A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION 25th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION

As always, it's a treat to hear Garrison Keillor's contemplative voice as he reads 15 Lake Wobegon monologues from his radio series, "A Prairie Home Companion." It seems that some of the monologues in this collection, such as "The Living Flag," have been truncated to fit on the tapes. Instead, the producers might better have chosen to eliminate the musical numbers that go between the stories. Several of the tales in this collection have darker elements that remind the listener that Keillor's monologues aren't always the nostalgic picture of small-town life that his critics might claim. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 00]