Title: keillor finds a way to weed out the best
Review: I suppose the idea of asking Keillor to be the judge this year was to increase circulation by posting a "brand name for the masses" on the book's cover. But too often this book reads like much of Keillor's own overdone work. Adjectives are forced on us, descriptions are included for the sake of descriptions. The editor seems to have no real tolerance for variety. Can one not include "The Knife Thrower" and still be considered a worthy judge of great literature? Of course many stories in this collection are good, a few great (e.g., Lorrie Moore's story), but many ramble on, seem too much like life as we know it on boring days. I doubt if Nature cares one way or another about literature. But art need not imitate life, as Keillor's choices seem to suggest. Keep the best 120 list, but be careful who whittles the list down to 20.
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