Sonderbooks Book Review of Homegrown Democrat

Reviewed September 12, 2004.
Viking, New York, 2004. 238 pages.
Sonderbooks Stand-out 2004, #5, Current Issues

I usually avoid reviewing political books that come down hard on the side of one party or the other. I admit that I have read a few rather shrill books written by extremists to give me a laugh, but I don’t feel it’s quite fair to recommend such books.

Recently I confessed to a conservative cousin that I don’t necessarily vote Republican, and I felt I also had to reassure her that, yes, I am still a Christian. That whole attitude that those with righteous ethics must be political conservatives is what made me find Garrison Keillor’s book especially delightful.

How refreshing to read a political book by someone who is literate and with a good command of the English language! Garrison Keillor writes with gentle humor (as opposed to shrill over-the-top extremist humor) and looks at the ethical side of being a Democrat. He feels that the Democratic party is based on such principles as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” and “You are not so different from other people so don’t give yourself airs.”

Now, mind you, Republicans may not find this book as refreshing and amusing as I do. It should, at least, give them something to think about and make them feel that perhaps “family values” are not completely in their territory after all. Democrats will be delighted to find such a well-spoken, insightful spokesman.

Review of another book by Garrison Keillor:
Good Poems

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Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

****Homegrown Democrat*

A Few Plain Thoughts from the Heart of America

by Garrison Keillor