pds@tove.UUCP (Dave Stotts) (07/28/86)
Having just finished reading "Lake Wobegon Days," I have an observation that I want to toss out for corroboration or denial. In general, I found the book to be enjoyable reading, often hillarious, but just not quite the same as the man himself delivering a monologue. Most of the stories were light-hearted, some semi-serious, approaching poignant. BUT, the 95 Theses 95 which appeared in a (longest I ever seen) footnote near the end bothered me tremendously. They were almost venomous in tone, and very sarchastic in places. I thought they were out of style with the rest of G.K.'s writing and monologue. I don't think I had ever heard him do more than poke some fun at his upbringing, but here it seems that a lot more is boiling to the surface. What say you shy persons? Dave Stotts Univ. of Maryland Computer Science
olaf@ihwpt.UUCP (olaf henjum) (07/29/86)
> ... the 95 Theses 95 > which appeared in a (longest I ever seen) footnote near the end > bothered me tremendously. They were almost venomous in tone, and > very sarcastic in places. I thought they were out of style with > the rest of G.K.'s writing and monologue. I don't think I had > ever heard him do more than poke some fun at his upbringing, > but here it seems that a lot more is boiling to the surface. I agree with your analysis; in this particular passage, I see something I have long suspected, that much of what we call humor starts as an attempt to mask or deal with pain, and that G.K. is no exception. I tend to believe that the "very young man" who wrote "95 Theses" "so many years ago" was actually Garrison Keillor himself as a very young man, and that this passage is included in "Lake Wobegon Days" for a variety of reasons that Keillor himself may or may not be fully conscious of; it could be something as simple and indirect as "look how far I've come from what I used to be." But whatever the original motives, the strong undertone of rebellion and even self-hatred that appears in that passage IS VERY MUCH UNLIKE anything I've ever seen him put into words before. I'm not sure whether anything like that "belongs" in the book or not, but I do know from my own life that parts of it sounded VERY familiar, a little look at "the dark side" of growing up in Lake Wobegon. The self-repression and unusual desire for "security" that he so often makes gentle fun of is nevertheless very, very real, and trying to break out of that cultural/genetic (I've never been sure which one it is :-)) mold, as a teenager, can be a traumatic experience for everybody concerned, especially if the teenager is (as G.K. almost certainly was) of an unusually sensitive, insightful, and even romantic bent. You may recall that Mark Twain had a similar capacity to switch from poignant humor to biting sarcasm at the drop of a hat, and sometimes did both at once (Huck Finn's moral turmoil over whether or not he should turn in the runaway slave Jim comes to mind; if you'll forgive the expression, all of the (moral) blacks are whites and vice versa, which is made abundantly clear to the reader but not to the character.) :-) But armchair psychoanalysis is not exactly my specialty, and in any event G.K. is only human; why should he ALWAYS be consistent??? :-) -- ucbvax ___ ihnp4!ihesa!olaf -- Olaf I. Henjum seismo _/! "Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any cbosgd __! opinions I give are strictly my own."
louns@uw-june.UUCP (07/29/86)
In article <397@tove.UUCP>, pds@tove.UUCP (Dave Stotts) writes: > .... BUT, the 95 Theses 95 > which appeared in a (longest I ever seen) footnote near the end > bothered me tremendously. They were almost venomous in tone, and > very sarchastic in places. I thought they were out of style with > the rest of G.K.'s writing and monologue. I don't think I had > ever heard him do more than poke some fun at his upbringing, > but here it seems that a lot more is boiling to the surface. > > What say you shy persons? > > Dave Stotts > Univ. of Maryland Computer Science My impression of 95 Theses 95 was that Garrison was trying to provide a balanced outlook of what it is like to live in a small town. Not everyone enjoys it and live only for the 4th of July picnics -- a lot really get tired of the town's smallness. Garrison encompasses so much in his book. It's not just cheery, quaint, nostalgic reminiscences. I think I heard him mention in an interview that he was puzzled by reviewers of his book who called it only a book of fond memoirs. It's a lot more than that -- it portrays all facets of small town life. Michael
benson@dcdwest.UUCP (Peter Benson) (07/30/86)
I like GK and Lake Woebegon Days very much. One of the
highlights of the book was the 95 theses. Many of the
problems he raises I felt I had faced, altho' I was raised
Presbyterian and in Maryland, no where near Lutheran
Minnesota. The tone of these theses is different, but so
what. Being shy or self-effacing doesn't mean you can't be
pissed off. It just means you can't be upfront about it.
--
_
Peter Benson | ITT Defense Communications Division
(619)578-3080 | 10060 Carroll Canyon Road
decvax!ittvax!dcdwest!benson | San Diego, CA 92131
ucbvax!sdcsvax!dcdwest!benson |
dcdwest!benson@SDCSVAX.EDU |donn@utah-gr.UUCP (08/02/86)
I think Keillor's attitude toward the place of his upbringing is often ambiguous. Don't you remember his monologue about the boy who decided to join the Navy instead of marrying his girlfriend and staying in Lake Wobegon to become a farmer like his dad? Or the anecdote in DAYS about the trip to Phil's House of Good Food in St. Cloud one Sunday afternoon when there wasn't enough time between Bible study and the worship time in the evening to drive back to Lake Wobegon for dinner? Or the monologue about the trunk which contained all the last possessions of a man who had passed away, a man who had ditched his wife and children in Lake Wobegon and married another woman, settling in the state of Washington? To this day the 'trunk' story is probably my all-time favorite monologue... While there is clearly some parody in the '95 Theses', I think the piece is serious in intent; it is portraying the negative side of the comment which comes at its end: 'Your voice is in my head, talking constantly from morning till night.' This voice is what makes Keillor's stories sound so authentic, what gives them their unique flavor, their rich homey character, but it is not the voice of nostalgia. Keillor knows better. I musta had too many Powdermilk Biscuits for dinner, Donn Seeley University of Utah CS Dept donn@utah-cs.arpa 40 46' 6"N 111 50' 34"W (801) 581-5668 decvax!utah-cs!donn
debbie@uwmeecs.UUCP (Debra L. Wolden) (08/03/86)
i also liked 95 theses 95. mr keillor's great talent is touching things down inside us, and not all of those things are pleasant. granted he usually touches a bit more gently. perhaps he felt that some people need a bit more bluntness or the unpleasantess goes right over their heads. then again maybe he was just in a bad mood. i thought the beginning of the book was rather dull, but it was good once it picked up. 95 theses 95 was one of the few parts i felt was so good that i was compelled to read it to a friend.
render@uiucdcsb.CS.UIUC.EDU (08/05/86)
Written 10:30 am Jul 28, 1986 by pds@tove.UUCP: > Having just finished reading "Lake Wobegon Days," I have an > observation that I want to toss out for corroboration or denial. > In general, I found the book to be enjoyable reading, often > hillarious, but just not quite the same as the man himself > delivering a monologue. Most of the stories were light-hearted, > some semi-serious, approaching poignant. BUT, the 95 Theses 95 > which appeared in a (longest I ever seen) footnote near the end > bothered me tremendously. They were almost venomous in tone, and > very sarchastic in places. I thought they were out of style with > the rest of G.K.'s writing and monologue. I don't think I had > ever heard him do more than poke some fun at his upbringing, > but here it seems that a lot more is boiling to the surface. > > What say you shy persons? Your question sparks a couple of comments. Yes, the theses are angry, but there have been several of his monologues in which characters express the same kind of anger--teenagers wanting to go out on their own, spouses getting fed up with one another, and neighbors acting less than neighborly. I think that G.K. mentioned something about the book presenting the town and its residents "warts and all", and I think that the theses are an example of that. Undoubtedly they echo some of Keillor's own feelings about growing up in such circumstances, or else they would not be as effective as they are. Personally, I thought the theses did a lot to give the book some emotional depth. I mean, hey, I loved my childhood, but it wasn't all wall-to-wall laughs. In fact, one of my favorite passages from the book is from the theses: "Under this thin veneer of modesty lies a monster of greed. I drive away faint praise, beating my little chest, waiting to be named Sun-God, King of America, Idol of Millions, Bringer of Fire, The Great Haji, Thun-Dar The Boy Giant. I don't want to say, 'Thanks, glad you liked it.' I want to say, 'Rise, my people. Remove your faces from the carpet, stand, look me in the face.'" There are plenty of others, but I'm not gonna quote them here. Anyway, I think the "95 Theses 95" were more than appropriate--they are one of the best parts of the book. Hal Render University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign render@b.cs.uiuc.edu (ARPA) render@uiuc.csnet (CSNET) {pur-ee, ihnp4}!uiucdcs!render (USENET)
sdh@inuxm.UUCP (Stephen Hoskins) (08/08/86)
> > Having just finished reading "Lake Wobegon Days," I have an > observation that I want to toss out for corroboration or denial. > In general, I found the book to be enjoyable reading, often > hillarious, but just not quite the same as the man himself > delivering a monologue. Most of the stories were light-hearted, > some semi-serious, approaching poignant. BUT, the 95 Theses 95 > which appeared in a (longest I ever seen) footnote near the end > bothered me tremendously. They were almost venomous in tone, and > very sarchastic in places. I thought they were out of style with > the rest of G.K.'s writing and monologue. I don't think I had > ever heard him do more than poke some fun at his upbringing, > but here it seems that a lot more is boiling to the surface. > > What say you shy persons? > > Dave Stotts > Univ. of Maryland Computer Science *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** I just read "Lake Wobegon Days" while on vacation. I loved it!!! I agree, not as good as the radio programs, but I got around that by trying to imagine how he would read each story. His delivery really is an important part of his appeal. The 20-page footnote about the 95 theses did seem more like serious criticism than good natured fun poking. They are very real, though. Between my wife and me, we could identify people with most of the bad traits he criticized. But, some were quite humorous besides being scalding rebukes. Like the one about vacuuming (let me paraphrase): Nothing I ever did was good enough for you. When you watched me do the vacuuming, suddenly it became an exact science, a branch of physics. It had to be done just so. "Here, let me do it. I should have just done it myself." Having finished LWD, I've now started "Happy to Be Here." It's starting out to be quite a different style of book, so "I just don't know ..." Stephen Hoskins
max@omepd (Max Webb) (08/15/86)
In article <> pds@tove.UUCP (Dave Stotts) writes: >bothered me tremendously. They were almost venomous in tone, and >very sarchastic in places. I thought they were out of style with Do you remember seeing Garrison on David Letterman a while back? With his presentation style on the radio he sounds so gentle and benign. I remember being shocked by the side of him i saw (-- but then DL brings out the animal in everybody :-). I never lived in a small town. Those of who didn't, after listening to him, wish they had; at least that is part of the attraction for me. Max.