News From Lake Wobegon: Fall -- A More Somber Trip
Written: Mar 20 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A more emotional trip to Lake Wobegon--makes it much more real...
Cons: That Epinions is so incomplete for their readers
The Bottom Line: This darker, more somber trip to Lake Wobegon will unsettle you, but make the fictional town much more real.
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| JediKermit's Full Review: Suggest Products |
NOTE: There is no topic in Epinions to cover "News From Lake Wobegon: Fall"....so I'm submitting this review under "
Suggested Products." There are four in the series, and they've only got two of them--and one of those listed twice! Hopefully soon Epinions will rectify this oversight and I can move it to the more accurately seasoned category!
As a recent move-in to Garrison Keillor's fictional town of Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, I'm still learning my way around the very complex little hamlet on the edge of the northern prairie. Keillor's stories, told as a part of the radio program "Prairie Home Companion," first captured my attention a few months ago, and captured it through laughter. The stories he told reminded me of James Thurber, O. Henry and Mark Twain--stories of America the way it Used To Be (even if it never really was quite that simple) and the Way It Is (even if it really isn't). I would be listening to the CDs while working at home, and just burst out laughing at the antics of these small town folk in the bucolic community, and I wanted to not only know more about them, but I wanted to move to Lake Wobegon.
As a part of my investigations of Lake Wobegon, I've picked up another CD set, "News From Lake Wobegon." The hour-long CDs are Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, and they're turning out to be quite a treat, and quite different than I thought they would be. I came to Lake Wobegon for the fun and games, but I'm discovering that there's a more somber, quieter, and even a darker side to the tiny town and its residents.
"Fall"is the subject of this review, and it's the darkest, but also the most emotional collection of stories I've heard so far from Keillor. I enjoyed it, because it makes the town more three- dimensional than just a bunch of Scandinavian jokes told at the expense of the Olaffsons, the Olsons, the Tolleruds, and the Lundeens. There are five stories, each distinct, but each exploring a portion of the lives of Lake Wobegon that had been buried until now.
1. Giant Decoys — A story about hunting, it starts out with the hilarious story of how the Sons of Knute Lodge decided to build ten-foot long fiberglass duck decoys, so the ducks from the air could see them better, and they'd be more likely to come down and get hunted. The comedy is sublime, but the musings on hunting and on writing were very moving. A surprising end to a very funny story make this one of my favorites of the piece.
2. Darryl Tollerud's Long Day — A story about the frustrations of growing up in a small town-- where you're always a "junior" or "the Tollerud boy," and the need to break away from it. It's poignant, like all of the stories in this collection, but there are elements of threat and anger in it that go far beyond the other stories. Keillor mixes in the comedy, of course, but the pain of failure is overwhelming.
3. Hog Slaughter — this is almost a parable on the sanctity of life, told in a setting of a slaughterhouse. A frightening and reverent story, this is the sort of thing that will still be settling in your mind for days after hearing the story.
4. Thanksgiving — More of a general story about all of the Thanksgivings in Lake Wobegon than a story of a particular family, this is also about family, and the ties that bind us together; how they may pull tighter at some times than others. It's also about family secrets, and how they're best told and explored and cried over in the kitchen, and about the disaster of trying new and fancy recipes to cook the Thanksgiving Turkey. There's something of this Thanksgiving in all of our families, and you'll find yourself relating to it.
5. The Royal Family — the collection ends with the best and the saddest story on the disc, one so sad that I was very nearly crying over it. And I don't cry. Much. I don't want to give things away, because it was a surprise from beginning to end. It shows the cruelty that can happen in small towns, and the heartache that is carried in families from parents to children. It's a bizarre, implausible story, but there are parts of it that ring true because we've seen these things in our own lives. It's a beautifully told story, but it broke my heart to listen to it. You need to know the story of "The Royal Family."
All told, this was an excellent CD, that ranged from the hilarious to the heartbreaking. It made me reconsider my treatment of others, and also my desire to move to that fictional town in Minnesota. It's not all fun and games there. Then again, it's not all fun and games HERE. These stories made Lake Wobegon more real than ever before, and I love them and Garrison Keillor for it. Check it out today.
Recommended:
Yes
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JediKermit
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Member: Quinn
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
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Books, Movies, and Toys. Is there more to life?
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