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Love Me

Name: Love Me
Author: Garrison Keillor
ISBN: 9780142004999

by Garrison Keillor

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Overview

n this charming departure from Lake Wobegon, bestselling author Garrison Keillor tells a hilarious and heartwarming tale of ambition, success and failure, and the virtues of real love. Aspiring writer Larry Wyler leads a quiet, decent life with his do-gooder wife, Iris, in St. Paul, Minnesota, but he wants more. When his literary debut becomes a hit, he departs for a Manhattan apartment, a job at the New Yorker, and three- martini lunches with the great editor, William Shawn.

But when his second novel bombs and he finds himself in the grip of writer's block, Wyler discovers that success-and the New York publishing scene-is a fickle mistress, indeed. Creatively barren, nearly destitute, and longing for Iris, he accepts a job writing 'Ask Mr. Blue,' a column doling out advice to the lovelorn. It may not be glamorous work, but through it Wyler discovers what's really important and sets out to win back the woman he left behind.

Synopsis

But when his second novel bombs and he finds himself in the grip of writer's block, Wyler discovers that success—and the New York publishing scene—is a fickle mistress, indeed. Creatively barren, nearly destitute, and longing for Iris, he accepts a job writing “Ask Mr. Blue,” a column doling out advice to the lovelorn. It may not be glamorous work, but through it Wyler discovers what's really important and sets out to win back the woman he left behind.

USA Today

… a droll literary spoof wrapped in a sweet love story. — Bob Minzesheimer

About the Author, Garrison Keillor

First with his performances on Minnesota Public Radio's Prairie Home Companion and later in his books, Garrison Keillor has become a symbol of the small-town Midwest -- its absurdities, its stoutness, and its warmth. His popular, funny stories set in Lake Wobegon manage to evoke nostalgia for a town that never existed.

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Editorials

USA Today

… a droll literary spoof wrapped in a sweet love story. — Bob Minzesheimer

The Washington Post

Unlike his feckless hero, Keillor has never lost touch with his Midwestern community and the rich and varied material it has afforded him over the years. In its revelation of what it means to be a human being in our gloriously absurd day and age, Love Me is Garrison Keillor's funniest and most ambitious novel to date. — Howard Frank Mosher

The New York Times

Love Me succeeds as light-footed fun, or as social comedy of the order that poor Larry Wyler couldn't write. Either way, any novel in which J. D. Salinger appears on ''Hollywood Squares'' gets my vote — Carl Hiaasen

Publishers Weekly

An obscure Minneapolis writer is touched by the "kiss of fame" in Keillor's latest, a sly romantic comedy-cum-literary satire that begins when Larry Wyler's first novel, Spacious Skies, takes off and hits the bestseller list. Wyler longs to accept an invitation to go to Manhattan and work for the New Yorker, but his earnest, stodgy wife, Iris, is content to stay in St. Paul and continue her work with the elderly. The siren song of New York proves too strong for Wyler, though, and the writer reports to legendary editor William Shawn and rubs elbows with the likes of Updike and Salinger. But publisher Harold Ross has been succeeded by a mafioso called Tony Crossandotti, who forces Wyler into a deadly showdown after the hapless writer fails to get a poem published for the thug. In an equally cheeky storyline, Wyler begins writing an advice column for a Minneapolis paper when his work at the New Yorker flags and his second novel tanks, and Keillor uses the conceit to pen a series of running letters from various lovelorn characters who call on "Mr. Blue" to help sort out their lonely lives (reprising his real-life turn as an advice columnist for the online magazine Salon). The material on Wyler's up-and-down relationship with Iris is less successful, although Keillor's prose does turn touching down the stretch when they reconcile and put Wyler's numerous infidelities behind them. With his trademark droll humor, Keillor exposes the foibles of human nature and pokes fun at our more absurd conventions. The icing on the cake is the use of some obviously autobiographical material from Keillor's publishing experiences in this wry send-up of literary life. (Aug. 18) Forecast: Keillor is arguably a better humorist than novelist, and this extended sketch plays to his strengths-it may even draw a few Keillor skeptics. A 10-city author tour is sure to be well-attended. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

After his first novel becomes a best seller, Minnesota writer Larry Wyler promptly suffers from swollen-head syndrome, separates from down-to-earth wife Iris, and rides the momentum to a Manhattan terrace apartment and a staff position at The New Yorker. Thus begins a parody of life for a successful writer in the Big Apple. Larry lives high on the hog, enjoying numerous casual sexual encounters and hobnobbing with literary luminaries such as William Shawn, John Updike, and even the elusive J.D. Salinger. Despite these triumphs, Wyler's comeuppance is not far behind. Soon plagued by writer's block, he loses confidence, begins to run out of funds, and finds himself harried by ominous Mafia types who make unreasonable demands. In desperate straits, he accepts an offer from a St. Paul newspaper to write a column for the lovelorn under the pseudonym "Mr. Blue" and eventually returns home to Iris and redemption. Keillor's clear eye for human foibles and amazing ear for dialog yields tons of material. His strength, though, is in the short format, and while the advice column technique affords him smaller settings for his gems, the book as a whole fails to come together in an easy, connective flow. Keillor fans will, nonetheless, want to read his latest. Recommended for fiction collections everywhere. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/03.]-Sheila Riley, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, DC Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.