Jun 17, 2011

Book 5 of 12: Homegrown Democrat


For book 5 (which I finished quite awhile ago but haven't taken the time to write about it) I listened to Garrison Keillor's Homegrown Democrat, hence the title of this entry.

I've loved Keillor ever since I heard his voice and that love has only grown since I went on a mission to Minnesota hoping to convert the residents of Lake Wobegon and their non-imaginary sister cities.

Homegrown Democrat I expected him to tell humorous stories he's famous for and perhaps a few anecdotes on why he's a Democrat. What I got was the opposite. Maybe 3 chapters of classic Keillor stories and 20 on why Democrats are awesome and Republicans... not so much.

It wasn't necessarily a bad experience as you might think. For one thing Keillor's voice and prose is indulgent in a good way and I still enjoyed it, though to paraphrase Agrippa, He didn't almost persuade me to be a Democrat.

I come from Republican stock and for a long while thought myself Republican, but as I've gotten older I've mellowed and gotten to be not as smart as I think I am and so remain apolitical.

If you're a Democrat listen to this book, if you're a fan of Keillor just listen to a Lake Woebegone collection instead.

2 out of 5 stars.

2 comments:

Ammon said...

I don't think I would have even started this book, based on the title alone.

Austin said...

It wasn't the title so much as the author that enticed me.