Word: keillors
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...unprofitable pretty much since Newhouse bought it in 1985, still loses money despite the increase in readership and media attention Brown had brought it. "I can't imagine a more abysmal failure than to sell the soul of a magazine and then lose money in the process," says Garrison Keillor, a former contributor who famously left as soon as Brown took over. "A couple of years of meetings at Miramax will be good penance...
Criticizing the liberals, however, becomes difficult. As Keillor portrays them, they are either militant freaks of society who fight for ridiculous-sounding causes, or else self-obsessed inner children who whine when they should be working. "New Age music," John grumbles in his head, "[is] relaxation music for yuppies to listen to and get even farther into themselves than they already were." Readers cannot help but despise as well as laugh at his descriptions of people so untouchably far from reality. To defend them, particularly the ones who persecute John so suddenly and relentlessly, is to become one of them...
...adored girlfriend. She is described time and time again as beautiful, brilliant, and full of personality. She also eludes John's proposals of marriage repeatedly. Then, as suddenly as the radio station scandal arises, she agress to be his wife. One could believe that this is nothing more than Keillor's deus ex machina for the story--she has to say yes eventually, but it has to take a while to build suspense...
Despite all of these issues and complications, however, Wobegon Boy is still for the most part an entertaining and even warm-hearted read. Keillor's affection for his fellow Midwesterners, while still being able to poke great fun at them, is unmatched in his field. Conversations between elderly relatives is compared to a Samuel Beckett play, an uncle in politics claims that "bribery [is] simply a case of the free market at work simplifying the decision-making process," and the modern-day world always provides fodder for laughs. When one of John's aunts complains about her fatigue, another relative...
...look past all of the potential p.c. faux pas and can interpret Keillor to be wistful rather than patronizing, the novel's heart truly comes through. "The stream of insults that life directs at you cannot be vanquished by skill or cunning," John comments. "You can't fight your way clear. You can't outsmart life. The only answer is to be loved so that nothing else matters so much." Such honest, simple wisdom can rarely be argued with. Keillor may preach and he may be politically biased, but the man is still talented, hilarious, and a damn good story...