Other editions of book Lake Wobegon Summer 1956

Fourteen-year-old Gary, a self-described "tree toad" (lover of a perfect lawn, the soft-porn masterpiece of Carnal Cuties, his Underwood typewriter, and, above all, his rebellious cousin Kate), lives through one amazing Lake Wobegon summer. Gary preoccupies himself by spinning fantastic yarns about boogers, talking dogs, conversations between God and Jesus, and especially melodramas featuring himself as hero and Kate as distressed damsel. When the real Kate makes a terrible mistake, Gary learns a lot about love, heartbreak, and what it really means to rebel. In his latest novel, Garrison Keillor describes the making of a writer who comes of age in classic Wobegon style. It's just what his fans have been waiting for: trademark wit, brilliant humor, great storytelling, and an extended stay in "the little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve".

Meet fourteen-year-old Gary. A self-described "tree-toad,"a sly and endearing geek, Gary has many unwieldy passions, chief among them his cousin Kate, his Underwood typewriter and the soft-porn masterpiece, High School Orgies. The folks of Lake Wobegon don't have much patience for a kid's ungodly obsessions, and so Gary manages to filter the hormonal earthquake that is puberty and his hopeless devotion to glamorous, rebellious Kate through his fantastic yarns. With every marvellous story he moves a few steps closer to becoming a writer. And when Kate gets herself into trouble with the local baseball star, Gary also experiences the first pangs of a broken heart. With his trademark gift for treading "a line delicate as a cobweb between satire and sentiment"(Cleveland Plain Dealer), Garrison Keillor brilliantly captures a newly minted post-war America and delivers an unforgettable comedy about a writer coming of age in the rural Midwest.

Meet fourteen-year-old Gary. A self-described "tree-toad,"a sly and endearing geek, Gary has many unwieldy passions, chief among them his cousin Kate, his Underwood typewriter and the soft-porn masterpiece, High School Orgies. The folks of Lake Wobegon don't have much patience for a kid's ungodly obsessions, and so Gary manages to filter the hormonal earthquake that is puberty and his hopeless devotion to glamorous, rebellious Kate through his fantastic yarns. With every marvellous story he moves a few steps closer to becoming a writer. And when Kate gets herself into trouble with the local baseball star, Gary also experiences the first pangs of a broken heart. With his trademark gift for treading "a line delicate as a cobweb between satire and sentiment"(Cleveland Plain Dealer), Garrison Keillor brilliantly captures a newly minted post-war America and delivers an unforgettable comedy about a writer coming of age in the rural Midwest.

During the summer of 1956, fourteen-year-old geek Gary struggles with the hormonal pains and obsessions of puberty as he experiences a passionate devotion to his rebellious cousin Kate and pursues his dream of becoming a writer, but when Kate gets into trouble with the local basketball star, Gary is forced to deal with the first pangs of a broken heart. 250,000 first printing.

A Grammy� nominee.Fourteen-year-old Gary, a self-described "tree toad"-lover of a perfect lawn, the soft-porn masterpiece Carnal Cuties, his Underwood typewriter, and, above all, his rebellious cousin Kate"-lives through one amazing Lake Wobegon summer. Gary preoccupies himself by spinning fantastic yarns about boogers, talking dogs, conversations between God and Jesus, and especially melodramas featuring himself as hero and Kate as distressed damsel. When the real Kate makes a terrible mistake, Gary learns a lot about love, heartbreak, and what is really means to rebel.In Lake Wobegon Summer 1956, Garrison Keillor describes the making of a writer who comes of age in classic Wobegon style. It's just what his fans have been waiting for: trademark wit, brilliant humor, great storytelling, and an extended stay in "the little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve."

A Grammy® nominee.Fourteen-year-old Gary, a self-described "tree toad"—lover of a perfect lawn, the soft-porn masterpiece Carnal Cuties, his Underwood typewriter, and, above all, his rebellious cousin Kate"—lives through one amazing Lake Wobegon summer. Gary preoccupies himself by spinning fantastic yarns about boogers, talking dogs, conversations between God and Jesus, and especially melodramas featuring himself as hero and Kate as distressed damsel. When the real Kate makes a terrible mistake, Gary learns a lot about love, heartbreak, and what is really means to rebel.In Lake Wobegon Summer 1956, Garrison Keillor describes the making of a writer who comes of age in classic Wobegon style. It's just what his fans have been waiting for: trademark wit, brilliant humor, great storytelling, and an extended stay in "the little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve."

A hilarious coming-of-age novel, Lake Wobegon Summer 1956 serves up the world according to 14-year-old Gary, an endearing geek, a self-described 'tree-toad', and a writer in the making whose best friend is his Underwood typewriter. Always with humour, and often with great sympathy, charm and honesty, the author tells us a story that both satirises and celebrates the traumas and the passions of adolescence. Keillor takes us back to a newly-minted America. With its post-war optimism and Cold War suspicions of outsiders, the 1950s are evoked in unforgettable Wobegon fashion.

The Doo Dads are singing "My Girl" on the radio and fourteen-year-old Gary is studying pictures of naked women, aware that Grandpa is looking down from heaven wondering how the boy turned out so badly. He has never so much as kissed a girl, except his rebellious cousin Kate, a sophisticate of seventeen who knows about The New Yorker and also how to swear and exhale smoke rings. But this is a summer of change for Gary: he fights back against his bullying born-again sister and his tyrannical teacher, and most significantly, he receives an Underwood typewriter-a typewriter that will help Gary believe he can become a writer. With his trademark gift for treading "a line delicate as a cobweb between satire and sentiment" (The Cleveland Plain Dealer), Keillor's touching and funny novel brilliantly captures a newly minted America and delivers an unforgettable comedy about the universal aspects of adolescence-from first loves to fear and fascination with bodily functions.