amb@duke.UUCP (A. Michael Berman) (11/14/85)
First of all, take my opinion with a grain of salt, since I may not be the PHC fanatic that some are...I've never been known to throw people out of my house at 7 on Sat. night, or turn down a chance to go hear some live music because PHC is on the box. However, I have enjoyed listening to the show, and I think G.K. is certainly one of the best story tellers I've ever heard. To me, the book lacks the spontenaity, the unpredictability, and the nuance of the spoken stories on PHC. In all, I found it rather tedious, as much as I've read so far. I don't find the quality of the writing particularly high. The techniques that serve G.K. so well on the radio -- slow pacing, wandering from subject to subject, dramatizing small events -- just don't work as well for me in print. I'll probably finish the book sometime, and I will certainly get some chuckles out of it. I'm not saying it's terrible; just that it doesn't measure up to the spoken word version. I would probably enjoy it more if I had someone read it to me. In conclusion, I don't see how any regular listener could avoid getting a copy of "Lake Woebegon Days," out of curiosity alone. But my suggestion is, borrow a copy first before you shell out the money. Instead, buy one of the News from Lake Woebegon tapes that are now available. Michael Berman, Duke University