Pontoon

A Novel of Lake Wobegon

By: Garrison Keillor

Narrated by: Garrison Keillor

Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Garrison Keillor's latest book is about the wedding of a girl named Dede Ingebretson, who comes home from California with a guy named Brent. Dede has made a fortune in veterinary aromatherapy; Brent bears a strong resemblance to a man wanted for extortion who's pictured on a poster in the town's post office. Then there's the memorial service for Dede's aunt Evelyn, who led a footloose and adventurous life after the death of her husband 17 years previously. Add a surprise boyfriend and a band of newly arrived Mormon missionaries, and the gently rendered chaos is complete.

©2007 Garrison Keillor (P)2007 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Narration by the Author or Authors, 2008

"There's plenty of fun to be had with the well-timed deadpans and homespun wit." (Publishers Weekly)

Description of Story is Wrong

After attending Garrison Keillor's last hosting performance on Prairie Home Companion, I mourned my loss by listening to this novel. It's everything I needed to remember about the human condition from this Prairie philosopher. His baritone voice made me laugh and cry as he told the story of Barbara whose life is instantly changed when she discovers her mother dead at home in bed.

The publisher's description of the story is shockingly wrong and is a disservice to Keillor's art. Please fire whoever wrote the summary and encourage them to go out into the world and find their true passion, but read the book first so they don't have unrealistic expectations.

Keillor has the ability to express compassion for human beings while simultaneously revealing their inner demons. I'm happy to have his writings to turn to now that he will no longer be offering up the weekly news from Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, where all the men are good-looking, all the women are strong, and all the children are above average.

Wonderful!

Absolutely delightful!! every word! Beautifully balanced with humor! Found it impossible not to laugh out loud listening to chapter 23! listened to that chapter twice!

Not Garrison Keillor's best.

Very unlikable characters and lead. Boring and cliche. Noting like his best works. Give it a Pass.

Wonderful

Garrison Keillor writes & narrates as only he can. This is a wonderful story, funny sad but we all know people like those of Lake Wobegon. I’ve listened over and over again. Feel good book at its best.

An amazingly simple AND complex slice of life!

Humorous yet poignantly describes all of our us! Life, Love, Loss, Family, Crazy, Sane
Alphabet soup in the wo serous town of Lake Wobegon.
Garrison Keeler delivers his work magnificently.

Enjoyed, but not great

Good, but I've enjoyed his other books more. Great narration, but the story didn't engage me quite as much as he normally does.

Loved it

G.K. is the master of writing - and narrating - profound and poignant stories of human relationships and personal growth through seemingly simple people in a humble nowhere town leading what, to the outsider would appear to be, benign lives. But there is nothing benign about this work. It will infect you with its humour and humanity and take you on a journey into yourself and your own relationships, without even knowing you've left home. But, sans that sticky sentimentality of many writers. A most gifted contemporary story teller! A delight to listen to every time!

Started out good but, then....

Saying it's not for me means there was too much information of an intimate nature which surprised me for Keillor. I tried to like it hoping it would improve but, it just got worse. I was actually relieved when it ended.

Keilor! Brilliant.

Laugh out loud! And I did. Nothing like a Garrisson Keillor to do that. It is especially great since Keillor reads it.

Not the news from Lake Wobegon

Though parts of the story are familiar to this Prairie Home Companion listener, this story centers around the death of an elderly woman and contains many sexual references that would not be aired on radio. The quality of the audio is good and G. Keillor does a fine job, as usual, telling the story, but I found the content of the story atypical of the new from L. Wobegon.