That Keillor makes his characters live fully, yet also selects them and their adventures to paint a picture of a culture and another picture of his response to that culture, accounts for the unusual form of the book. Within a roughly chronological organization, Keillor groups stories by subject: an overview of the town, the history of the town, its eccentricities, characteristic seasonal activities, and a sort of summing up. Within these broad categories, the narrative seems to wander almost whimsically, although it never really abandons the themes. A major humorous technique which stands out from among many of the standard ones Keillor uses is that of the understated tall tale. There are many tall tales such as the stories of the Lundbergs' sleepwalking, of the man who was accidentally dumped naked out of his pick-up truck camper, and several of Carl Krebsbach's hunting and fishing adventures. Keillor finds...