Boom Town: A Lake Wobegon Novel AUDIOBOOK (CDS) The wait is over! Many have inquired about getting Boom Town read by Garrison himself. Well, the time has come: the Audible exclusive window has ended and the recording is available wherever you get your books and downloads.
“At 79, Keillor remains a smooth writer, and his ability to create realistic but quirky characters and then spin endless, oddball stories about them is as strong as ever.” — Star Tribune Review
Elana – Washington
***** “I think I’ve read almost all Mr. Keillor's books, and this may be his best one yet. He goes back to Lake Wobegon to attend a funeral and finds his old pals failing and the town booming with new entrepreneurial energy. It is smart, touching, and laugh-out-loud funny. His humor has matured like a fine wine. Well done, Garrison!”
J. Willis Mitchell – Colorado
***** “Keillor's latest Lake Wobegon tale is clever on so many levels. He weaves in self-deprecating humor surely borrowed from his own experiences while at the same time interweaving plot angles from the headlines. He falls back on the many characters readers have come to love as they reveal their flaws and grudges. Keillor extends his stay in town as his friends start dying so that he can provide eulogies, including to a few he didn't particularly care for. And his recall of his first intimate relationship and how he and that friend bring their relationship to a close is quite touching. This superb plot is capped off with writing that just gets better and better. I can't wait for his next novel.”
Lake Wobegon is having a boom year thanks to millennial entrepreneurship — AuntMildred’s.com Gourmet Meatloaf, for example, or Universal Fire, makers of artisanal firewood seasoned with sea salt. Meanwhile, the author flies in to give eulogies at the funerals of five classmates, including a couple whom he disliked, and he finds a wave of narcissism crashing on the rocks of Lutheran stoicism. He is restored by the humor and grace of his old girlfriend Arlene and a visit from his wife, Giselle, who arrives from New York for a big love scene in an old lake cabin.
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Another week, another column or two A beautiful summer day, sitting on a porch in Connecticut, looking at boats anchored in the cove, grateful that I don’t own one. It’s one foolishness I’ve avoided in my life: most of the other numbskull boxes I have checked and as I sit here enjoying the breeze off the water, I torture myself with memories of dumbness, mistaken romances, real estate stupidity, as vivid as the incident on Wednesday when, stepping out of a New York subway car, I paused to make sure it was 42nd, and the subway doors closed on my neck.
Yes, you read that right. I had bags in my hands, and I dropped them to try to pry the doors open, my head poking out, and couldn’t, and then a man pulled them open and I got out, turned and said thank you. He was a construction guy in an orange vest. He looked concerned. Then I remembered that Penn Station is at 34th so I had to catch the next train for one stop. I got on that train and got off without incident. So I’m a man whose head is caught in the doors while getting off at the wrong stop. There are worse things. The guillotine, for one. Read the rest of the column >>> |
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Featured A Prairie Home Companion Show: This week we bring you a show compiled from the live events onboard the MS Maasdam as we sailed the Northwest Atlantic, the Canadian Maritimes, and the Saint Lawrence River. With special guests: Le Vent du Nord (masters of foot-stomping French Canadian folk music) and Genticorum, the reunited Hopeful Gospel Quartet, and our good friends Peter Ostroushko, Storyhill, Andra Suchy, Vern Sutton, and Butch Thompson. Plus, l’Académie Royale des Acteurs de Radio (Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Fred Newman), and the greatest band ever to sail the Seven Seas — the Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band. Join us this Saturday on our Facebook page; the link will appear at 5 p.m. CT (or, if you simply can’t wait, use the link below).
Highlights include a morning glee club sing-along, the return of the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, words with our naturalists, Storyhill, Genticorum, Butch Thompson, Verne Sutton, Guy Noir, Powdermilk Biscuits, and the News from Lake Wobegon, plus “Crazy Arms” by our talent show winner, Gioia Underwood. Listen to the show >>>
Follow our Facebook page >>> More information about our featured guests:
Over the last few years, Genticorum has become one of the most sought-after proponents of Québécois musical culture. The trio — Yann Falquet, Alexandre de Grosbois-Garand, and Pascal Gemme — have taken their energetic interpretation of traditional music across the globe, from North America and Europe to Asia and Oceania. Their distinctive sound and sense of humor make them a crowd pleaser anywhere in the world. “Le Brandy Culotté” >>> Since forming in 2002, the exuberant musicians of Le Vent du Nord have become fan favorites in Québec’s progressive folk movement. These four friends — whose sound features hurdy-gurdy as well as button accordion, guitar, and fiddle — are constantly on the road, playing 100-plus concerts a year, mostly across North America and Europe. At the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Awards, they walked away with Ensemble of the Year honors for their 2009 recording La Part du Feu. The group is Nicolas Boulerice, Simon Beaudry, Olivier Demers, and Réjean Brunet. Listen to “Au Bord de la Fontaine” >>> Calling themselves Storyhill, acoustic duo Chris Cunningham and John Hermanson are longtime musical collaborators beginning when they started performing together as teenagers in Bozeman, Montana. (Chris still makes his home in Montana; John is based in Minnesota.) Their 2007 recording — simply titled Storyhill — was named Best CD of the Year by the Indie Acoustic Project and led to their winning the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Competition. Listen to “Avalon” >>> |
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Garrison Keillor On TOUR! It’s been a busy week: we have added tour dates including appearances in Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Most of the upcoming shows thus far are the Keillor & Company iteration, featuring Prudence Johnson and Dan Chouinard, where you can expect a mix of poetry, music, and stories, with a Lake Wobegon tale or two thrown in and some sage advice on getting older. See you on the road! VIEW ALL UPCOMING SHOWS >>> |
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Ryman Show Shirt Thanks to everyone who joined us in person, online, or in spirit for the most recent broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion American Revival at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Garrison first went to Nashville to write an article on the Grand Ole Opry’s final Ryman performance before moving to Opryland. He came home to Minnesota with the idea for A Prairie Home Companion. So, it was fitting that the show returned there for the Ryman’s 130th Anniversary. Shirts are dated and available in size S–XXL. Purchase the shirt >>> |
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A Prairie Home Companion Hat Our new hat features one of the original wordmarks for A Prairie Home Companion — also featured prominently on the American Revival tour merchandise. Comfy, cotton low-rise hats have an adjustable strap on the back so one size fits most. Available in khaki, blue, and multicolored versions. Khaki hat >>> Blue hat >>> Tri-colored hat >>> |
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