Customer Reviews

Leaving Home

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Leaving Home is a collection of pieces about Lake Wobegon citizens who either do leave or dream of leaving. It has lots of the old favorites from "A Prairie Home Companion" (including "Homecoming," the monologue that most people seem to remember), somewhat rewritten as short stories. Funny, sometimes poignant, these are humor pieces at their best, with a surprising depth of characterization and the wonderful, slightly bemused, slightly awed voice of a master story teller. Of all the Lake Wobegon collections, this one is probably the most representative, because it is the most balanced. Belly laughs and a tear or two, although as Keillor insists, his view of Lake Wobegon really is NOT that nostalgic, and usually it's free of sentimentality

Leaving Home is essentially a collection of transcripts of the popular News From Lake Wobegon segment that is the highlight of A Prairie Home Companion, Garrison Keillor's live weekly radio show. For new readers of Keillor, it's an excellent introduction into the colorfully ordinary world of Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, the fictional town that Keillor has made into a functional microcosm of the small-town heartland culture that too much of American society often views as inferior. For readers already exposed to Keillor, it's an extension of our acquaintanceship with the characters we've previously met in Lake Wobegon Days and on the radio show.

I think Keillor is undervalued in the world of American literature. What he has done with the Lake Wobegon books and stories, and with his radio show, is create a fully realized fictional world populated with flesh and blood people. And he has done so in a way that is touching and funny; we may laugh at his characters when they do something foolish or ill-advised, but the perspective that Keillor provides us ensures that we do so from a position of sympathy instead of superiority. The people in his stories may be small-town, but they are not small-minded. In some of his stories, Keillor examines the strong opinions they may have in favor of social values that some may deride as intolerant, but his focus on the decent, moral people at the core of the culture reminds us that although we may have different attitudes and lifestyles, we are connected by the common thread of frail humanity.

My one criticism isn't really a criticism at all: that it is always better, in my opinion, to hear Keillor read the material aloud than it is to read them on your own. His warm, rumbling bass voice is the perfect vessel through which to hear these stories. While he does not imbue the material with any undue drama, he is a master at fleshing out the subtle, gentle humor of his stories. Keillor has a huge amount of material available on audiotape, CD and digital media obtainable at places like audible.com, and it is those that I really recommend for those seeking the complete experience.

I found this book in the apartment I moved into in Japan and read it only when I had run out of my own books and was waiting for more to arrive from Amazon. I was pleasantly surprised by Keillor's wit and insight. This isn't a book about small town people - these are stories about people. Keillor touches on some pretty major topics here. He is a wonderful storyteller. I found the stories both funny and touching and a bit edgier than what I expected. A great read!

Garrison Keillor is a master short story writer...unfortunately, publishers keep trying to turn him into a novelist. This is his BEST collection of stories. Wise, warm, and wonderful. A worthy successor to the string of small-town American writers.

I found this book at my school's library in the free book section. I had no idea what it was about or who the other was, but only grabbed it because it had the nicest cover in comparison to the other books. I was pleasantly surprised that I found a nice collection stories for the 'price.'

The stories all take place in Keillor's fictional, religious, small town in Minnesota, Lake Wobegon. The only things that I really know about Minnesota is that it's cold, the Twins play in the metrodome, and the state has a unique portrayal in Fargo (the movie). Leaving Home gave me a better picture of the state, and how strange and interesting the place and the people are.

It's not a very deep book, but its a fun read. It's perfect for when you're really bored and just want to read something. Some of the stories are actually quite funny. Some are so-so, whilst the others are forgettable. After finishing Leaving Home, I had a nice feeling the rest of the day. It's corny, I know, but that's how it made me feel. Check it out when you get that chance.

Another entertaining update on the comings and goings of the citizens and exiles (returning for the holidays) of Lake Wobegon. Keillor never fails to provide sly and gentle insights into small town life in mid-America, though even here in Canada we recognize those stoic Norweigian characters as some of our own.

As I was browsing through the library one day last month, after reading some Latin short stories, I came upon this book. I was intrigued by the cover at first. So I sat down in MY SEAT in the library. Then I began flipping through the pages. Man, was I surprised. I thought, in the beginning that these stories were fiction, but when I finished it, and read the last lines, my god, it's all true. The stories, not all, but most of it, hit you somewhere. It really does. It makes you say, "Hey, I know this.. This is...(name here-me?)." There's not much continuity in the chapters, like from TRUCKSTOP to DALE. Anyway, it makes the book greater. Again and again, the book is fantastic. Well, if you don't believe me, read the book. Then you'll realize that there is one more thing constant in the world... It has been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon.....

Favorite Stories - Dale, The Ticket, Aprille, The Royal Family, uh, some more... Truckstop... hell, the whole book!!!!

I don't know whether I've changed or Keillor, but I didn't get as much pleasure out of this collection of Lake Wobegon vignettes as I have from other books. As ever with collections like this I'm probably more reflecting on the last few stories because I stretch my reading over several months. Maybe I've reached some sort of saturation point. There were some good moments, but rather than finding most of these stories whimsically touching I found them inconsequential. I didn't identify with any of the characters as much as I have in other books. I'm cautious about dismissing it - I wonder if in a different mood I would have liked it - but where I am now it didn't connect.

I have loved PHC for years, but have just recently started reading GK's work. He spins wonderful yarns, but I found this collection of stories a bit disjointed past the midway point of the book. One thing that is nearly always consistent is that "It was another quiet week in Lake Wobegon."

This has many favorites from PHC shows, including my favorite, "Pontoon Boat." Certainly, the original delivery of Keilor adds much to the presentation, but easily any of us who have heard these can still here his pace, and emphasis as we glide across the words. And, for those who haven't, this is still such entertaining tales.

"Hawaii" and the Usher competition is another fav. How about hand signals for such as "child removal" - "crossed arms and kicking motion?" Or "A Glass of Wendy" --- "if a horse got on the sauce himself, he might get mixed up, but usually they did hte job and if the sheriff came, all he found was a wagon and a horse with red eyes and bad breath."

Classic, good stuff to be cherished and shared.