The Zombies of Lake Woebegotten

By: Harrison Geillor

Narrated by: Phil Gigante

Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

The town of Lake Woebegotton, MN is a small town, filled with ordinary (yet above average) people, leading ordinary lives. Ordinary, that is, until the dead start coming back to life, with the intent to feast upon the living! Now this small town of above average citizens must overcome their petty rivalries and hidden secrets in order to survive an onslaught of the dead.

©2010 Harrison Geillor (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Great Fun

The is a truly great hommage to its non-zombified origins. The audiobook format makes it even better. The narrator 's coice is similar enough to Garrison Keilor's to enhanse the story, but different enough to also bring forth good humor.

The set-up, as well as the execution of the events are well-paced. And, like some NRP programs, I found myself sitting in my car listening to more of the story after having arrived at my destination.

Great fun, for sure.

Small town zombie apocalypse

This is a tale about a small town where the people battle zombies, but continue with their normal lives. They do not allow the apocalypse to turn them into frantic survivors or power-hungry maniacs. There are the good, the not-so-good and the downright nasty, but they all go on living their lives and keeping their values, even with zombies in their town. Nice change of pace, with plenty of zombie action too.

Goldilocks would have liked it

Zombies of Lake Woebegotton: i bet Goldilocks wood have liked it: not to silly not to stupid but just rite.

However Goldie probably didn't know s*** about zombies, but fortunately I do. At least a thing or two bout zombie stories. And this one is pretty good. It’s cute. Cute that is as far as a zombie story goes. It has good killing and gore and such, it is a zombie story after all. But it is a story of a small town, with small town folx and small town scenarios. The small town zombie story. If you have ever lived in a small town you'll know what I mean. If you have never lived in a small town you might not like it.

Now days, there are two types of zombie story: serious or funny. The funny ones are usually dumb. But the funny in this one is subtle-ish. It is small town funny. And that is what separates it from the funny ones that end up being dumb. And the humor is not a focus of the story.

there are a good series of character surprises that are truly surprising. like the old man school teacher who is a chainsaw serial killer in secret. Or the lady who is married to the guy that has paraphilia: person who enjoys sex with objects, like chairs or fire hydrants or cars.

I do have a pet-peeve when it comes to zombie stories: when they mention zombie movies or stories. Don’t know why this bugs me, but it does. Guess what – they do it here. I was bummed, at first. But they did it better or different than anyone had ever done it before: part of the guys liberal-arts class in college.

In short this story is not Chekhov, but zombie books never are. This is a nice break away from the hustle and bustle of serious literature, a fresh take on a dead genre.

yup – woebegone is a good time for the slightly twisted.

Watch out for the zombdog!

What did you love best about The Zombies of Lake Woebegotton?

All of it. I'm a big Prairie Home Companion fan and the author did a great job of creating that PHC sense of reality. The reader was not Garrison Keillor, but he came close enough and did a stellar job with the multiple voices.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Zombies of Lake Woebegotton?

Zombie walleye. Zombie dogs. Oh, and zombie people. Not the metaphysical or philosophical zombies you might be used to in your Zombies As Metaphor class at the Lake Woebegotton Community College. But they're Lutherans, mostly, so dutiful and polite. Except for those "insufficiently dead husbands" that refuse to just lay down and die already. It's been reported by National Public Radio so it must be true. 'Nuff said. An aging serial killer gets a brief visit from the victims he should have concreted over in his basement, but he gets by with a little help from his neighbors. Because that's what good neighbors are for, right? In the immortal words of the Lake Woebegotton Interfaith Anti-Zombie Task Force: "As Jesus said, I've come, not to bring peace but a sword. And the only reason He said sword is because assault rifles hadn't been invented yet." So call your ladies church auxiliary and your neighborhood munitions stock-piler, and you too will be able to survive the end of days. If you need ideas for what to serve at your town meeting announcing the zombie apocalypse, may I suggest the tuna hot dish.

Oh, so it's a zombie apocalypse then...yah, sure

Would you listen to The Zombies of Lake Woebegotton again? Why?

In fact, I have listened to this twice and I laughed as much the second time around. It is ridiculous and funny.

What other book might you compare The Zombies of Lake Woebegotton to and why?

I can't think of any other books like this. There aren't that many parodies of Garrison Keiller and Lake Woebegone out there (aside from the other title by this author).

Have you listened to any of Phil Gigante’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've not listened to any of his other performances, but this one was perfect.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I usually listen to audiobooks while I'm doing something else -- sitting quietly and listening tends to put me to sleep. With this book, I was looking all around the house for chores to do so I could listen just a little bit longer.

Any additional comments?

Obviously, the people most likely to enjoy this will be people who are fans of both NPR/Garrison Keiller and zombie apocalypse horror. Sady, I'm not sure the intersection of these two groups is very large, except for a few hipsters. But I hate to see this little gem get ignored, so I would also recommend this to the group of people who enjoy both the Walking Dead and Andy Griffith. Hmm, still I'm thinking this may not be that many people. Maybe fans of both Sean of the Dead and Larry the Cable Guy? Hee haw and Evil Dead? I'm reaching now, so I'll just say that if you like corny humor featuring a bunch of yokels but also blood, gore and flesh-eating zombies, give this book a try.

Why is no one making a movie out of this?

...or at least a televised mini-series as a comedic companion piece to AMC's "The Walking Dead?"

This book is hilarious. And the people who will find it hilarious are those that find Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" hilarious and also enjoy the odd zombie story from time to time.

This is not for those looking for a gritty, gory, zombie apocalypse blood-fest, or for those who don't appreciate satire. The story is more about the people and the personalities in a small town than it is about zombies or survivors toiling in a post-apocalyptic world. Each character is distinct and well-drawn. They have secrets and quirky foibles that more often than not lead them to their doom.

But what makes the audiobook is Phil Gigante. The man is a genius. He's got Garrison Keillor's cadence and raspy-throated storytelling down perfectly.

Keillor fans should not feel insulted. You can tell, both Geillor and Gigante conduct their mimicry out of love and respect.

A very enjoyable audiobook. I've listened to it more than a few times, and it makes me smile every time.

Nice Twist

What did you like best about this story?

I like Garrison Keilor and I like zombie stories - this was a perfect blend. Being from the midwest, I felt like I could recognize some of the characters. Others were a little over the top, but then again we're talking zombie story so...

Funny, but . . .

I'm not a zombie fan. I knew that when I bought the book, but it was a daily special and I chose to take a chance. I live in Minnesota, and I'm a fan of Garrison Keillor.

I did laugh out loud a number of times during the first dozen chapters. However, the longer I listened, the less I laughed. The body count got higher, and the humor got darker. Eventually it wasn't funny to me any more. I wasn't entertained and I wasn't interested any more. I didn't care how it ended and I stopped listening.

The author does a good job of mimicking Keillor's style. And the narrator does a good job of mimicking Keillor's delivery. But be warned - there is plenty of gore, a high body count, and very, very dark humor. If that isn't your taste, you may want to skip this book.

Suprisingly Good Twisted Version of Lake Woebegone

Witty, twisted, funny and well read. I was hilariously suprised by this intelligently twisted humor spoof of a zombie invasion of Lake Woebegone. The story like a zombie infused twilight zone version of, 'A Prairie Home Companion' and kept me laughing. The narrator was very good at trying to master many different types of voices and characters, shining at a few and doing quite well with the rest. This audio book is a great treat!

Not bad

This book was ok - not like the guts n gore of the Actual Zombie APOCOLYPSE _
I thought there were some pretty funny parts in this - its story line is weak they author could have really played more into some of these characters - the book has a lot of potential to go deeper if there were a #2

:)