I nearly didn't post a review of this novel as initially I was disappointed after reading the reviews on the back of the book. If you are expecting a belly laugh book (as stated on the rear cover) then I think you too may be disappointed. It is worth reading however as it is amusing and very well written.The book is long and, in parts, funny. It is longer and makes you smile more because it has to be read in Keillor's voice. If you were lucky then some years ago you will have heard Keillor on BBC radio 4, between 8.30 and 9.00 AM reciting stories from Lake Wobegon. His slow, deep and rich voice stays with you and is the voice that is in your head when you read this novel. Should you have not heard the recital then you should look for cassetttes or CDs of Lake Wobegon to get a taste of the voice before reading. In my opinion the two talking books are way funnier than the book under review and reflect small town mentality that Keillor has observed in a way that only he can.If you check the reviews of the two cassettes above you will find scores of 5/5 and reviews that talk about stopping driving as the listeners are laughing so much!!Back to the book 'Radio Romance' - as we change centuries, from the 20th to the 21st, we live in an age of perfection, where tv and radio broadcasts aim to be perfect and digital. In 1937, where this novel starts off, radio is new and practical jokes abound within the studio area. This is what makes the first two chapters so funny and I will not quote from the book for fear of spoiling your enjoyment.After the first two chapters, we go back to 1926 to the reasons for starting the station, keeping it going and, eventually, for struggling in the 50's against the onslaught of TV.A good read but listen to the Wobegon cassettes first.Addendum to review - Some years after writing this review we stayed in a B&B in Norfolk where the hosts had breakfast for all guests at a large table and insisted that everyone introduce themselves and chat with each other. I told one visitor that I couldn't place his accent between the USA and Canada and placed him somewhere near the border - he asked me why.I told him that his voice was very similar to Garrison's and he laughed. Apparently they were from the same town and were good friends and he often helped Garrison out in his stage shows, reciting from books to give Garrison's voice a rest.
Tedium, thy name is Keillor. After loving parts of We Are Still Married, I thought Lake Wobegon Days was a blip of boringness. Not so. Though, to be fair, I only bought this for the subplot: I have a very dear friend whose name, like the hero, is Frank/Francis and whose twin goals, like those of the hero, are to break into radio and marry the love of his life. The parallels were extraordinary. My Frank is currently having, I understand, conversations very similar to this one with Maria:She sighed. "I've never been this confused," she said. "I like you a lot, Frank. You're sweet and you're more level-headed than anybody I ever knew and you're gentle and good and I have tender feelings when we're together. Maybe that's the same as love, I don't know. But-" Another exquisite sigh.But reading this book to find out what becomes of Frank is a bit like becoming friends with a really boring person who knows someone you fancy, and you have to put up with their droning on about all these people (half of whom are fictional characters in a radio show) you don't care about, for the brief moments when you can coax little snippets of information from them about your beloved.Still, should my Frank ever read this review (DON'T read the book!) - probably not likely as he's a Goodreader in name only - Roy Jr. has this piece of advice for you:"The only unforgivable sin is to not show up. Punctuality. The first law of radio: BE THERE. Remember that. The corollary of that law is: a radio man should own two alarm clocks and have a third available. Not many people were ever fired for not being brilliant, but the list of brilliant guys who wound up as shoe salesmen because they came late for the shift is as long as your leg."Also, (view spoiler)[Frank White marries Maria and (quite literally) walks into a job in television. (hide spoiler)]
Do You like book WLT: A Radio Romance (1992)?
WLT: A Radio Romance by Garrison Keillor covers the maverick days of radio much as The Rocky Mountain Moving Picture Association by Loren D. Estleman does for the early days of filmmaking in Hollywood. With all his years in radio, Keillor excels at pointing out the oddities of running a small radio station and the dangers of competing against the big networks. WLT's history is believable even down to the detail that the call letters stand for "with lettuce and tomato."Where WLT falters is in the telling of the romance. The romance is focused on Frank White, né Francis With and his long time love of WLT and how he builds his life and career at the station. He also falls in love with one of the less popular employees. Unfortunately Frank's story is buried under all the long tangential stories about WLT and the folks who work there and how the station affects the community and so forth.Imagine if you will, a 7 hour Prairie Home Companion broadcast (normally the show runs 2 hours). That's how WLT reads. Even though I love listening to Keillor's broadcasts and love the film that was inspired by the radio show, WLT was too much of a good thing.
—Sarah Sammis
WLT is Keillor's first novel and it definitely feels like it. I've very much enjoyed the books of short stories of his that I've read (in fact his story "After a Fall" remains one of my all time favorites) but WLT feels stretched and forced into a novel length manuscript.As is often observed, Keillor's books can sometimes surprise listeners of his radio show. The books are set in a universe very similar to what we hear on A Prairie Home Companion, but they are darker and characters are allowed to have sexual lives that we never hear about on the radio. This is not what I object to in WLT, though some readers no doubt will. Instead, and I feel weird saying this, Keillor has real trouble getting his characters across. Normally, I find drawing convincing characters to be a strength of Keillor's, but in WLT the brothers Ray and Roy are inscrutable and opaque, Frank White feels largely devoid of inner life, and all the women characters are empty shells. With the exception of the description of a train accident early in the novel, there is very little that leaps off the page.I also wonder if part of the issue is the book's setting of Minneapolis. Minneapolis a great city, and as Keillor well knows, the cultural capital of the region. But Keillor's pacing and observational style have been so trained on smaller communities that it seems somewhat incongruous when being used to describe city life. The rhythm is never quite there the way it is in his more rural stories.Nonetheless, as a resident of the upper plains, I've always felt that Keillor had a way of speaking about this part of the country that is true to life, and of course someone as talented as Keillor can't write an entire novel without some good turns of phrase. WLT isn't exactly a waste of time, but it is far from Keillor's best.
—Brett
Garrison Keillor is one of my favorite humorists and I've always loved his Prairie Home Companion radio show. I've also read several of Keillor's other novels. WLT: A Radio Romance has the same wry humor that is Keillor's trademark but with an R rated twist. Great characters as usual, funny situations as usual, but plot was nearly non-existent. I still loved it though because of the ridiculous situations the characters find themselves in. Keillor fans would enjoy it although some might be shocked if they've only heard Prairie Home Companion. If you've never read any of Keillor's work, you might find it slow because of the weak plot line.
—Kim
