested in his upbringing and how a self-described loner rose to such heights of success. I’ve enjoyed many of his written works in his insightful wit and deadpan humor that is similar to my home here in Maine. The memoir is dripping in religious references. That is understandable because of his upbringing in a very conservative sect called the Brethern Church. It was a rural upbringing but close to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Near the beginning of his memoir, he states that he has high-functioning autism, also known as Asperger’s syndrome, which added a great deal of clarification for me while reading it. I too am an Aspie. The memoir explains how he, a middling student, gravitated towards writing and into radio. He attributes his success to being a workaholic and serendipity. Mr. Keillor acknowledges that key moments in his life could have gone in another direction without the involvement of other key people. The author was clueless about his rising fame, oodles of money he was making for Minnesota Public Radio and gives ample credit to others who helped make Prairie Home Companion, his novels, and New Yorker pieces such successes. His self-deprecation and occasional moments of arrogance are on display. The memoir has funny material but also a lot of shocks and sadness. The author also laments how Minnesota Public Radio evolved from a jerry-rigged little station into a corporate culture.
I have never listened to even an excerpt of his Prairie Home Companion radio program. My introduction to him was his successful second novel ‘Lake Wobegon Days’ back in 1985. I enjoyed it very much and have read several of his other fictional works. Some I liked and others not so much. All his works have made me laugh often. He was 78 when he wrote this memoir, so it’s understandable that quite a bit of it deals with our own mortalities, loss, and finding purpose in our lives. I found most of ‘That Time of Year’ to be interesting, entertaining, and often insightful. There are a handful of dry-reading pages. Mr. Keillor’s writing is more like a meandering lazy hike instead of enduring a rapid-heart triathlon. The man said he’ll keep on writing if he physically can. Good for him. I’ll be there to read his stuff… if I physically can too.
January 1, 2022
I have listened to Prairie Home Companion off and on over the years. I particularly enjoyed the News from Lake Wobegon and the creative commercials. The Catchup Advisory Board are a favorite. So, are the Guy Noir episodes.
I was saddened to learn that Keillor was accused of bad things in the MeToo controversies of 2017 and that MPR dropped him and the show completely.
I really didn't know what to expect in his autobiography. Would he white wash his life and make himself smell like a rose or would there be an honest assessment and statements of the good and the bad? At first, as he was going on and on about the immediate and extended family he grew up with in Anoka, MN, I thought this was going to be a big old Lake Wobegon like fairy tale. I am glad I persisted because there is indeed honest assessment and confession and redemption. And, because he is so good at telling stories, whether painful or not, I couldn't hardly put the book down.
Jenny is his third and final wife. He talks about his failure with the first two. He owns his mistakes. But rejoices in his relationships with the children that grew out of those relationships. He is candid about the struggles he and Jenny have with their own daughter.
In one way or another, we are all products of our childhood experiences and products of our own cultural settings. Keillor is acutely aware of his history and he is amazed and thankful that he was able to become a writer and make a living at it. By his own account, he is successful, but because he of his upbringing, he easily falls into regret and remorse. He tells us about that too.
For those of us who only know him as the voice on the radio, he provides an image of a man who is not perfect. He is good enough, but not great. For a long time he put work before family. He made other mistakes. He has learned to live and love and enjoy life.
One thing did truly surprise me. I know that he regularly sings gospel music on the show but that can be to create the nostalgic mood that is Lake Wobegon. I did not expect the clear confession of faith in Jesus Christ that rings throughout the book. He may have left the fundamentalist Brethren faith of his youth but Scripture, faith, and an eventual entrance into the Episcopal Church are very much a part of his life. His parents and church were direct and confrontational in their witness of their faith. I have to wonder if they caused more harm than good. But, the way Keillor presents his Christian faith, it is a testimony of grace and forgiveness that has made his life better, fuller. He is telling his story, not trying to convince or confront anyone else about their faith.
If you want to learn more about the man who created Prairie Home Companion and Lake Wobegon, this is a fine place to start.
I was saddened to learn that Keillor was accused of bad things in the MeToo controversies of 2017 and that MPR dropped him and the show completely.
I really didn't know what to expect in his autobiography. Would he white wash his life and make himself smell like a rose or would there be an honest assessment and statements of the good and the bad? At first, as he was going on and on about the immediate and extended family he grew up with in Anoka, MN, I thought this was going to be a big old Lake Wobegon like fairy tale. I am glad I persisted because there is indeed honest assessment and confession and redemption. And, because he is so good at telling stories, whether painful or not, I couldn't hardly put the book down.
Jenny is his third and final wife. He talks about his failure with the first two. He owns his mistakes. But rejoices in his relationships with the children that grew out of those relationships. He is candid about the struggles he and Jenny have with their own daughter.
In one way or another, we are all products of our childhood experiences and products of our own cultural settings. Keillor is acutely aware of his history and he is amazed and thankful that he was able to become a writer and make a living at it. By his own account, he is successful, but because he of his upbringing, he easily falls into regret and remorse. He tells us about that too.
For those of us who only know him as the voice on the radio, he provides an image of a man who is not perfect. He is good enough, but not great. For a long time he put work before family. He made other mistakes. He has learned to live and love and enjoy life.
One thing did truly surprise me. I know that he regularly sings gospel music on the show but that can be to create the nostalgic mood that is Lake Wobegon. I did not expect the clear confession of faith in Jesus Christ that rings throughout the book. He may have left the fundamentalist Brethren faith of his youth but Scripture, faith, and an eventual entrance into the Episcopal Church are very much a part of his life. His parents and church were direct and confrontational in their witness of their faith. I have to wonder if they caused more harm than good. But, the way Keillor presents his Christian faith, it is a testimony of grace and forgiveness that has made his life better, fuller. He is telling his story, not trying to convince or confront anyone else about their faith.
If you want to learn more about the man who created Prairie Home Companion and Lake Wobegon, this is a fine place to start.
January 26, 2025
A little over 50 years ago, a Minnesotan who was working as a morning radio show at a local public radio station pitched the idea to his boss that he wanted to do a show that revived the weekly variety program, with music and comedy celebrating the people and the spirit of the people of Minnesota and the heartland of the country in general. The show became a modest hit for Minnesota Public Radio, and his boss began offering it to public radio stations nationwide, making the program a success and opening the door for that former radio show to become a successful author. Folks like me listened to his show and felt like he was almost a member of the family, but most of us didn’t know his true story - until now.
“That Time of Year” gives Garrison Keillor to share his life story and the story of “A Prairie Home Companion”, the show he hosted for 42 years. Garrison was born Gary Keillor in the little town of Anoka, Minnesota and raised in a very strict sect of Christians who weren’t very keen on frivolity, but he learned to appreciate music in the group’s meetings, and he learned to appreciate good writing and good jokes. The fictional town of Lake Wobegon that we’ve heard and read about over the years is very much based on the family, friends, and neighbors he grew up with - in his family, the women really were strong and the children above average!
From his childhood, we follow Garrison as he learns about literature and radio at the University of Minnesota, then begins a career in public radio to support a wife and young son. We learn how he was inspired to create his show by attending a performance of The Grand Old Opry, about the early days of his radio show, where the singers and musicians were more likely to be musicians he knew who might or might not be professionals, and about the hours he would spend over the years of the show writing the scripts all by himself- which honed his skills as a writer but cost him as far as his relationship with his first wife and his son.
Garrison tells us about the great opportunities and fame that “A Prairie Home Companion” brought him and contrasts that with the personal failures he experienced in trying to find a happy marriage, acknowledging being a poor husband and father before finding happiness with his third wife and his daughter. He shares the sadness he experienced losing good friends and beloved family members, including the loss of his parents, and the life-threatening health conditions he’s faced. In his late seventies when he wrote this book, Garrison reflects on his life, the impact of losing the people you cared for, and his own mortality. Reading this book, I discovered that there’s a lot more to him than we got to hear on his radio show.
Garrison’s life story is an interesting read, but since this book’s an autobiography, it feels incomplete; he shares a lot about his life, but I walked away feeling that there were some things he doesn’t want to fully discuss, like his first two marriages, his relationship with his son, and the accusations during the #MeToo movement that caused his business relationship with American Public Media to end. Even so, I learned quite a bit about Garrison by listening to his book, and I’m sure other fans of the radio show and his books will, too. I recommend getting the audiobook, read by Garrison himself; it’s almost like listening to the ultimate Lake Wobegon story, but it adds something to hear it from the man himself. Recommended!
“That Time of Year” gives Garrison Keillor to share his life story and the story of “A Prairie Home Companion”, the show he hosted for 42 years. Garrison was born Gary Keillor in the little town of Anoka, Minnesota and raised in a very strict sect of Christians who weren’t very keen on frivolity, but he learned to appreciate music in the group’s meetings, and he learned to appreciate good writing and good jokes. The fictional town of Lake Wobegon that we’ve heard and read about over the years is very much based on the family, friends, and neighbors he grew up with - in his family, the women really were strong and the children above average!
From his childhood, we follow Garrison as he learns about literature and radio at the University of Minnesota, then begins a career in public radio to support a wife and young son. We learn how he was inspired to create his show by attending a performance of The Grand Old Opry, about the early days of his radio show, where the singers and musicians were more likely to be musicians he knew who might or might not be professionals, and about the hours he would spend over the years of the show writing the scripts all by himself- which honed his skills as a writer but cost him as far as his relationship with his first wife and his son.
Garrison tells us about the great opportunities and fame that “A Prairie Home Companion” brought him and contrasts that with the personal failures he experienced in trying to find a happy marriage, acknowledging being a poor husband and father before finding happiness with his third wife and his daughter. He shares the sadness he experienced losing good friends and beloved family members, including the loss of his parents, and the life-threatening health conditions he’s faced. In his late seventies when he wrote this book, Garrison reflects on his life, the impact of losing the people you cared for, and his own mortality. Reading this book, I discovered that there’s a lot more to him than we got to hear on his radio show.
Garrison’s life story is an interesting read, but since this book’s an autobiography, it feels incomplete; he shares a lot about his life, but I walked away feeling that there were some things he doesn’t want to fully discuss, like his first two marriages, his relationship with his son, and the accusations during the #MeToo movement that caused his business relationship with American Public Media to end. Even so, I learned quite a bit about Garrison by listening to his book, and I’m sure other fans of the radio show and his books will, too. I recommend getting the audiobook, read by Garrison himself; it’s almost like listening to the ultimate Lake Wobegon story, but it adds something to hear it from the man himself. Recommended!
February 15, 2021
I have been a fan of Garrison Keillor for many years. I listened to Prairie Home Companion whenever I could. I’ve read most of his novels. I own a copy of Prairie Home Companion, the movie. I’ve seen him twice in concert, once in the front row at the Ohio State Fair. I am a fan. This autobiography gives the reader a real inside look at what made him the creative humorist that so many people have enjoyed for so many years. He takes his work very seriously but through it all he doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously. He isn’t comfortable with his celebrity and in fact seems amazed by it all. He likes to point out how his success is a matter of being in the right place at the right time and even sometimes at the wrong time. The whole concept of PHC is out of a different time and yet it worked. It was fun to find out how he came up with some his characters, often based on people in his own family.
Not everything about his life was successful. Two marriages ended in divorce. The end of PHC came before he would have wanted. He was then ostracized after claims of sexual harassment. His explanation was frank and he considered it to be an over-reaction that he didn’t feel the need to fight. The concluding chapters got a bit philosophical and tended toward a sour grapes summary of what he had accomplished in his life. He mourns the fact that he is getting old but he still feels the need to work. He keeps his unique sense of humor and that makes it all worth reading.
Not everything about his life was successful. Two marriages ended in divorce. The end of PHC came before he would have wanted. He was then ostracized after claims of sexual harassment. His explanation was frank and he considered it to be an over-reaction that he didn’t feel the need to fight. The concluding chapters got a bit philosophical and tended toward a sour grapes summary of what he had accomplished in his life. He mourns the fact that he is getting old but he still feels the need to work. He keeps his unique sense of humor and that makes it all worth reading.
November 29, 2020
I wanted to read this as when I was growing up I remember Garrison Keillor and his shows, Prairie Home Companion and of course Lake Wobegon on the radio and figured this would be an interesting read and it was. I will tell you that the first 25% of the book was a little slow as goes deep into his family history growing up in Minnesota and his family being part of a religious group called the Brethern. Can you imagine having 18 Aunts. Garrison came from a poor family to the extent that he wore girls jeans growing up. Garrison ( Did you know that is not his real name ?) got his break as an early teenager when he had some stories published. Do to this he gets a start in radio and came to fame on Minnesota public radio. Do to a need for filling time for his program he grabbed stories from various sources. I thought one story that was pretty funny he got from the local police blotter about a black lab who swam under the ice caught a walleye and breaks through the ice and comes up in a drunk fisherman's ice fishing hut. It is a good thing that he did take the advice of a friend who told that radio was great but he needed to give it up and get back to writing. With the show being live and the fact the held them anywhere they never let the venue or the weather hold them back and imagine doing the show on the fly yes they may have had a walk through but they had no scripts. You may have not realized that he was accused of some sexual harassment or improprieties and I am not hear to say he did or did not do these actions but i was curious if they would be addressed in this book and yes they were. This was a good read and there maybe a part or two in this book that might bring a tear to your eye.
July 6, 2022
I just finished Garrison Keillor's biography, "That Time of Year: A Minnesota Life" (December 1, 2020). It was an easy read. As I said before, reading this book isn't like reading a book but more like listening to an audiobook. I hear Garrison talking to me like an old friend reliving his life to me in an easy one-sided conversation. I very much recommend it. As for Minnesota Public Radio, I think their public donations must and should dry up and disappear. Garrison Keillor was there before MPR was even invented. His program earned them thousands if not millions of dollars every year. But "A Prairie Home Companion" was an embarrassment to them. They dreamed of being relevant and classy. But here was this hick and his old fashioned variety show showing them up on a weekly basis. I don't listen to public radio anymore. The stations in my area prefer to talk instead of playing classical music. And when they do reluctantly play music it is the modern atonal crap that people listen to in order to be considered intelligent. So I listen to my own playlists. And I listen to Garrison Keillor on CD or old shows online. and I read his books and I enjoy them.
Read
December 21, 2020I've listenend to PHC devotedly, from the time a fellow Vandy grad student introduced me to it back in the early '80s. He was a southerner and a Kierkegaardian who went on to a life and teaching career in Minnesota. I'm a midwesterner who's remained in the mid-south. So much about Lake Wobegon and its denizens resonated. Keillor's brilliance and wit somehow neutralized and transcended the temperamental sadness he acknowledges in this memoir.
The late chapter frankly addressing his overblown #MeToo fall from grace makes the world entirely safe for The Writers Almanac, too. The coroners at MPR do not come off well. GK's account is wholly credible, his bitterness is entirely understandable, his determination to let go of righteous anger and move on, in anticipation of the "best work" he looks forward to doing in the years ahead, is inspiring.
I'll keep reading and listening, Mr. K. Like that Ethiopian cab driver, I have a big box full of old recordings on cassette tape. And also like him, even though English is my first language, I've learned a lot from you.
The late chapter frankly addressing his overblown #MeToo fall from grace makes the world entirely safe for The Writers Almanac, too. The coroners at MPR do not come off well. GK's account is wholly credible, his bitterness is entirely understandable, his determination to let go of righteous anger and move on, in anticipation of the "best work" he looks forward to doing in the years ahead, is inspiring.
I'll keep reading and listening, Mr. K. Like that Ethiopian cab driver, I have a big box full of old recordings on cassette tape. And also like him, even though English is my first language, I've learned a lot from you.
January 2, 2021
Anyone from a small town can identify with the Prairie Home Companion radio show. I became a listener in my late twenties and thoroughly enjoyed the nuanced writing, the characters of Lake Woebegone and the limericks and songs. Who doesn’t long for a simpler life? Keillor does Minnesota proud and readers feel an immediate connection to this state and its people. I thoroughly enjoyed the interweaving of PHC with the foundations and development of Keillor’s early life. He describes the ethos, the values and the Christian upbringing that influenced him in so many ways. This book, read by him, was my companion at night as I listened to his hypnotic voice. I learned about how early death experiences affected his pragmatic views, along with his emotional development. He is an imperfectly yet perfectly relatable man whose life decisions, sometimes planned, but often serendipitous, have lead him through a remarkable life, deeply learning about himself along the way. This book provided the foundation for me to understand Gary (Garrison) Keillor and I can’t wait to see the movie. Well done!
March 6, 2021
Clearly a 5 star for anyone who's a fan of his books or PHC. I am such a person but for others it's too repetitious and self-serving.
A complex, talented man who acknowledges (multiple times) the luck and fortune he had to land in perhaps the only career that matched his passion and skills, and that made him extremely fulfilled, wealthy, and famous.
He has a whole chapter titled "Cowardice" where he confesses the many times he put off or ignored people he owed much to. One particular event is gut-wrenching to hear.
His ego is enormous he admits, and we read how much he enjoyed the respect and interaction with truly famous people of the arts.
Gives his side of the "flirtation at work" scandal that ruined a happy ending to his long career. I do think he and some others got lumped unfairly with the worst of the men exposed for their bad/horrible behavior towards women but his version doesn't hold up well with other accounts.
I was hoping to see his "Roots" genealogy episode that got canceled with the scandal. Maybe they'll show it later.
A complex, talented man who acknowledges (multiple times) the luck and fortune he had to land in perhaps the only career that matched his passion and skills, and that made him extremely fulfilled, wealthy, and famous.
He has a whole chapter titled "Cowardice" where he confesses the many times he put off or ignored people he owed much to. One particular event is gut-wrenching to hear.
His ego is enormous he admits, and we read how much he enjoyed the respect and interaction with truly famous people of the arts.
Gives his side of the "flirtation at work" scandal that ruined a happy ending to his long career. I do think he and some others got lumped unfairly with the worst of the men exposed for their bad/horrible behavior towards women but his version doesn't hold up well with other accounts.
I was hoping to see his "Roots" genealogy episode that got canceled with the scandal. Maybe they'll show it later.
March 17, 2021
Garrison Keillor is one of my two favorite writers all-time. His ability to tell a story and weave in such intricate and exact detail puts him at the top of my list. I listened to his tapes as a boy, his radio show on the road home from college, and his short stories and books as a young man taking a break from his fast-paced life to be reminded of the simple beauties in life. I understand the man behind all those things better now, having finished this book. I will always remember him for his fiction, but it was good to sit alongside him again, listen to him tell a story, a true one this time, and then think the big thoughts, hear the melodies in my head and be reminded, in a new way, about the simple beauties in life and growing old.
Thank you, Mr. Keillor. For everything.
Thank you, Mr. Keillor. For everything.
April 16, 2021
Keillor’s Best
I’ve read most of GK’s books, and I think this is the best. It’s honest, funny, and settles in my mind once and for all who he is. And I like who he is. He’s an important writer in our time, and his brush with MeToo won’t change that. One can take down his picture at the U, cancel his wonderful “Writers Almanac,” and otherwise try to pretend he hasn’t been on this earth for nearly eight decades, but like most great yet flawed writers, his works live on and will continue to live on long after he’s gone. Thank you, GK, for this book and for your explanation. Now, go fish somewhere.
I’ve read most of GK’s books, and I think this is the best. It’s honest, funny, and settles in my mind once and for all who he is. And I like who he is. He’s an important writer in our time, and his brush with MeToo won’t change that. One can take down his picture at the U, cancel his wonderful “Writers Almanac,” and otherwise try to pretend he hasn’t been on this earth for nearly eight decades, but like most great yet flawed writers, his works live on and will continue to live on long after he’s gone. Thank you, GK, for this book and for your explanation. Now, go fish somewhere.
May 2, 2023
Our family spent many joyful hours listening to the Prairie Home Companion radio program so this book, narrated by the author Garrison Keillor, was a happy read. An unusual sort of autobiography, peppered with family anecdotes and the author’s personal reminiscences and life views, it doesn’t quite go from A to B directly but that’s typical of Keillor’s stories. I personally enjoyed his tale of one of his ancestors who left his family behind on three different occasions to try his hand at gold prospecting and other fruitless ventures: “It was the 19th century when irresponsibility was called “pioneering”. Pure Keillor. If you are a PHC fan you will enjoy this book.
April 22, 2021
We were long-time listeners of Prairie Home Companion and Garrison Keillor, both on radio and at a few live broadcasts and performances, appreciating his writing, story-telling and the inclusion of eclectic music on the show. So it was a treat to read this memoir to learn more about GK's life, PHC, and enjoy his writing and reminiscences (I still get his weekly musings by email.) My only complaint was that the book it lacked some good editing, likely due to the unknown publisher, but otherwise it was an entertaining mix of regrets and humor that are GK's signature style.
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