by Harrison Geillor
Night Shade Books,$14.99, 295 pages
When an asteroid crash causes the dead to come back to life (including all the animals!), the residents of Lake Wobegotten must use their “above average” skills to save themselves from destruction. Communication with anyone is cut off, resources are dwindling, and the undead are hungry!
Harrison Geillor parody The Zombies of Lake Wobegotten combines the humor of the zombie genre and the original comedy of Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon. Readers who have never experienced Keillor’s work and humor will still enjoy this unique story. But those familiar with the Lake Wobegon stories and characters will feel like they’ve come home. Pastor Inkfist and Father Edsel create an International Anti-Zombie Task Force. They recruit the Lutheran Women’s Circle to notify residents of a town meeting (refreshments to be provided). The holiday pageant continues despite the danger and one particularly carnivorous baby Jesus surprises the crowd…but rhubarb pie is still served. In other zombie books you have sheer panic as a response to the epidemic. But in a sleepy, slow town like Lake Wobegotten, a plan of attack is methodical and hilarious. This is a laugh-a-minute story that will have readers dying of laughter.
Reviewed by Kathryn Franklin