Based in part on material written for "A Prairie Home Companion," How to Talk Minnesotan will help visitors to Minnesota keep from sticking out like sore thumbs when they don't know the difference between "not too bad a deal" and "a heckuva deal." Illustrated with line drawings.
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Those looking for someone to fill Garrison Keillor's trademark red socks will not be appeased by Mohr, who was a writer for A Prairie Home Companion. There is a similarity in the book's wryness to the humor in the show, and there are dummied-up ads of local businesses. But despite the book's subtitle, this isn't really about Minnesota: some of the humor is based on the idiosyncracies and colloquialisms of the region, but most of it can be applied to just about any state. Still, Mohr has found some purely Minnesotan motifs: the section on starting the car in winter will ring true to anyone who has survived the experience; his few, well-chosen words on going to the lake or the cabin is acutely observed; and his attitude about lutefisk, a dish that natives consume more out of a sense of duty than with relish, strikes just the right tone (he regrets having to mention it altogether). But he misses and skims over some genuine regionalisms (where's uffda?), invents others, and usually strains to make a point. Because his humorous account of Minnesota invites comparison with Keillor, the book is found wanting.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
A one-time radio script writer, Howard Mohr has become known as the man who translated Minnesotan for the rest of the world.
A one-time radio script writer, Howard Mohr has become known as the man who translated Minnesotan for the rest of the world.
Early in his career, Mohr wrote for Prairie Home Companion, creating fake radio ads and listener favorites such as Raw Bits. But he's best known as the author of the bestselling book How to Talk Minnesotan. It's a book that when made into a video version won a regional Emmy in Chicago. He even adapted it into a stage musical which received a long-time run at playhouses in the region.
Mohr is a graduate of Abilene Christian University and lives with his family on a southwestern Minnesota prairie. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
Early in his career, Mohr wrote for Prairie Home Companion, creating fake radio ads and listener favorites such as Raw Bits. But he's best known as the author of the bestselling book How to Talk Minnesotan. It's a book that when made into a video version won a regional Emmy in Chicago. He even adapted it into a stage musical which received a long-time run at playhouses in the region.
Mohr is a graduate of Abilene Christian University and lives with his family on a southwestern Minnesota prairie.
A one-time radio script writer, Howard Mohr has become known as the man who translated Minnesotan for the rest of the world.
Early in his career, Mohr wrote for Prairie Home Companion, creating fake radio ads and listener favorites such as Raw Bits. But he's best known as the author of the bestselling book How to Talk Minnesotan. It's a book that when made into a video version won a regional Emmy in Chicago. He even adapted it into a stage musical which received a long-time run at playhouses in the region.
Mohr is a graduate of Abilene Christian University and lives with his family on a southwestern Minnesota prairie. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was given "How to Talk Minnesotan" by some wonderful friends as a 'welcome to Minnesota' gift back in 1995, and found it instantly hilarious. What was less obvious, though, was how accurate this book was in many ways, most particularly in rural Minnesota. Although I wasn't born in Minnesota, I now love it and consider myself an adopted Minnesotan, but after nine years I am still learning to master the subtle complexities of Minnesota interactions so perfectly defined in this book.
Howard Mohr ("Creator of Minnesota Language Systems"), a brilliant writer for 'A Prairie Home Companion,' details all the basics of talking Minnesotan form the viewpoint of a visitor. After reading this book, you will: learn how to refuse food three times before accepting it; learn to reduce anxiety with the all-purpose reaction "it could be worse"; learn proper conduct at Bob's B-17 Park, the Particle Board Pageant, and the Deep Woods Tent Casino; and learn the proper way of accepting a gift from a Minnesotan (hint: never call it a gift).
There are wonderful examples of all linguistic areas provided as well as guides to where to go in Minnesota, Minnesota dating etiquette, and an overview of Minnesotan cuisine, including detailed explanations of various hotdish concepts unseen outside Minnesota. This is a wonderful book, with more than a little humor and more than a little truth in it. I love Minnesota, and I love this book. It's a heckuva deal.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I bought this book for my brother for his birthday years ago. I borrowed it from him and haven't given it back yet. If you were raised in rural Minnesota, Iowa or Wisconsin, this book will remind you of home. The piece about hot dishes and tacos (pronounced TAH-co) really cracked me up. We still laugh about the Minnesota good-byes that resemble the ritual still practiced in Wisconsin today. You, the visitor, have to mention that it is time to go at least three times (with intermittent periods of conversation) before you actually take leave or you are considered a bit rude.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I read this book once, 12 years ago, and still laugh when I think about it. Anyone who is from Minnesota (especially from a small town), or moved there from somewhere else, would appreciate this book... because it unwraps the cultural norms that we grew up with not thinking twice about them until we left (or moved in).
The reader who didn't get it must live in Dinkytown, the glorious place that will be forever remembered as the hang out and career beginnings of Robert Zimmerman (Bob Dillan). If you can't laugh about yourself, you must be dull... or perhaps a bit too Minnesotan in your outlook, the perpetual underdog, Minnesota, the Mondale State.
There's a saying in Minnesota...'40 below keeps out the rif-raf.'
The reader who didn't get it must live in Dinkytown, the glorious place that will be forever remembered as the hang out and career beginnings of Robert Zimmerman (Bob Dillan). If you can't laugh about yourself, you must be dull... or perhaps a bit too Minnesotan in your outlook, the perpetual underdog, Minnesota, the Mondale State.
There's a saying in Minnesota...'40 below keeps out the rif-raf.'
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just what I was hoping for
Laugh out loud funny and a great read bit by bit or all at once. My husband and I took it on vacation with his parents, local Minnesotans, and my parents, currently living in... Read more
Published 11 days ago by Megan Kerber
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny!
I loved this book. Thought it was interesting, funny and informative! I gave it to my daughter, who moved to Minnesota! She said the book was right on the money!
Published 29 days ago by Jane Graves
5.0 out of 5 stars
Real good then!
ThHilarious and informative!is book is a hoot! If you know Minnesotans and can't understand them, this will be a big help!
Published 2 months ago by raphaela capehart
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious!
This book was totally hilarious, and, as a Midwesterner, I can tell you that it is completely true. I will be buying extra copies for my other fellow Midwesterners.
Published 14 months ago by Jenz42
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun for Minnesotans, or those who wish they were Minnesotans
This book will never be compared to the greats like Gatsby or Dorian Gray, but it is a fun way to learn of some of the quirks that we Minnesotans identify with. Read more
Published on December 3, 2010 by Teacherman
3.0 out of 5 stars
light n silly
Cute book on mid western culture.I would have thought it a farce if I didn't know Minnesotans just like this.
Published on December 28, 2009 by GG
5.0 out of 5 stars
good listenin' don't ya know
my cassette copy finally gave out so was able to locate CD to entertain myself & company
Published on June 30, 2009 by C. Halverson
3.0 out of 5 stars
A FUN BOOK THOUGH IT LEAVES SOME QUESTIONS UNANSWERED
A fun, easy-to-read look at life in Minnesota and how to get along when visiting or moving there. It does leave one questioning the accuracy of all the author has written as most... Read more
Published on July 18, 2008 by H. Sitarz
4.0 out of 5 stars
A slice of Midwestern American life
This will make most people laugh at least a little at some of the ridiculous truths about folks from Minnisota. Read more
Published on February 28, 2008 by Ol'young@heartguy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laugh Out Loud
I literally laughed out loud, constantly. I have relatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin, whom I visit often, which probably helps. Read more
Published on December 28, 2007 by Stretch Johnson
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