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A Christmas Blizzard
The inimitable Garrison Keillor spins "a Christmas tale that makes Dickens seem unimaginative by comparison" (Charlotte Creative Loafing) Snow is falling all across the Midwest as James Sparrow, a country- bumpkin-turned-energy-drink-tycoon, and his wife awaken in their sky- rise apartment overlooking Chicago. Even down with the stomach bug, Mrs. Sparrow yearns to see The Nutcracker while James yearns only to escape-the faux-cheer, the bitter cold, the whole Christmas season. An urgent phone call from his hometown of Looseleaf, North Dakota, sends James into the midst of his lunatic relatives and a historic blizzard. As he hunkers weather the storm, the electricity goes out and James is visited by a parade of figures who deliver him an epiphany worthy of the season, just in time to receive Mrs. Sparrow's wonderful Christmas gift. Garrison Keillor's holiday farce is the perfect gift for the millions of fans who tune into A Prairie Home Companion every week.
191 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
62 people are currently reading
583 people want to read
About the author
Garrison Keillor
280 books845 followersGary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show A Prairie Home Companion (called Garrison Keillor's Radio Show in some international syndication), which he hosted from 1974 to 2016. Keillor created the fictional Minnesota town Lake Wobegon, the setting of many of his books, including Lake Wobegon Days and Leaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories. Other creations include Guy Noir, a detective voiced by Keillor who appeared in A Prairie Home Companion comic skits. Keillor is also the creator of the five-minute daily radio/podcast program The Writer's Almanac, which pairs poems of his choice with a script about important literary, historical, and scientific events that coincided with that date in history.
In November 2017, Minnesota Public Radio cut all business ties with Keillor after an allegation of inappropriate behavior with a freelance writer for A Prairie Home Companion. On April 13, 2018, MPR and Keillor announced a settlement that allows archives of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer's Almanac to be publicly available again, and soon thereafter, Keillor began publishing new episodes of The Writer's Almanac on his website. He also continues to tour a stage version of A Prairie Home Companion, although these shows are not broadcast by MPR or American Public Media.
In November 2017, Minnesota Public Radio cut all business ties with Keillor after an allegation of inappropriate behavior with a freelance writer for A Prairie Home Companion. On April 13, 2018, MPR and Keillor announced a settlement that allows archives of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer's Almanac to be publicly available again, and soon thereafter, Keillor began publishing new episodes of The Writer's Almanac on his website. He also continues to tour a stage version of A Prairie Home Companion, although these shows are not broadcast by MPR or American Public Media.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 430 reviews
August 21, 2017
James Sparrow is a depressed but extremely wealthy man who does his best to avoid the cheery Christmas holiday as well as his hometown of Looseleaf. A dying uncle calls him home to say goodbye, and an act of nature via a blizzard makes him stay long enough to experience magical things that make him re-evaluate his life, who he is and what he stands for.
Garrison Keillor reigns supreme as the all-American storyteller of better days gone by. Nobody tells stories quite like he does; he's like the Norman Rockwell of family entertainment.
I adore A Prairie Home Companion as well as Garrison Keillor, so reading his books seems to be a good fit. Although truth be told, the writing style in this book takes some getting used to. This was my first GK novel, so I wasn't sure what to expect.
If you love APHC, please know that this story reads exactly like Keillor speaks. His storytelling translates over the airwaves smoothly, but in written form it might take a bit to get used to it since his style of writing is so unique.
I simply love books that are wholesome, nostalgic, sentimental, loving and family-friendly. In the increasingly dark and chaotic world we live in, finding books like this feels downright good. I look forward to reading more of Garrison Keillor's novels.
Garrison Keillor reigns supreme as the all-American storyteller of better days gone by. Nobody tells stories quite like he does; he's like the Norman Rockwell of family entertainment.
I adore A Prairie Home Companion as well as Garrison Keillor, so reading his books seems to be a good fit. Although truth be told, the writing style in this book takes some getting used to. This was my first GK novel, so I wasn't sure what to expect.
If you love APHC, please know that this story reads exactly like Keillor speaks. His storytelling translates over the airwaves smoothly, but in written form it might take a bit to get used to it since his style of writing is so unique.
I simply love books that are wholesome, nostalgic, sentimental, loving and family-friendly. In the increasingly dark and chaotic world we live in, finding books like this feels downright good. I look forward to reading more of Garrison Keillor's novels.
December 31, 2017
A Bizarre Christmas Book, Our Daily Press Interviews Our Book Group, and Hallmark Christmas Movies
Our small town Daily Press sent a young man to interview our book group while we were reviewing this lovely book. Lovely. No, bizarre and boring. Still, we had a fun meeting showing off our skills to the press and delighting him with our waywardness, I think. Anyway, in his email to me he said he had a fun time. And Sunday the article was on the front page of the paper. Small towns are like that, common people get in the news. His article was written so well, so I think he will do well as a journalist. I believe he is somewhat new here.
So we talked about Garrison Keillor as he is in the current news. I added what was said of him, and another friend in the group said that he talked about how he doesn’t hug or touch people at parties. The only one who liked the book was a Garrison Keillor fan. Due to the present company I refrained from commenting on the sexual comments that were made by the main character in the book. I will refrain here as well. It wasn’t much anyway.
I had a hard time with this book. The rambling got to me as I was not used to Keillor. I tried Lake Wobegon in the past and never could get into it. This year I have to say that I bought his audio of Lake Wobegon Days after reading this book, and he is really, really good. I didn’t mind the rambling. This Christmas book would not even be good if read by him, but I could be wrong.
I was so bored with this book that I tried Alexa to see if her reading it was better. Alexa read so fast that I fell to sleep. I gave up on her and had to reread parts of the book, like chapters.
Here is the story: James Sparrow is the main character in the book, and he wants to go to Hawaii for Christmas, but his wife doesn’t. The rambling kept me from understanding much, but I think he left for the airport to go to Hawaii alone, but a a blizzard came up, and the airport closed. There were no rooms at the Inn, so he found a fish shack, a on a lake in which to sleep.
And now the book turns into fantasy and reality. A wolf comes to visit him, and his cousin comes to her own fish shack which has a sauna. The weirdness begins.
I am questioning why he would leave his wife on Christmas, and then I realize that Keillor is combining a few Christmas books into one, not just the biblical story of the manager, but The Christmas Carol, where he is met by strangers and in the end is a changed man, no longer a Scrooge.
And then it is The Christmas Story, where a kid puts his tongue on a frozen pipe when dared to, and the teacher has to save him. James Sparrow introduced this story by saying that you should never put your tongue on a frozen pipe and why, but then he wanted to try it out. He had an obsession, and for a while I thought maybe I was rereading parts of the book and so was lost, but no, just his obsession kept popping up. I thought how he could get over it: Just do it but make sure someone is there with a warm bucket of water to pour on your tongue and in your face to wake you up from your craziness.
As I was reading this book I thought of how much I liked The Christmas Story, the movie, and so I bought the two books where the writer’s of “The Christmas Story” movie got their ideas. They are books by Jean Shepherd, and one is titled, “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” and the other is, “Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories.” I have yet to read them.
And so now I have begun my own rambling and will continue:
I tried reading an Amish Christmas book, but it was too cheesy. Plus, I am not into romance novels unless they are done really well. My idea of a Christmas book is old fashioned, like the Walton’s, like Truman Capote’s, “A Christmas Memory” or “One Christmas”, even his Thanksgiving Visitor.” And “A Christmas Cup of Tea” was just wonderful. I have a Christmas shelf on here where I rated them.
A Note: I have to give this book of Keillor’s three stars because it made of great book group conversation and I have fun doing this review. To think it was I who added this book to our book group list this year.
On another note, my husband and I love Hallmark Christmas movies. Yes, they are cheesy and romance movies. Last night I looked them up online while we were watching one, because I wanted to know who made them. Hallmark.
Hallmark’s movies are made in Vancouver, Canada because it is cheaper to make there, and Vancouver has a lot of old fashioned villages nearby that remind me the photos I have seen of Telluride, CO, a town I always wanted to visit. They are filmed in the summer and so they bring in snow and white backdrops. The actors are very warm in their parkas, but hey, they could be freezing.
The producers of Hallmark Christmas movies have a list of items that must be in the movies, like cookies, Santa Claus, decorating a tree, puppies, just to name a few. Women probably have to have long hair and are always pretty, but they all look a like; the men don’t have to look like anything at all, but at least you can tell them apart. The themes are always the same: a business man or woman comes to the small village to change things for the worse but gets caught up in a romantic relationship, loves the town and the people and so ends up moving to there. Since writing this, I have seen a few movies where the theme had changed a little.
So, in ending this, I want to say, I understand now why Prairie Home Companion was so popular.
Our small town Daily Press sent a young man to interview our book group while we were reviewing this lovely book. Lovely. No, bizarre and boring. Still, we had a fun meeting showing off our skills to the press and delighting him with our waywardness, I think. Anyway, in his email to me he said he had a fun time. And Sunday the article was on the front page of the paper. Small towns are like that, common people get in the news. His article was written so well, so I think he will do well as a journalist. I believe he is somewhat new here.
So we talked about Garrison Keillor as he is in the current news. I added what was said of him, and another friend in the group said that he talked about how he doesn’t hug or touch people at parties. The only one who liked the book was a Garrison Keillor fan. Due to the present company I refrained from commenting on the sexual comments that were made by the main character in the book. I will refrain here as well. It wasn’t much anyway.
I had a hard time with this book. The rambling got to me as I was not used to Keillor. I tried Lake Wobegon in the past and never could get into it. This year I have to say that I bought his audio of Lake Wobegon Days after reading this book, and he is really, really good. I didn’t mind the rambling. This Christmas book would not even be good if read by him, but I could be wrong.
I was so bored with this book that I tried Alexa to see if her reading it was better. Alexa read so fast that I fell to sleep. I gave up on her and had to reread parts of the book, like chapters.
Here is the story: James Sparrow is the main character in the book, and he wants to go to Hawaii for Christmas, but his wife doesn’t. The rambling kept me from understanding much, but I think he left for the airport to go to Hawaii alone, but a a blizzard came up, and the airport closed. There were no rooms at the Inn, so he found a fish shack, a on a lake in which to sleep.
And now the book turns into fantasy and reality. A wolf comes to visit him, and his cousin comes to her own fish shack which has a sauna. The weirdness begins.
I am questioning why he would leave his wife on Christmas, and then I realize that Keillor is combining a few Christmas books into one, not just the biblical story of the manager, but The Christmas Carol, where he is met by strangers and in the end is a changed man, no longer a Scrooge.
And then it is The Christmas Story, where a kid puts his tongue on a frozen pipe when dared to, and the teacher has to save him. James Sparrow introduced this story by saying that you should never put your tongue on a frozen pipe and why, but then he wanted to try it out. He had an obsession, and for a while I thought maybe I was rereading parts of the book and so was lost, but no, just his obsession kept popping up. I thought how he could get over it: Just do it but make sure someone is there with a warm bucket of water to pour on your tongue and in your face to wake you up from your craziness.
As I was reading this book I thought of how much I liked The Christmas Story, the movie, and so I bought the two books where the writer’s of “The Christmas Story” movie got their ideas. They are books by Jean Shepherd, and one is titled, “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” and the other is, “Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories.” I have yet to read them.
And so now I have begun my own rambling and will continue:
I tried reading an Amish Christmas book, but it was too cheesy. Plus, I am not into romance novels unless they are done really well. My idea of a Christmas book is old fashioned, like the Walton’s, like Truman Capote’s, “A Christmas Memory” or “One Christmas”, even his Thanksgiving Visitor.” And “A Christmas Cup of Tea” was just wonderful. I have a Christmas shelf on here where I rated them.
A Note: I have to give this book of Keillor’s three stars because it made of great book group conversation and I have fun doing this review. To think it was I who added this book to our book group list this year.
On another note, my husband and I love Hallmark Christmas movies. Yes, they are cheesy and romance movies. Last night I looked them up online while we were watching one, because I wanted to know who made them. Hallmark.
Hallmark’s movies are made in Vancouver, Canada because it is cheaper to make there, and Vancouver has a lot of old fashioned villages nearby that remind me the photos I have seen of Telluride, CO, a town I always wanted to visit. They are filmed in the summer and so they bring in snow and white backdrops. The actors are very warm in their parkas, but hey, they could be freezing.
The producers of Hallmark Christmas movies have a list of items that must be in the movies, like cookies, Santa Claus, decorating a tree, puppies, just to name a few. Women probably have to have long hair and are always pretty, but they all look a like; the men don’t have to look like anything at all, but at least you can tell them apart. The themes are always the same: a business man or woman comes to the small village to change things for the worse but gets caught up in a romantic relationship, loves the town and the people and so ends up moving to there. Since writing this, I have seen a few movies where the theme had changed a little.
So, in ending this, I want to say, I understand now why Prairie Home Companion was so popular.
December 19, 2019
I guess I should have paid more attention to the relatively low ratings for this book, but my brain kept saying, "Oh, but you always love Garrison Keillor."
Stupid brain!
This is an unremarkable, and thankfully short, tale about a curmudgeonly, filthy-rich man on his way to spend Christmas in Hawaii. During a stopover in his hometown, frigid Looseleaf, North Dakota, his private jet becomes grounded during a blizzard. He visits with an oddball assortment of relatives, confronts some ghosts from his past, and, of course, learns the true meaning of Christmas.
Normally I get a quite few laughs from Keillor's stuff, but the chuckles here were sparse. I get the sense he wasn't trying very hard with this book. There were way too many pages devoted to the rich man's nagging fear of getting his tongue stuck to cold metal. The first mention of this unnamed phobia really wasn't funny, but Keillor just kept bringing it up - again, and again. And, some gags - flu for Christmas, and Christmas tree on fire - were yanked directly from News from Lake Wobegon segments.
I enjoyed one bit that happened at the family's Christmas eve dinner, and this line - "Christmas is the force field of heightened possibility." Otherwise, this is one Christmas I don't want to remember.
Stupid brain!
This is an unremarkable, and thankfully short, tale about a curmudgeonly, filthy-rich man on his way to spend Christmas in Hawaii. During a stopover in his hometown, frigid Looseleaf, North Dakota, his private jet becomes grounded during a blizzard. He visits with an oddball assortment of relatives, confronts some ghosts from his past, and, of course, learns the true meaning of Christmas.
Normally I get a quite few laughs from Keillor's stuff, but the chuckles here were sparse. I get the sense he wasn't trying very hard with this book. There were way too many pages devoted to the rich man's nagging fear of getting his tongue stuck to cold metal. The first mention of this unnamed phobia really wasn't funny, but Keillor just kept bringing it up - again, and again. And, some gags - flu for Christmas, and Christmas tree on fire - were yanked directly from News from Lake Wobegon segments.
I enjoyed one bit that happened at the family's Christmas eve dinner, and this line - "Christmas is the force field of heightened possibility." Otherwise, this is one Christmas I don't want to remember.
December 5, 2019
More than a few years ago I listened to A Prairie Home Companion while driving across the country, a set of CD’s that I’d bought for my father many years before, and which he’d loved.
That was my introduction to Garrison Keillor, and I loved his stories, and this place where all the women are strong, the men are good looking, and the children above average. I loved listening to his sharing these charming, homespun tales, and had expectations that this would be along the same lines, at least in the storytelling.
And, in truth, there is a sprinkling of that down-to-earth sense of a small town community, but if it is lacking somewhere, it is in the diminished sense of charm, which is not to say there is none – it just wasn’t what I expected.
This story centers around a couple who seem to have everything they want, although on closer inspection it seems that isn’t quite so. James, the husband, wants to spend Christmas in Hawaii, far away from the snow and cold, and far away from anything related to the holiday. Joyce, the wife, on the other hand, lives for the holiday, and immerses herself in it as much as she can. She wants a child, a cozy life with a family. He wants to live the good life.
When he ends up stranded because of a blizzard, his private plane unable to take off from the home of his childhood in North Dakota. Stranded, he begins to remember this life he knew as a child, and facing the past, he begins to see a different future.
That was my introduction to Garrison Keillor, and I loved his stories, and this place where all the women are strong, the men are good looking, and the children above average. I loved listening to his sharing these charming, homespun tales, and had expectations that this would be along the same lines, at least in the storytelling.
And, in truth, there is a sprinkling of that down-to-earth sense of a small town community, but if it is lacking somewhere, it is in the diminished sense of charm, which is not to say there is none – it just wasn’t what I expected.
This story centers around a couple who seem to have everything they want, although on closer inspection it seems that isn’t quite so. James, the husband, wants to spend Christmas in Hawaii, far away from the snow and cold, and far away from anything related to the holiday. Joyce, the wife, on the other hand, lives for the holiday, and immerses herself in it as much as she can. She wants a child, a cozy life with a family. He wants to live the good life.
When he ends up stranded because of a blizzard, his private plane unable to take off from the home of his childhood in North Dakota. Stranded, he begins to remember this life he knew as a child, and facing the past, he begins to see a different future.
February 17, 2012
Just finished listening to this on audiobook.
Simply said, I enjoyed it. It was a funny, quirky, tongue-in-cheek little Christmas story.
What I especially liked is that it's a Christmas story that is also making fun of the the cliche of Christmas stories. Hence the tongue-in-cheekness.
What's even better, is that it's *not* another version of A Christmas Carol. Huzzah for someone doing something new.
If you show up expecting a Lake Wobegon story, I can see how people would be disappointed. But taken for what it is, I think it's a lot of fun.
I should admit that I'm a huge Garrison Keillor fan, and I love his reading voice. If they sold CD's of him reading a phonebook, I'd probably buy a set and really enjoy them.
December 11, 2017
What an amazingly wonderful Christmas story. I’ll post my full review on my booktube channel at http://Youtube.com/peterlikesbooks
December 16, 2023
While looking for some holidays reading, I stumbled upon this book by Garrison Keillor. Marketed as a humourous look at Christmas, I was pleased to take some time to read it, in hopes that I could add some joy to the holiday season. Perhaps I grabbed the wrong book, as I found little of entertainment or humour in the piece, always waiting got the other (elfin) shoe to drop so that I could laugh aloud. Keillor appears to be trying to make a point here, but it was lost on me, in a piece that appeared to be more filled with ramblings than humorous Christmas storytelling.
James Sparrow is a wealthy man who has everything he needs in life except the Christmas spirit. He bemoans this loss throughout the early part of the story, as well as the plans he has to go to Hawaii to celebrate the holiday season with his wife. While he hopes to leave soon, James is summoned to a small North Dakota community, where his uncle is dying and needs to settle his affairs. This turn of events sends James into the middle of the American tundra, where cold is the theme of the day.
While James has everything he could want, he also has a number of phobias that resurface when he returns to his hometown. The story tells of them, as well as some of the locals he knew in his years growing up. James spends some time with family, but when a blizzard blows in there is little chance that he will be able to join his wife in the tropics. Stuck with the reality before him, James settles in for a North Dakota Christmas, where he discovers the truth about himself and the holiday season. Sounds like it could be a blast, but I think Garrison Keillor did not get the memo!
While I do enjoy Christmas stories of all sorts, I could not find myself getting connected with this book. It was either too drab or not funny at all, but I failed to connect with any part of it. The characters had potential, the story was laid out for what could have been a riot and the twists I found could have been built up for something amazing. Instead, it fell flat and I stuck around only so that I could review the book and say I made it to the end. While Garrison Keillor might be a great storyteller, this piece does not showcase this and I was rather disappointed in its inclusion in my holiday reading. Some may differ from my opinion, which I laud, as freedom of speech is so very important!
Kudos, Mr. Keillor, I hope others found something other than an oddly shaped piece of coal in this piece.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
James Sparrow is a wealthy man who has everything he needs in life except the Christmas spirit. He bemoans this loss throughout the early part of the story, as well as the plans he has to go to Hawaii to celebrate the holiday season with his wife. While he hopes to leave soon, James is summoned to a small North Dakota community, where his uncle is dying and needs to settle his affairs. This turn of events sends James into the middle of the American tundra, where cold is the theme of the day.
While James has everything he could want, he also has a number of phobias that resurface when he returns to his hometown. The story tells of them, as well as some of the locals he knew in his years growing up. James spends some time with family, but when a blizzard blows in there is little chance that he will be able to join his wife in the tropics. Stuck with the reality before him, James settles in for a North Dakota Christmas, where he discovers the truth about himself and the holiday season. Sounds like it could be a blast, but I think Garrison Keillor did not get the memo!
While I do enjoy Christmas stories of all sorts, I could not find myself getting connected with this book. It was either too drab or not funny at all, but I failed to connect with any part of it. The characters had potential, the story was laid out for what could have been a riot and the twists I found could have been built up for something amazing. Instead, it fell flat and I stuck around only so that I could review the book and say I made it to the end. While Garrison Keillor might be a great storyteller, this piece does not showcase this and I was rather disappointed in its inclusion in my holiday reading. Some may differ from my opinion, which I laud, as freedom of speech is so very important!
Kudos, Mr. Keillor, I hope others found something other than an oddly shaped piece of coal in this piece.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
January 5, 2011
Maybe it's because I've never read Keillor's work. Maybe it's because I haven't exactly had a good Christmas season this year. Maybe it's because I just wasn't in the mood. Or maybe, just maybe, this book was just a wee bit boring. And confusing. And weird in a way I just couldn't get down with.
Was it real? Was it a hallucination? Was it just a waste of time?
I just could not get through this book.
Let me explain it this way: the book is short - 100 or so pages - and it took me over a week to read it. That's bad. I'd read a little bit and clean the house. Read a little more and make cookies. Read a little more and do anything but read another paragraph. It just didn't hold my attention at all.
Sorry Garrison, I don't think we'll be meeting again anytime soon.
Was it real? Was it a hallucination? Was it just a waste of time?
I just could not get through this book.
Let me explain it this way: the book is short - 100 or so pages - and it took me over a week to read it. That's bad. I'd read a little bit and clean the house. Read a little more and make cookies. Read a little more and do anything but read another paragraph. It just didn't hold my attention at all.
Sorry Garrison, I don't think we'll be meeting again anytime soon.
March 23, 2014
Book Title: The Christmas Blizzard
Author: Garrison Keillor
Genre: General Fiction, Humor
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Book on CD
If you've ever listened to Garrison Keillor on "A Prairie Home Companion" telling the tales of Lake Woebegon, you'll know what a joy it is to listen to a storyteller weave a tale that amuses and teaches, all at the same time.
I'm still not sure exactly what happened here, but I had a ripping good time listening to it while driving around town for the past week. It's the story of James Sparrow, who is rich beyond his wildest dreams from a stroke of luck. He lives in Chicago with the love of his life, and the only problem he has is that he hates Christmas, mostly because of a bunch of childhood memories of Looseleaf, North Dakota, and a fear of getting his tongue stuck to the frozen pump handle in the winter. It has become an obsession and the only way he can deal with it is to go to Hawaii, where it's warm and there's no chance that he will get his tongue stuck to a frozen pump handle.
The story goes on (and on and on) from there, in a convoluted trail involving old friends and family and a lot of strange dreams (or revelations) and an unbelievable ending, but that's okay because it's a pretty tall tale to begin with. I was laughing out loud quite a lot as I was driving around, and that's a good sign.
Author: Garrison Keillor
Genre: General Fiction, Humor
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Book on CD
If you've ever listened to Garrison Keillor on "A Prairie Home Companion" telling the tales of Lake Woebegon, you'll know what a joy it is to listen to a storyteller weave a tale that amuses and teaches, all at the same time.
I'm still not sure exactly what happened here, but I had a ripping good time listening to it while driving around town for the past week. It's the story of James Sparrow, who is rich beyond his wildest dreams from a stroke of luck. He lives in Chicago with the love of his life, and the only problem he has is that he hates Christmas, mostly because of a bunch of childhood memories of Looseleaf, North Dakota, and a fear of getting his tongue stuck to the frozen pump handle in the winter. It has become an obsession and the only way he can deal with it is to go to Hawaii, where it's warm and there's no chance that he will get his tongue stuck to a frozen pump handle.
The story goes on (and on and on) from there, in a convoluted trail involving old friends and family and a lot of strange dreams (or revelations) and an unbelievable ending, but that's okay because it's a pretty tall tale to begin with. I was laughing out loud quite a lot as I was driving around, and that's a good sign.
December 16, 2016
I FINALLY finished this.
I thought I would be in love with every single moment of this novel. And I was--for the first hour or so (I listened to it).
I really love Garrison Keillor. He is warm, comforting, and funny, and I thought there could be nothing better than a Garrison Keillor Christmas tale. After all, the Prairie Home Companion Christmas special is always my favorite episode of the year. However, this just didn't work out.
An entire novel by Garrison Keillor was a little too much. His whimsical sense of humor got *too* whimsical when it repeated over and over, and I lost track of what was happening. The overarching plot has a consistent thread that gets tied up, but the in between was simply a mess.
I'll take a million silly Keillor sketches (say that five times fast!) any day over an entire novel of his. And I feel horribly guilty about saying that.
I thought I would be in love with every single moment of this novel. And I was--for the first hour or so (I listened to it).
I really love Garrison Keillor. He is warm, comforting, and funny, and I thought there could be nothing better than a Garrison Keillor Christmas tale. After all, the Prairie Home Companion Christmas special is always my favorite episode of the year. However, this just didn't work out.
An entire novel by Garrison Keillor was a little too much. His whimsical sense of humor got *too* whimsical when it repeated over and over, and I lost track of what was happening. The overarching plot has a consistent thread that gets tied up, but the in between was simply a mess.
I'll take a million silly Keillor sketches (say that five times fast!) any day over an entire novel of his. And I feel horribly guilty about saying that.
January 7, 2012
This starts off wonderfully, but I think it comes slightly unstuck with some supernatural content, which isn't Keillor's natural territory. However, his humour and vivid depiction of smalltown life still make it well worth reading.
May 18, 2022
Review originally published December 2009
The busy, hectic pace of the holidays is upon us once more, and with so much to do, it’s nice to take the time to read a charming holiday story with a hot cup of tea nearby on a cold winter evening.
And with that thought, I have a suggestion for a holiday book with a meaningful message: The Christmas Blizzard by well-known author Garrison Keillor.
James Sparrow strikes an unnerving similarity to Ebeneezer Scrooge in the ever popular A Christmas Carol. James, 42, a North Dakota native, is happily married and lives in Chicago. James’s multimillionaire business happened after conversing with a drunk chemist in a tavern in Montana who ultimately sold James his formula for an energy drink made of coyote grass.
James lives in Chicago and owns an estate in Hawaii, to which he escapes every Christmas season. Joyce, his wife, adores Christmas and would rather stay in Chicago, but reluctantly accompanies James every year. This particular year she falls ill and stays home; meanwhile James gets a phone call from Looseleaf, North Dakota. Uncle Earl is on his death bed, and James flies out for a very brief visit en-route to Hawaii.
When his plane lands snow is already falling; he tries to hurry the visit so that he can continue on to his paradise destination, but the blizzard is fast approaching and he is stuck for a few days. James, not wanting anyone to know where he is staying, moves into an old fishing shack, and is visited by some pretty strange visions whose purpose is to teach him about life. James faces his demons and conquers his fears, and in the end becomes a new man.
Mr. Keillor is a gifted author and knows how to captivate his readers. I also learned that he is quite multi-talented. Outside of being an author he is also a columnist, storyteller, humorist, musician, satirist, and radio personality. One of his homes is in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the other in New York.
A couple of other, just published, Christmas stories caught my eye:
* Debbie Macomber’s The Perfect Christmas is about a young woman who is trying to meet her perfect mate and ends up hiring a professional matchmaker. The matchmaker assigns her three tasks to complete before she will meet him.
* Lakeshore Christmas by Susan Wiggs is a modern-day fairy tale about unexpected blessings of the season. The main characters are a local librarian and a guitar hero who are strangers, but find themselves working together in the most unlikely circumstances.
All of these books are available through the five branches of the La Crosse County Library in Bangor, Campbell, Holmen, Onalaska, and West Salem. You might have to place a request for them, as they are quite popular currently.
I hope your Christmas and holiday season are spent with a holiday book nearby. It will be especially enjoyed if you are all done with your shopping and baking or any other holiday errands.
Find these and similar titles within our catalog.
The busy, hectic pace of the holidays is upon us once more, and with so much to do, it’s nice to take the time to read a charming holiday story with a hot cup of tea nearby on a cold winter evening.
And with that thought, I have a suggestion for a holiday book with a meaningful message: The Christmas Blizzard by well-known author Garrison Keillor.
James Sparrow strikes an unnerving similarity to Ebeneezer Scrooge in the ever popular A Christmas Carol. James, 42, a North Dakota native, is happily married and lives in Chicago. James’s multimillionaire business happened after conversing with a drunk chemist in a tavern in Montana who ultimately sold James his formula for an energy drink made of coyote grass.
James lives in Chicago and owns an estate in Hawaii, to which he escapes every Christmas season. Joyce, his wife, adores Christmas and would rather stay in Chicago, but reluctantly accompanies James every year. This particular year she falls ill and stays home; meanwhile James gets a phone call from Looseleaf, North Dakota. Uncle Earl is on his death bed, and James flies out for a very brief visit en-route to Hawaii.
When his plane lands snow is already falling; he tries to hurry the visit so that he can continue on to his paradise destination, but the blizzard is fast approaching and he is stuck for a few days. James, not wanting anyone to know where he is staying, moves into an old fishing shack, and is visited by some pretty strange visions whose purpose is to teach him about life. James faces his demons and conquers his fears, and in the end becomes a new man.
Mr. Keillor is a gifted author and knows how to captivate his readers. I also learned that he is quite multi-talented. Outside of being an author he is also a columnist, storyteller, humorist, musician, satirist, and radio personality. One of his homes is in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the other in New York.
A couple of other, just published, Christmas stories caught my eye:
* Debbie Macomber’s The Perfect Christmas is about a young woman who is trying to meet her perfect mate and ends up hiring a professional matchmaker. The matchmaker assigns her three tasks to complete before she will meet him.
* Lakeshore Christmas by Susan Wiggs is a modern-day fairy tale about unexpected blessings of the season. The main characters are a local librarian and a guitar hero who are strangers, but find themselves working together in the most unlikely circumstances.
All of these books are available through the five branches of the La Crosse County Library in Bangor, Campbell, Holmen, Onalaska, and West Salem. You might have to place a request for them, as they are quite popular currently.
I hope your Christmas and holiday season are spent with a holiday book nearby. It will be especially enjoyed if you are all done with your shopping and baking or any other holiday errands.
Find these and similar titles within our catalog.
December 5, 2023
Weird rambling odd
November 25, 2023
I don’t share the author’s humor to begin with, but the talking wolf and when the bus load of psychoanalysts came to town for a well described pit stop, well , I was mentally over this story.
December 16, 2011
Chicago millionaire James Sparrow wants to spend Christmas in Hawaii in order to escape from his lifelong fear that he will put his tongue on an iron pump handle and it will freeze there.
So. Anyway.
On his way to Hawaii, he stops in North Dakota to visit a dying uncle and ends up stranded when a blizzard moves in. He decides to stay in an ice-fishing cabin on a frozen lake, where he's visited by various people both real and imaginary, including a wolf who's the reincarnation of a friend who died on that lake. One of his visitors gives him 24 hours to get over his dislike of Christmas, although it's not exactly clear what happens if he doesn't.
I guess this is supposed to be a bit of a reworking of A Christmas Carol with a little of It's a Wonderful Life thrown in, but the result is mostly just weird and internally illogical. I can see where people might find this folksy and charming, but finding it corny and annoying is an equally plausible reaction.
So. Anyway.
On his way to Hawaii, he stops in North Dakota to visit a dying uncle and ends up stranded when a blizzard moves in. He decides to stay in an ice-fishing cabin on a frozen lake, where he's visited by various people both real and imaginary, including a wolf who's the reincarnation of a friend who died on that lake. One of his visitors gives him 24 hours to get over his dislike of Christmas, although it's not exactly clear what happens if he doesn't.
I guess this is supposed to be a bit of a reworking of A Christmas Carol with a little of It's a Wonderful Life thrown in, but the result is mostly just weird and internally illogical. I can see where people might find this folksy and charming, but finding it corny and annoying is an equally plausible reaction.
November 13, 2021
Rating: 3.5 stars
A bit outside my reading norm, but I appreciated the Christmas Carol thing going on here. There were moments that made me laugh, and a few that warmed my heart. I get all the comparisons to APHC too. It had that feel of a classic radio show. I listened to the audiobook where I could really appreciate that, and must say, the production was great. I enjoyed the music and the narrators voice and inflection.
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A bit outside my reading norm, but I appreciated the Christmas Carol thing going on here. There were moments that made me laugh, and a few that warmed my heart. I get all the comparisons to APHC too. It had that feel of a classic radio show. I listened to the audiobook where I could really appreciate that, and must say, the production was great. I enjoyed the music and the narrators voice and inflection.
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January 4, 2020
This was leftover from my December TBR. I had a hard time getting through this one. I was excited to read this one as it states it's similarity to A Christmas Carol but it fell flat for me. I loved the idea but overall this wasn't a favorite.
January 24, 2025
Love listening to Garrison Keillor narrate this audiobook but just couldn’t get into this story.
June 14, 2011
Not much to say about this one...just a little weird. I had heard good things about Garrison Keilor's writing, and I tend to like Christmas stories, so I thought I'd try this one out. I don't think I'll read anything else by Keilor. It wasn't bad, just not in a style I like. There was one thoughtful passage, though.
"You are the benefactor of great kindness. And you have no idea how much goodness is lavished on the world by invisible hands. Small, selfless deeds engender tremendous force against the darker powers. Great kindness pervades this world, struggling against pernicious selfishness and vulgar narcissism and the vicious streak that is smeared across each human heart -- great bounding goodness is rampant and none of it is wasted. No, these small gifts of goodness -- this is what saves the soul of man from despair, and that is what preserves humanity from the long fall from the precipice into the abyss."
Not a bad thought to ponder...
"You are the benefactor of great kindness. And you have no idea how much goodness is lavished on the world by invisible hands. Small, selfless deeds engender tremendous force against the darker powers. Great kindness pervades this world, struggling against pernicious selfishness and vulgar narcissism and the vicious streak that is smeared across each human heart -- great bounding goodness is rampant and none of it is wasted. No, these small gifts of goodness -- this is what saves the soul of man from despair, and that is what preserves humanity from the long fall from the precipice into the abyss."
Not a bad thought to ponder...
December 20, 2020
“A wonderful, feel-good story, bursting with Midwest nostalgia and reminiscent of a Dickens tale...”
OH WAIT. That’s not this book, at all.
I lost count of how many times I paused after a paragraph thinking “wait, WHAT? What did I just read?” A bizarre, “kind-of-retelling” of A Christmas Carol, featuring a main character we don’t care about and stories of Christmases past that are practically criminal.
Like other reviewers, I thought “Garrison Keillor+Christmas. What could go wrong?” Answer: lots. I feel like this must have been approved to be published in his heyday, and no one bothered to question how strange it was.
It’s on my “never read this again!”
OH WAIT. That’s not this book, at all.
I lost count of how many times I paused after a paragraph thinking “wait, WHAT? What did I just read?” A bizarre, “kind-of-retelling” of A Christmas Carol, featuring a main character we don’t care about and stories of Christmases past that are practically criminal.
Like other reviewers, I thought “Garrison Keillor+Christmas. What could go wrong?” Answer: lots. I feel like this must have been approved to be published in his heyday, and no one bothered to question how strange it was.
It’s on my “never read this again!”
December 7, 2010
I'm a Garrison Keillor fan but this take-off of A Christmas Carol didn't do it for me. I almost gave it two stars, but it was laugh-out-loud funny in some places.
The main character is completely unappealing but while Ebenezer Scrooge gradually comes to grips with his miserable self, this guy never really does, and his hallucinations are just kind of goofy and not really the kind of thing that would turn anybody around.
I'm still a fan, but Mr. Keillor missed with this one. It's time to re-read Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory again.
The main character is completely unappealing but while Ebenezer Scrooge gradually comes to grips with his miserable self, this guy never really does, and his hallucinations are just kind of goofy and not really the kind of thing that would turn anybody around.
I'm still a fan, but Mr. Keillor missed with this one. It's time to re-read Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory again.
December 4, 2014
I stopped enjoying christmas over a decade ago, and it bothers me. Which is part of the reason I decided to read this. And I'm glad I did. I've been a Keillor fan most of my life, but I haven't listened to his show or picked up one of his books in years, and this reminded me of why I love him. Comforting, funny, left me feeling soothed, like I was laying on the couch in my childhood home listening to PHC, although this was darker than his usual fare. Will I find myself able to pay keen interest and let the miracle into my heart now? I don't know, but I enjoyed the book at least.
January 23, 2016
What could have been a touching and funny Christmas reclamation story takes a bizarre, unexplained turn toward the end that undoes the whole experience.
dnf
November 11, 2022DNF at 41%.
December 25, 2021
Dickens’s Christmas Carol is the story about a man who is reminded of what he had, what he doesn’t have anymore, and what that will look like once he’s dead, and so he decides to turn his life around, especially on the point of being mortified at how people really view him. It has become a beloved Christmas classic, especially in its many screen adaptations. In some ways, Garrison Keillor’s Christmas Blizzard is very similar to it, a kind of adaptation, too, and yet it’s its own thing, which in some ways reads like a Pynchon Christmas Carol. Anyway.
I had never read Keillor before, never listened to one of his radio shows. Since he’s not exactly a pop culture commodity, he’s someone you are probably apt to know about than know, without that ability to casual bump into his material. He’s also someone who was, along with so many other famous people, caught up in some scandal or other in recent years. It would be a shame if his legacy were damaged by that. Having now read him, I quite enjoy Keillor, thank you.
In smaller communities it’s common to know people who talk as if they’re telling stories, which of course is because that’s what they’re doing. They don’t talk, they tell stories. That’s how Keillor happened, that’s who he is, someone who if he never became famous would still more or less be doing exactly the same thing he does as a famous person. And he happens, as these people tend to be, well worth listening to.
Very late in the book I realized he sounded very familiar, in his short book sounding very much like the long books of Thomas Pynchon. I don’t know if it was the story about the dynamiter that’s did it (my first Pynchon was Against the Day), or the simple fact that the book ends with a family of storytellers telling stories, the same general tone as the rest of the book but in madcap nonstop format, the way Pynchon is when he really gets going (so I assume he too grew up with storytellers around him).
It’s the kind of book you know will end only one way, especially because it’s a Christmas book, but as with all good stories it’s not the story but how it’s told, and Keillor keeps things lively. He’s a born storyteller, after all. Apparently in his radio shows he never repeats himself, which is the sign of someone who when he isn’t talking he’s actually listening, collecting facts. Some people with a lot of facts think they facts themselves are interesting, or it’s impressive to collect a lot of facts. But Keillor knows what to actually do with them. For him it’s telling an amusing modern fable.
Stories that help capture the times are one of the definitions of a classic. This one’s a classic. Again, glad I finally read Keillor.
I had never read Keillor before, never listened to one of his radio shows. Since he’s not exactly a pop culture commodity, he’s someone you are probably apt to know about than know, without that ability to casual bump into his material. He’s also someone who was, along with so many other famous people, caught up in some scandal or other in recent years. It would be a shame if his legacy were damaged by that. Having now read him, I quite enjoy Keillor, thank you.
In smaller communities it’s common to know people who talk as if they’re telling stories, which of course is because that’s what they’re doing. They don’t talk, they tell stories. That’s how Keillor happened, that’s who he is, someone who if he never became famous would still more or less be doing exactly the same thing he does as a famous person. And he happens, as these people tend to be, well worth listening to.
Very late in the book I realized he sounded very familiar, in his short book sounding very much like the long books of Thomas Pynchon. I don’t know if it was the story about the dynamiter that’s did it (my first Pynchon was Against the Day), or the simple fact that the book ends with a family of storytellers telling stories, the same general tone as the rest of the book but in madcap nonstop format, the way Pynchon is when he really gets going (so I assume he too grew up with storytellers around him).
It’s the kind of book you know will end only one way, especially because it’s a Christmas book, but as with all good stories it’s not the story but how it’s told, and Keillor keeps things lively. He’s a born storyteller, after all. Apparently in his radio shows he never repeats himself, which is the sign of someone who when he isn’t talking he’s actually listening, collecting facts. Some people with a lot of facts think they facts themselves are interesting, or it’s impressive to collect a lot of facts. But Keillor knows what to actually do with them. For him it’s telling an amusing modern fable.
Stories that help capture the times are one of the definitions of a classic. This one’s a classic. Again, glad I finally read Keillor.
December 9, 2024
The last time I read Garrison Keillor - several years ago, entirely on random whim - was also the first time. The book in question was the very humorous yet wholesome Life among the Lutherans. I could say I am surprised at myself for having taken so long before giving him another spin, but then I'm not that surprised as I often take years before returning to an author, even if I like them. Bingeing the same writer is something I started and stopped with Stephen King, when I first was a wee nineteen-year-old, fresh from the life-changing experience of reading It for the first time.
Anyway, Garrison is an all-American, midwest comedic writer who seems to be very popular to at least a certain demographic of readers. It would seem to me, those of a generally Christian or conservative persuasion, those who are repulsed by the obscenity and excessive sexual content of much popular comedy, but are not afraid to have their own lifestyles, values and beliefs poked fun at providing the poker is ultimalte doing it with the warmest of hearts.
That is why I like Keillor. His writing is so very funny, but also quite captivating, original, playful, and irrepressibly humane. This book, although not as good as Life among the Lutherans, seems to be just what Keillor's fans would be wanting from him at this point. It's a heartwarming, somewhat derivative play on certain cliches of the "Christmas novel" (most predictably, that beloved Dickens tale, which I somehow have yet to resonate with a whole lot).
It is not any kind of masterpiece. I can't imagine any of his fans are going to be bowled over by it. Nor do I imagine it would necessarily win him over many new fans. But as a little Christmas treat for whose with the acquired taste, it's all perfectly charming, and as good a book as any to help on get into the Christmas season.
Anyway, Garrison is an all-American, midwest comedic writer who seems to be very popular to at least a certain demographic of readers. It would seem to me, those of a generally Christian or conservative persuasion, those who are repulsed by the obscenity and excessive sexual content of much popular comedy, but are not afraid to have their own lifestyles, values and beliefs poked fun at providing the poker is ultimalte doing it with the warmest of hearts.
That is why I like Keillor. His writing is so very funny, but also quite captivating, original, playful, and irrepressibly humane. This book, although not as good as Life among the Lutherans, seems to be just what Keillor's fans would be wanting from him at this point. It's a heartwarming, somewhat derivative play on certain cliches of the "Christmas novel" (most predictably, that beloved Dickens tale, which I somehow have yet to resonate with a whole lot).
It is not any kind of masterpiece. I can't imagine any of his fans are going to be bowled over by it. Nor do I imagine it would necessarily win him over many new fans. But as a little Christmas treat for whose with the acquired taste, it's all perfectly charming, and as good a book as any to help on get into the Christmas season.
December 26, 2020
This book is as kooky and fun--mixing the familiar with the absurd, which are not always so different--as one of Keillor's stories about Lake Wobegon. The stories doesn't work quite as well when skimmed as when told by the author's lingering, airy voice, which usually keeps me interested and makes the stories shorter. Still, the long-form narrative allows for stories that are possibly truer to life in their rambling, and for situations that devolve into extended chaos. I'm sure I missed a lot of messages in this quick read, but I enjoyed it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2025
What the heck did I just listen to? It started out somewhat normal, but it pretty quickly developed past the normally neurotic and anxious Lake Wobegon characters and storylines into a complete fever dream. Practically every character in the book tells some tangential story completely unrelated to the plot as a way for Keillor to cram as many vignettes into one book as possible. And yes, the stories are usually funny and zany in Keillor's soothingly manic way, but it's like he was high half the time while he was writing it. Perfectly common Keillor recitation as he read it, though, with a constant and varied musical background through the whole 4.5 hours. Probably not for kids due to some content, but also just because you'd lose them after five minutes.
December 3, 2024
It was short and shouldn’t have taken me this long to read it, but I just didn’t care for the story. It was a North Dakota Christmas Carol of sorts but was just depressing and the characters weren’t likable. The writing itself was good. Again, the story wasn’t for me.
December 18, 2021
When I met Garrison Keillor several years ago, I thanked him for all of the pleasure which his writing (and his radio programme) have given me. I didn't thank him for "A Christmas Blizzard" because I hadn't yet read it. If I meet him again, I'll remedy the omission. This is a fun, fanciful and exceptionally well-written story. In a very loose parallel to Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," it concerns a man who is immensely successful economically but dissatisfied with his life. And he dislikes Christmas. Stranded in his North Dakota home town when his private jet is snowed in at the tiny local airport, he reconnects with family and friends in a novel and revealing way, which leads to a sort of epiphany ... about which I will not write further, so as not to spoil the surprise. This is an altogether delightful novel. [Note: it has nothing to do with the Lake Wobegon novels.]
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