The Book of Guys: Stories

by Garrison Keillor

Overview

"Guys are in trouble these days," says Garrison Keillor. "Years ago, manhood was an opportunity for achievement and now it's just a problem to be overcome. Guys who once might have painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling are now just trying to be Mr. O.K. All-Rite, the man who can bake a cherry pie, be passionate in a skillful way, and yet also lift them bales and tote that barge."

This brilliant collection confirms Keillor’s reputation as an ingenious storyteller and a very funny guy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780140233728
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/01/1994
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.71(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Garrison Keillor, author of nearly a dozen books, is founder and host of the acclaimed radio show A Prairie Home Companion and the daily program The Writer's Almanac. He is also a regular contributor to Time magazine.

Hometown:

St. Paul, Minnesota

Date of Birth:

August 7, 1942

Place of Birth:

Anoka, Minnesota

Education:

B.A., University of Minnesota, 1966

Editorial Reviews

More from the master of the broadcast memoir (WLT, 1991; We Are Still Married, 1989; etc.). Keillor's attentions in this outing are loosely concentrated on the plight of the semi-competent male in today's world of can-do ladies. The 23 items (five previously published) in this latest collection include the other team's view of "Casey At the Bat (Road Game)"; a modern myth about "Zeus the Lutheran" and a pastor's wife; a very amusing high-school anecdote ("Gary Keillor"); a sendup of men's movement nonsense ("Address to the National Federation of Associations..."); a sharp smack at the TV talk shows ("The Chuck Show of Television"); one of the best letters-to-the-editor of recent times ("That Old Picayune Moon"); some business with "Don Giovanni"; and an updated fable of the "Country Mouse and the City Mouse." Liberal as public radio may be, there are still some words you can't say, so Keillor can be a little sharper in print than his listeners may be used to. Some of the pieces ("Buddy the Leper" and "Roy Bradley, Boy Broadcaster") cry out for commercial breaks. The shorter pieces ("The Mid-Life Crisis of Dionysus," "Omoo the Wolf Boy") do better, but even at his windiest, Keillor is more talented at the Thurber business than anybody since. Quite good. You don't have to be a radio fan to enjoy. You do have to be literate.

Kirkus Reviews