GARRISON KEILLOR’S LAKE WOBEGON SUMMER 1956
Truth be told, the first time I “read” this book
it was an audio book Hubby
and I got to listen to on a long car ride from Tennessee to Connecticut and,
though I wasn’t actively flipping pages, it was an excellent read. I’ve read the physical copy since then and it
didn’t lose anything by reading vs. listening.
I love Garrison Keillor. I love
the way he speaks (and he narrates the audio book) in such monotone with
minimal inflections as to make even the most mundane sentence hysterical and
the most hysterical sentence even more so. Maybe because I read the physical book after listening to it in audio format, I read the book with Keillor's voice in my head, which was great. And honestly, I don't know if I'm recommending you read first and then listen, or the other way around, like I did. I guess it doesn't matter.
This book is a story of a young, teenage boy named Gary who hails from a
suffocatingly religious family in fictional Lake Wobegon, Minnesota. Gary is a writer, loves baseball, his slightly
older cousin, Kate, and dirty magazines.
He hates his annoying older sister and the Sanctified Brethren influence
of his family. The story follows Gary through
the daily trials and tribulations of his young life. It’s not exciting. It’s not a quick read, but it doesn’t plod
along, either. It is well-written and uproariously
funny. I can almost guarantee you will
snort whatever beverage you are sipping on out your nose. (Hubby and I have never laughed so hard on a car trip before...or since.) And, of course, it’s by Garrison
Keillor. If you don’t read any other
book by Keillor in your life, you need to read this one. You might be offended (in multiple ways) but I
doubt you’ll be disappointed.
