Lake Wobegon USA

Lake Wobegon, USA

by Garrison Keillor

Lake Wobegon U.S.A. is the eagerly anticipated successor to News From Lake Wobegon (one of the bestselling spoken-word audio ever) and More News From Lake Wobegon. This collection contains 17 touching, exquisitely funny monologues from Garrison Keillor recorded during American Radio Company broadcasts from tour stops all over the country. The tales, says Keillor, are about "the luxury of rhubarb pie, the perils of prophecy, Florian and Myrtle's thrifty vacation, the vapor lights of Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility. . . ." They are also about joy, grief, dreams, luck, and mysteries—about the extraordinary moments of wonder that illuminate our ordinary lives.

Contents:
Fertility: The Kresbach's Vacation; Prophet; The Six Labors of Father Wilmer; Fertility
Patience: Aunt Ellie; Duke's 25th; Jobhunting; You're Not the Only One
Youth: Blue Devils; Nostalgia; O Christmas Tree; Pageant; Messy Shoes
Rhubarb:  Rhubarb; Sweet Corn; The Sun's Gonna Shine Someday; Yellow Ribbon

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Audiobook, Short Stories

300 pages, Audio CD

Published January 1, 1993

About the author

Gary 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.

Reviews

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is filled with stories about a fictional town in Minnesota and the residents that live there. I think listening to Garrison Keillor talk about his town and the people who live there added to the fun of listening about the charming characters. Some of the stories made me laugh out loud, some just made me giggle and some just gave me food for thought. Good clean quirky stories to listen to while you go about your day.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these tapes about Lake Wobegon and those who live in Minnesota. Living 20 miles from Minnesota and being a Scandinavian Lutheran I can relate to the culture and mind-set of Lake Woebegon.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat interesting and identifiable due to my Minnesota upbringing, but I am glad I never went to stand in line to see the show.

[Stuart]

This was a particularly good collection of his stories.

[Rachel Hutcheson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Garrison Keillor is a wonderful writer. It was pure pleasure to listen to this audio.

[Tyler Rosso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non-stop laughter, excellent witty humor. Well done!

[Tess Mertens-Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can wrap me in a blanket of Garrison Keilor's soothing voice and make me laugh about being a Minnesootan any day!
This book is small vignettes of his radio show from the Fitzgerald Theater (and on the road).
The music, the feeling of family within the mythical town of Lake Wobegon, and the stories of fertility, rhubarb, Aunt Ellie and so on are stories no matter where you grew up can relate to.
He takes the day to day life and highlights the humor and ends in wrapping up into a feeling of warmth.
I can never get enough of Lake Wobegon!

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take this with you on those marathon drives to take a break from the music, it's like having a passenger that won't fall asleep on duty, plus you can turn it down whenever you like and make stops wherever and whenever you desire. There's no additional person to split fuel costs with but there's hardly any luggage to worry about, just a little audio cd case, and you can even minimize that further, if you want.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual, Garrison Keilor satirizes small town America through the lens of his small home town, Lake Wobegon, in Minnesota. In this collection of stories, performed by Keilor, taken from his stage shows across America, the foibles of average people are gently and affectionately parodied. Some great gems here.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone like me who is missing life in the Midwest, Keillor's stories are the perfect way to take a quick trip back home. He is a master story teller (one of a small, dying breed) and I never tire of hearing the same stories again and again...it's like visiting old friends.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on my commutes to and from work this week, and I've concluded laughter is a great stress reliever. I wish I could smile all the way to work and back all the time. You can't deny Keillor is a great storyteller. I wish I could describe my home town half so well.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lake Wobegon, U.S.A. by Garrison Keillor (HighBridge Co. 1992) (Fiction). This is am audio CD of seventeen collected monologues about Lake Wobegon. My rating: 7/10, finished 2000.