Rating: 
Summary: A story of life
Review: This was my first time reading a Garrison Keillor novel. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this book was. It follows the life of 14-year-old Gary as he grows up in the summer of 1956. I love how Garrison Keillor writes. The story moves along in a lazy manner. You almost don't even realize that the story is progressing. It is much the same as I remember spending my summers. The days blend together until suddenly you wake up and realize that the summer is half over, and then suddenly you're waking up for school early in the morning again. This would make for a boring novel if Keillor wasn't such a gifted storyteller. The characters are wonderfully human and I found myself laughing out loud as Gary described the adventures and personalities of his small town. And just when you think that the book is going to be nothing but a comedy, Keillor hits you with a profound lesson about life.This was truly a great book. Some people may be offended by parts, but this book is about life and life isn't always innocent and pretty. Garrison Keillor did a terrific job writing this book and I definitely have to recommend it to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Woe is me
Review: Unfortunately, there's something a little disappointing about Garrison Keillor's latest book of Lake Wobegon lore. I read LAKE WOBEGON DAYS a few years ago, and although I found it to be generally slow-moving, it was nonetheless also consistently moving, poetic and sweet (something like maple syrup, all told). It was probably my favorite book in a year full of pretty good books, so I was eager to pick up another Keillor title before long. When LAKE WOBEGON SUMMER 1956 came out in hardcover, I snatched it up and dove in with exuberance and relish (and a little picnic table mustard and ketchup).
LAKE WOBEGON SUMMER 1956 starts off strongly enough, setting up an interesting family of characters, and putting them through a series of interesting and keenly observed episodes of mid-twentieth century interpersonal drama. The young male protagonist portrays himself, often humorously, as something of a tortured soul: a sensitive artistic type saddled with an incurably filthy mind who, as plain bad luck would have it, was born into the midst of a thick-witted, Bible-toting household.
Young Gary is relentlessly persecuted by his goody-goody older sister, unjustly scolded and disciplined by his humorless father, and gossiped about by his aunts. It's only his free spirit cousin, whom he has the hots for, and his somewhat free-thinking mother that give Gary some of the room he needs to grow into the adult who'll eventually write down all of these sometimes fond, sometimes painful memories. There's also an uncle that gives him the best gift anyone could give a boy with too many thoughts in his head: a typewriter. Gary spends most of the summer of 1956, when he's not fantasizing about his cousin, or writing dirty stories on his new typewriter, covering the local baseball games for the LakeWobegon paper. It's not a bad way to spend the summer when you're fourteen and just starting out. The problem is, the way it's written, it doesn't make for that great of a novel. One problem is that nothing really happens. Gary almost gets involved with his cousin, goes to baseball games, spanks the monkey, learns to write lead sentences, meets the lead singer of a local musical group, and that's really about it. LAKE WOBEGON DAYS didn't have much in the way of conflict either, but it managed to propel itself with a quiet, dreamy worldview that always left you hungry for another lick, and kept you from putting the book down unless you absolutely had to. In LAKE WOBEGON SUMMER 1956, you get the feeling that that wonderful ice-cream like narrative substance was left out of the freezer a little too long and got soupy on you. There are nice moments LW SUMMER 1956, and it's worth a look if you're a frequent visitor, but all in all, it just doesn't have the hard to define stuff to keep you interested. Still, it's clear from this book that Keillor has many talents as a writer, and his humor and sense of irony remain intact throughout. If you're looking for a good chuckle and don't mind blue material (or actually seek it out) LAKE WOBEGON SUMMER 1956 is probably worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: Another great one by America's favorite storyteller
Review: Wonderful read.
Re-entering into the thoughts of a 14 year-old is no walk in the park, but Mister Keillor has certainly managed to do it successfully.
Weaving a great story into believable characters' lives and hearts isn't easy either but he's done it masterfully. Maybe this is why people can't get enough of reading Keillor.
Great stuff. I just bought 4 other Keillor books from ebay! Guess I'm hooked ....
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