The Zombies of Lake Woebegotton

By: Harrison Geillor

Narrated by: Phil Gigante

Length: 9 hrs and 57 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.

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.

19 of 19 people found this review helpful

It was worth the gamble!

I wasn't too sure at first of this book at first. I hadn't read any reviews, so I had no idea what I was in for... other than the zombies. I was pleasantly surprise. I haven't laughed out aloud at the antics in a book for a long time. It was definitely worth the token (and the late nights staying up to listen to it).

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Kept me laughing the whole time

Anyone who is a fan of Garrison Keillor will get a huge kick out of this book. Unlike other recent parodies (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies springs to mind) this novel is more than a one-trick pony. In fact, the zombie part of the book is pretty straight on. Maybe it’s because I am from the Midwest, but the characters in this book felt extremely real to me and the way they dealt with the zombie apocalypse seemed more realistic than in many other zombie/post apocalyptic novels I have read (and I have read quite a few). So the zombies are not the joke, it is the setting that is endlessly—and lovingly—lampooned.

It is evident that the author admires Keillor’s Lake Wobegon stories; only someone who appreciates the sly wit and self-awareness of those yarns could have written such a spot-on imitation. The people of this tiny town in the middle of Minnesota react to the rise of the undead with a laconic “Well, that sure is somethin’ ya don’t see everyday” attitude that made me laugh out loud. Short asides examining everything from the nature of winter (“it wasn’t as cold as the first time he went fishing with his father as a boy, the coldest winter on record hereabouts, when your ears would pretty much just turn to ice and snap right off”) to how to make hot dish could have been taken from any of Keillor’s stream-of consciousness Lake Wobegon radio stories. The characters, too, exhibited Keillor touches, like the kid who had taken a college course in zombie literature and kept trying to analyze the zombie mayhem around him (“"It seems to me we're dealing with the classic George Romero Night of the Living Dead sort of zombies”) and the Norwegian bachelor farmers. And like the object of his parody, the author understands that beneath the perfect façade of a perfect small town, there lurk enough nutcases to fill several novels.

Many times, I caught myself wondering if Keillor actually did write this book, that’s how good it was. I must add that I listened to this book in its Brilliance Audio version, narrated by Phil Gigante. This actor does a really fantastic imitation of Garrison Keillor that added even more to my enjoyment of the piece. He does many different voices, too, so that each character really comes alive. I will definitely be listening to it again, on the next road trip my husband and I take to Minnesota.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

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!

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

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

:)

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

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.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

If the Coen Brothers made a Zombie Movie...

Where does The Zombies of Lake Woebegotton rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Very High

What did you like best about this story?

This story is unique - its not your typical zombie apocalypse tale. The characters of the small town are the focus and their antics made me laugh out loud. The narrator is actually a character himself and his rambling story telling drew me in from the first few minutes. I love the language and I love the humor.

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

No.

Who was the most memorable character of The Zombies of Lake Woebegotton and why?

There are so many! The elderly serial killer, the zealous Catholic priest from Texas, the drunk that lives on the edge of town and calls the zombies,

Any additional comments?

If you are looking for an action/horror story, this is not the one for you. If you liked books like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and have a dry sense of humor, you will probably like this book.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

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.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

diamond in the rough

I have read nearly all of audible's zombie books and this book is top 10, worth a listen.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Strange

This is one of the strange books that doesn't really make the jump to horror or comedy much less back again. Would I listen to it again...NO. Was it worth a credit...Maybe. I did recommend it to my wife and she thought it was as cornball as I did. I still don't think it was zombie book but more of soap opera with a zombies tossed in to add drama.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Unexpectedly awesome

I was a little dubious about this title but eventually decided to go ahead and buy it and I am so pleased I did.



Phil Gigante is a delight to listen to as always and the story itself is a satirical tale of stoic Minnesotans facing a zombie uprising alongside the 'usual' real life issues of serial killers and homicidal women. I was entranced throughout.



If you are looking for a zombie novel with a side of dark humour then this should entertain you for a few hours.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Was there a story line?

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Have a story line...

What will your next listen be?

Wheel of time probably

What about Phil Gigante’s performance did you like?

Just a great range of voices and he brings the story to life

Did The Zombies of Lake Woebegotton inspire you to do anything?

No

Any additional comments?

It started off fairly well but went down hill rapidly with no real purpose and no main character.

Some good parts, but average overall.

What did you like best about The Zombies of Lake Woebegotton? What did you like least?

I liked quite a few bits of the book, but hard to tell you which bits or what characters without giving away some of the plot.

I didn't like that some facts changed and some of the characters were so stupid it beggared belief. Cops that forget to read someone their rights and forget to search them etc. And a man who's age is eighty to begin with but is seventy later in the book.

I really hated the middle part of the book where the author put chapters in random order for no good reason that I could see. It was like he dropped the chapters on the floor and didn't bother to sort them out again. And so for the middle part of the book you jump forward and back in time and get stuff happening in an odd order. I didn't see the point in this and found it a little distracting. Others may find it fine, but I didn't.

What about Phil Gigante’s performance did you like?

The narration is very good overall, though I did find the beginning a bit annoying where he seems to either not be using a wind-guard, or is to close to the microphone. This lead to hearing every single in breath he took, and listening to it on headphones it was very annoying. Fortunately it only lasted a chapter or two otherwise I'd have given up on it.

Was The Zombies of Lake Woebegotton worth the listening time?

Yes, I found it enjoyable overall, even if I found the characters a little dumb and annoying. Certainly most of the male characters seemed to be idiots, and some of them having mental issues that bordered on crazy town.

Any additional comments?

I think the biggest thing that stood out to me was that in a whole town of people where the dead are raising - including people that have died long before - that no-one thinks about one of the most obvious dangers to them. It was the first thing I thought of when they learnt the dead were raising, and yet only one person in the whole town did. Didn't feel this was believable.