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Population: 485 : Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time (Wisconsin)
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Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time

Average customer rating:

Good Read
backporch stories
Introspective in the matters of the human psyche
Can't say I loved it
Population 485

Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time
Michael Perry
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060958073
Release Date: 2003-09-30

Book Description

Here the local vigilante is a farmer's wife armed with a pistol and a Bible, the most senior member of the volunteer fire department is a cross-eyed butcher with one kidney and two ex-wives (both of whom work at the only gas station in town), and the back roads are haunted by the ghosts of children and farmers. Michael Perry loves this place. He grew up here, and now -- after a decade away -- he has returned.

Unable to polka or repair his own pickup, his farm-boy hands gone soft after years of writing, Mike figures the best way to regain his credibility is to join the volunteer fire department. Against a backdrop of fires and tangled wrecks, bar fights and smelt feeds, he tells a frequently comic tale leavened with moments of heartbreaking delicacy and searing tragedy.

Customer Reviews:

Good Read.......2007-04-04

This was a great book. Some scenes left me teary-eyed from laughing, and some that were very poignant.
A nice reflection on life's up's & downs from a small town perspective.

backporch stories.......2007-03-09

Nice adventure. Reminds me of sitting on a deck listening to a good storyteller-real stories. True to life. Honest. I felt the small town as many seperate tales as opposed to a story about a small town.
might be to real for some- but it portrays a stark reality for those of us who aren't exposed to the many ways life does happen. Enlightening and endearing.

Introspective in the matters of the human psyche.......2007-01-31

I lived the first 30 years of my life less than 30 miles from New Auburn, Wisconsin. So when I fortuitously discovered that the author hailed from the same neck of the woods, I promptly purchased the book from Amazon.

When it comes to reading for pleasure I read at a snail's pace. A John Grisham novel typically takes me several weeks to read. By comparison, I actually read this book at record breaking speed. It was impossible for me to set this book down for long.

There were times when I was nearly rolling on the floor laughing but there were even more times when I literally shed a tear or two. Most books don't engage me emotionally to this depth but then again most books are not written by such an insightful person,
Especially when it comes to matters of human nature and mortality.

And yes, mortality is an issue that this author brings to the fore on many occasions. In fact, if I had to sum up a central reoccurring theme it would be this. We humans are on this planet for a very short time and are balancing on a very thin and precarious wire each and every day that we rise from our beds.

I never felt that the author was an especially cynical person but rather a realistic one who chose to contemplate death as he continued to learn how to help others to live. His choice of an altruistic occupation simply confirms the lesson that many wise persons have learned, that "there is more happiness in giving than in receiving."

This book moves quickly with plenty of realistic and graphic imagery of his experiences in the rescue field interacting with scores of colorful characters. The author is an excellent wordsmith and is incredibly introspective in the matters of the human psyche. I am hooked and intend on reading his other offerings.

Can't say I loved it.......2007-01-15

I was really looking forward to a collection of annecdotes about seeing people you see everyday and must know all about you, at their worst. Maybe some insights into how to strike a balance in relationships like that. What I found was quite different.

This book delivers a few good annecdotes. The descriptions about being in the fire and EMS services, specifically relating to a small town, are truly enlightening.

What I didn't enjoy were the constant intellectual conflicts about being a writer (and somone out of place) in such a place. These are often followed by esoteric, English professor-esque discussions. If you want to write something like that, call it Lake Wobbegon Medics or something like that. I can only guess that the book is lengthend by those passages because there are not enough "funny" or interesting stories about EMS that everyone hasn't heard before. Save up the funny small town stories and come out with a better book, or just trim the number of pages down.

I enjoyed Perry's skill as a writer, and maybe I'll check out the book about his truck. Every previous review seems to celebrate this book because it deals with small town fire/EMS or its take on small town life. I urge readers to look past the subject matter when considering this book and consider whether they want to sift through the padding material between the good parts.

Population 485.......2007-01-10

A wonderful book combining humor with a sensitive and philosophical look at we humans. We both laughed and cried as we listened.

Average customer rating:

Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time
Michael Perry
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OF634S

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