Synopses & Reviews
A fresh and funny Lake Wobegon novel about a woman with a secret life.
In Lake Wobegon lives a good Lutheran lady who is quite prepared to die and wishes to be cremated and her ashes placed inside a bowling ball and dropped into the lake, no prayers, no hymns, thank you very much. Meanwhile, the Detmer girl returns from California where she has made a killing in veterinary aromatherapy to marry her boyfriend Brent aboard Wally's pontoon boat, presided over by her minister, Misty Naylor of the Sisterhood of the Sacred Spirit. Brent arrives on Thursday. On Saturday, a delegation of renegade Lutheran pastors from Denmark come to town on their tour of America, their punishment for having denied the divinity of Jesus. And Barbara Peterson, whose mother, Evelyn, left the startling note about cremation and the bowling ball, is in love with a lovely fat man who slips around town in the dim light and reconnoiters with her at the Romeo Motel.
And then there is Raoul of the cigars and tinted shades and rainbow sportscoat and his long phone message ("Hey, Precious") after the angel of death has already come and gone.
All is in readiness for the wedding the giant shrimp shish kebabs, the French champagne, the wheels of imported cheese, the pate with whole peppercorns, the hot-air balloon, the flying Elvis, the pontoon boat, and the giant duck decoys and then something else happens.
It is Lake Wobegon as you've imagined it good, loving people who drive each other slightly crazy.
Review
"[I]n a word, delightful....Pontoon is fun and engaging. Evelyn is a blast, some other Wobegoners are pills, and you just can't help rooting for Barbara. Pontoon is a small, perfect, unblemished peach of a book." The Baltimore Sun
Review
"[A] funny and lyrical portrait of another generation of Wobegonians....Pontoon, like a soft summer day or a favorite hymn, is an unmitigated pleasure." Minneapolis Star Tribune
Review
"By reminding us of those things that are just stupid (and silly, and full of Keillor's hilarious invention), we let go of them, laugh at ourselves and our foibles and return to the common sense and courtesy we imagine we hope, we pray underlies the human condition." Los Angeles Times
Review
"As I read [Pontoon], I chortled and guffawed. And after I finished, I thought long and hard about its serious message." St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Review
"The jokes and themes will be familiar to Keillor's radio fans. But the tone is edgier. There's more sex...and I doubt Keillor ever uttered the words 'premature ejaculation' on the radio....Keillor makes humor looks easy, which it rarely, if ever, is." USA Today
Synopsis
A novel about courage and transformation in a town stuck in its ways, Pontoon is a heartfelt and comic work by the host and writer of public radio's A Prairie Home Companion, and one of the greatest modern storytellers.
Synopsis
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.
About the Author
Garrison Keillor is the host and writer of the public radio program A Prairie Home Companion, now in its thirtieth year. He is the author of sixteen books, most recently the New York Times bestseller Homegrown Democrat.
Series Description
Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon stories have captured the imagination of millions and become an American institution. The critically acclaimed 2006 feature film A Prairie Home Companion, written by Keillor and directed by Robert Altman, introduced new fans to the beloved and iconic Lake Wobegon.