Stories from Lake Wobegon Book

As always with Keillor, my thoughts on his fiction are colored by being from a place pretty similar to the Lake Wobegone of his books. I always think of the people he writes about as "my people" and am therefore prepossesed to liking his work. Still, I don't think I'm way off base by saying this book has a lot of humanity in it.

If I have it right, all of the 30 or so chapters that make up Leaving Home are taken from Keillor's radio show and transcribed. As usual, they concern the small time goings-on in a small Minnesota community. The characters feels true to life--both small-minded and sometimes generous. I was often touched by the writing, and though this book is less dark than some of Keillor's other published work that did not appear on the radio, there is still a surprisingly small amount of nostolgia.

In my view, the Upper Plains states couldn't find a better chronicler of their collective experience than Keillor. Like the citizens themselves, Keillor's work is subdued, with gentle humor. Sometimes reactionary, sometimes seeking escape, sometimes reveling in the familiar and sometimes coming to terms with their own lives with a surprising honesty.