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Garrison Keillor
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Pontoon: A Novel of Lake Wobegon (Lake Wobegon Novels) Paperback – August 26, 2008

by Garrison Keillor (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 355 ratings
See all formats and editions
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Garrison Keillor makes his long- awaited return to Lake Wobegon with this New York Times bestseller

The first new Lake Wobegon novel in seven years is a cause for celebration. And Pontoon is nothing less than a spectacular return to form-replete with a bowling ball-urn, a hot-air balloon, giant duck decoys, a flying Elvis, and, most importantly, Wally's pontoon boat. As the wedding of the decade approaches (accompanied by wheels of imported cheese and giant shrimp shish kebabs), the good-loving people of Lake Wobegon do what they do best: drive each other slightly crazy.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    248 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Books
  4. Publication date
    August 26, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    5.09 x 0.6 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780143114109
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0143114109
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

? Keillor has always been a great cataloger, equal parts Homer and Montgomery Ward, and rarely to better effect than in "Pontoon".?
?Thomas Mallon, "The New York Times Book Review"

? Unaffectedly good-natured [and] entirely accessible.?
?"The Washington Post Book World"

?Full of Keillor's hilarious invention.?
?"Los Angeles Times"



Keillor has always been a great cataloger, equal parts Homer and Montgomery Ward, and rarely to better effect than in "Pontoon".
Thomas Mallon, "The New York Times Book Review"
Unaffectedly good-natured [and] entirely accessible.
"The Washington Post Book World"
Full of Keillor s hilarious invention.
"Los Angeles Times"

a Keillor has always been a great cataloger, equal parts Homer and Montgomery Ward, and rarely to better effect than in "Pontoon,"a
aThomas Mallon, "The New York Times Book Review"
a Unaffectedly good-natured [and] entirely accessible.a
a"The Washington Post Book World"
aFull of Keilloras hilarious invention.a
a"Los Angeles Times"

About the Author

Garrison Keillor, author of nearly a dozen books, is founder and host of the acclaimed radio show A Prairie Home Companion and the daily program The Writer's Almanac. He is also a regular contributor to Time magazine.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0143114107
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Reprint edition (August 26, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 248 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780143114109
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143114109
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.09 x 0.6 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 355 ratings

About the author

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Garrison Keillor

Garrison Keillor

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Garrison Keillor wrote Boom Town during the pandemic lockdown in New York, reading drafts of it to his wife, Jenny, sitting across the room. He did parts of the book in monologues for audiences in Boston, New York, Washington, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Virginia, along with the story of how, in the eighth grade, his shop teacher Orville Buehler, worried about the boy's carelessness with the power saw, sent him up to LaVona Person's speech class, thus changing his life. Keillor says, "For many people, the key to success is discipline and education, but for me, it was ineptitude with power tools." His twice-weekly columns appear on Substack (garrisonkeillor.substack.com).

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
355 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

D. P. Birkett
5.0 out of 5 stars Staying trapped or floating away
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2008
Verified Purchase
Barbara Peterson is trying to organize her mother's funeral, defeat alcoholism and escape from Lake Wobegon. Farce and tragedy mix.
Lake Wobegon is a stultifying, puritanical, narrow-minded place, but there is nostalgia for its small-town middle-American virtues. Those who leave it, for California, New York or London, are liable to lose their solid Lake Wobegon characters and become flamboyant eccentrics or depressed losers. Barbara Peterson's central conflict is about leaving or staying. This conflict lurks in the background while Keillor manipulates his marionettes to form farcical events or arbitrary tragedies.
I thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining book, although Keillor evidently has trouble constructing a plot, and resorts to bumping off characters or flipping them in and out of mental illness.
4 people found this helpful
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AmazonCustomer
4.0 out of 5 stars Well-Crafted Story of Small-Town Life
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2019
Verified Purchase
If you're a Keillor fan like me, I guess it's overstatement to say that he is a master storyteller, and this book is mostly a gem. Although some characters are treated more kindly than others, even the sometime antagonists—Aunt Flo, Pastor Ingvist—are eventually treated even-handedly and have moments of redemption. If you like Keillor, you'll love this book.

Possible spoilers ahead: I wasn't crazy about the denouement. It was too over-the-top slapstick-y and didn't quite suit all the ground that was laid before it. Requires quite a suspension of disbelief that Debbie would cancel her wedding and leave town without notifying all the various people she'd hired to participate. Also hard to buy that the speedboat drive, regardless of how dim, would never look at who he's towing.

The character of Kyle was written inconsistenyly, in that he took a 180 from being a smart, savvy college guy to kind of a dummy (that discussion with the pastor near the end, oof!). The same gag—a man becoming tumescent at an inappropriate time—was used twice in the book; it was marginally amusing the first time; the second, ridiculous, actually. Last, the book could have used a good copyedit. I'm not a fan of overpunctuation, but either Keillor or his editor are comma-averse, and the lack inhibits the read at moments.

I liked everything that led up to the climatic scene at the lake a lot. The Evelyn and Barbara stories get more pages than Debbie Detmer, but they are all wonderful. It loses a star because of the ending and the other points made above.
2 people found this helpful
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McSassypants
5.0 out of 5 stars Just when I thought Keillor
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2009
Verified Purchase
I've read Garrison Keillor for decades now, and I bought this book thinking it would be good - but not better than the others. I was pleasantly surprised. Mr. Keillor does not disappoint. Characters I knew from his previous works were brought back to life for me, like I was looking at a Lake Wobegon scrapbook; yet, one doesn't have to be familiar with his past works to get vast enjoyment out of this novel as a stand-alone work.

I read other novels and forget what good writing is really like, until I pick up a Keillor book again and am reminded. Humor, drama, poignancy - his writing has it all, each and every time. I'm particularly impressed with the insight he has regarding female characters in all stages of life.
2 people found this helpful
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Robin M.
3.0 out of 5 stars Not entirely what I hoped for...
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2017
Verified Purchase
Not Garrison Keillor at his best. But there were several very amusing passages where you could hear Keillor's voice and that made you chuckle; and also a few downright hilarious ones that made you laugh your socks off. The book was a study of people - mostly Lutheran people, and an essay on life in a small Midwestern town.
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Anne
5.0 out of 5 stars Lake Wobegon Escape
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2007
Verified Purchase
Pontoon is an extended News From Lake Wobegon, and is wonderful on many levels. I read the first sentence, and burst out laughing. Before the end of the first chapter, I had also cried. Keillor's writing style is familiar to those of us who listen to A Prairie Home Companion. The book is like a long letter from a good friend, with hilarious, convergent stories. Farfetched, perhaps, but utterly transporting. Best of all, gentle philosophy and uplifting counsel is delivered through one of the main characters' letters. Pontoon itself is the sort of correspondence we all wish we could receive from those we love.

Most of all, I laughed and laughed - what a gift!
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

G. Wake
5.0 out of 5 stars The brilliance of the ordinary
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2008
Verified Purchase
The wonder and excitement of ordinary, everyday life: Lake Wobegone is an unexceptional place with plain, run-of-the-mill residents where nothing of interest is supposed to happen. Yet it does. Small-town America, full of people who should have little experience of life outside their own county, let alone country, but whose small dramas and life stories make for riveting reading. Garrison Keillor's book is just like the town he writes about: the dull is interesting, the uneventful eventful and those things supposed to be wonderful and exceptional are pointless, boring and facile. This book should not be interesting, but it is, there is no grand revelation here just good, entertaining writing that had me up to the middle of the night wanting to know what happened next. Read it.
5 people found this helpful
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Annsofi Wiles
4.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyable read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 15, 2012
Verified Purchase
Loved it and it is set in wonderful Wobegone where all and anything can happen. Garrison Keillor writes well and tells a good story. The book is a mixture of good and sad but with a big doze of amusement wowen into it. Wonderful, realaxing read. A real feel gooder.
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A. Browne
5.0 out of 5 stars maybe not dignified but what a way to go
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2010
Verified Purchase
A return to Lake wobegon and it's wonderful cast of characters . This book is the equivalent of wrapping oneself in a warm blanket with a good scotch and sitting on the settee for a few hours escape and this is just what I did without the blanket. Evelyn Patterson wants her ashes put in a bowling ball and dropped into Lake wobegon. Great story , great characters full of human frailty and idiosyncracies , it is all you expect of Garrison Keillor . I was not disappointed. I have to say i agree with other reviewer who said it was written with speech in mind as i can hear Garrison tell this story in my mind.
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Wildflowers4Wildlife
3.0 out of 5 stars OK but no more
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2015
Verified Purchase
You need to have heard and liked the radio programme to enjoy this. Luckily I do but I won't be buying a second book.
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Jeremy Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars I hadn't read a Keillor novel since about 1990 after ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2014
Verified Purchase
I hadn't read a Keillor novel since about 1990 after first hearing him on Radio 4 and now wonder why I have waited so long before picking up another of his books. He is an absolute pleasure to read. He effortlessly describes everything with such clarity and dry humour. His observations of life in this fictitious town can be quite acerbic but always with a degree of affection.
He is a very skilled and entertaining writer and I look forward to reading all of his remaining Lake Wobegon novels.
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