Guy Noir and the Straight Skinny

By: Garrison Keillor

Narrated by: Garrison Keillor, Tim Russell, Sue Scott

Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

On the 12th floor of the Acme Building, on a cold February day in St. Paul, Guy Noir looks down the barrel of a loaded revolver in the hands of geezer gangster Joey Roast Beef, who is demanding to hear what lucrative scheme Guy is cooking up with stripper-turned-women's-studies-professor Naomi Fallopian. Everyone wants to know - Joey, Lieutenant McCafferty, reporter Gene Williker, Guy's ex-girlfriend Sugar O'Toole, the despicable Larry B. Larry, the dreamboat Scarlett Anderson, Mr. Kress of the FDA - and Guy faces them one by one, as he and Naomi pursue a dream of earning gazillions by selling a surefire method of dramatic weight loss. In this whirlwind caper Guy looks death in the eye, falls in love, and faces off with the capo del capo del grande primo capo Johnny Banana.

©2012 Garrison Keillor (P)2012 HighBridge Company

Garrison Keillor has taken leave of his senses.

Garrison is my hero. I live in Lake Wobegone. I understand this wonderful man. Or at least I did until this book. It is just....well, even with an English degree, I can't think of a better word than gross. Second choice would be stupid. There was something about eating tapeworms as a diet aid that just shut me down within the first few pages. Sorry Garrison. Please try again soon.

Not what I expected, glad it was on clearance

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I guess if you are a big fan of Garrison Keillor, but it was just too cheesy.

What could Garrison Keillor have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Well if he wanted a faux noir type PI story with lots of cheesy, nonsensical verbiage then he hit it on the head. Just not worth the $, even at the clearance price. Couldn't finish it.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of the narrators?

I would not have produced this work.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

yuk.

Any additional comments?

I've learned by lesson with Garrison Keillor productions.

Not Impressed

What disappointed you about Guy Noir and the Straight Skinny?

The storyline was boring, and not at all like the series that I know and love on NPR.

What was most disappointing about Garrison Keillor’s story?

It was long and boring, and I couldn't make myself listen for more than a few minutes before losing interest.

What didn’t you like about the narrators’s performance?

It was flat.

What character would you cut from Guy Noir and the Straight Skinny?

How about all of them!

Any additional comments?

I was terribly disappointed!

Not PHC quality

I guess this was meant to be the adult version? Sorely disappointed, was looking for the original Guy Noir that was rated PBS🙁

The Skinny: Shoulda Played It Straight

Guy Noir is a popular segment on Garrison Keillor's weekly radio show, A Prairie Home Companion. He even appeared in the movie adaptation, played by Kevin Kline. He is a satirical version of the hard-boiled detective who appears throughout the pulp fiction and film noir canon of the mid-20th century. He makes for a great skit.

He cannot, unfortunately, carry a novel. Certainly not an audiobook in which the entire length of the proceedings is backed by cheesy organ music. Who's idea was this? It is truly awful, unlistenable. It's worth a chuckle or two in a skit measured in minutes, but it's an annoyance of epic proportions when stretched out over a span of hours (even if four hours is short by audiobook standards).

That's too bad, because otherwise, Keillor has written some good riffs and, as is his way, expertly narrated his own writing (though aided here by two actors doing the voices of other characters, which are OK). Some readers have been turned off by the bathroom humor and stomach turning premise. I agree that Keillor could have made some better choices in those areas, even in the vein of satire and parody.

What we're left with: a) distracting soundtrack, b) distasteful plot elements, and worst of all c) Keillor allowing some good rants and observations and narration to be swamped by items a) and b). There are better alternatives available within Keillor's Audible library as well as the well-filled racks of pulp fiction by Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and dozens of others, including plenty of satire and self-parody.

Frankly...Boring

Would you try another book from Garrison Keillor and/or the narrators?

No, I found the plot very similar to old gum shoe books without much interest.

Would you ever listen to anything by Garrison Keillor again?

No. This was not a good experience for me

Which scene was your favorite?

Couldn't get through it.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment

Any additional comments?

No

Tired too hard

I understand the aim of the author, and that was to spoof the detective noir genre of yesteryear. In some aspects this aim is met, with plenty of tongue-in-cheek lines and ridiculous names. Unfortunately, there isn't enough meat in this story to fill out 5 hours of narrative. Numerous times the story went off on unrelated tangents that grew annoying.

I wanted to give the performance 4 stars, as the narrators did a great job. Production was also quite good with the one exception; the incessant music in the background. Used properly, it can enhance a story. Here, it was just annoying.

In the end I can't really recommend this audio book. I think there are better stories out there also having some fun with this genre.

I'm dumber for listening to half of this book

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

If you like flatulence jokes and sound effects, this book is for you. If you find it immature and gross like me, do not waste your time. The concept of the story is fine. I thought it would be entertaining at least. I found myself gagging from disgust and never finished it. The acting in it was decent.

What could Garrison Keillor have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The flatulence jokes are juvenile and add nothing to the story. If you think this is what listeners want, go back to school and learn a new vocation...you're terrible.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator was fine.

What character would you cut from Guy Noir and the Straight Skinny?

Any of them that made flatulence sounds

Just a little too dumb...

I like usually like " A Prairie Home Companion" but could not stomach this. Just a little too dumb.