Book Review: I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
Published December 23, 2005
Tucker Max can hope all he wants, but when it comes to eternal damnation he doesn't exactly have a choice. Unless of course one can think of another punishment for a man whose more tame offenses include hiding the crutches of a distracted cripple and crashing a car into a donut shop.
"I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell" published by Kensington Press, is 277 pages of non-stop drinking, debauchery and fornication. It's a collection of stories that track a man from law school to a life of complete indulgence. With blunt honesty the author recounts the true exploits that garnered him women, cult infamy and a six-figure income. . This anthology captivates the reader with its humor and complete absurdity.
There's "The Austin Road Trip," a quaint weekend adventure that left a hotel lobby covered in faeces and the Texas carnival industry in ruins. In "The Pee Blame" Tucker wets his own bed and somehow manages to get a complete stranger to pay for it. In the "Infamous Charity Auction Debacle" his drunken belligerence leads a respected law firm to offer him a golden parachute so they can be rid of him. When "Tucker Goes to Vegas" he takes ridiculousness to new heights as he impersonates a Christian rapper and goes without sleep and sobriety for 72 hours. And in "The Midland, Texas Story," an intended vacation from his daily madness, he manages to somehow involve himself with a shovel-wielding, dog-chasing redneck and a mass grave filled with goats.
The ironic part of Max's book is that he might not be the funniest one in it. His college buddies (think the Jackass crew with Ivy League brains) provide a foil for his insanity.
The standouts are Slingblade, a man whose pickup lines include gems like "fellatio won't fill the hole in your soul" and "I go to the gym, you should try it sometime." Who no doubt does Ignatius Reilly (Confederacy of Dunces) proud every time he opens his mouth. And "El Bingeroso," a law school buddy who spent his elementary school days in Special Ed (his diagnosis was based on his propensity for eating paste), out-drinks Tucker at a 3:1 ratio. He livens up stories by drunkenly threatening redneck policemen and kicking trucks.
The characters are hilarious in and of themselves, but it's the interplay between them that puts it over the top. The tone is conversational and honest, allowing it to remind any reader of things they've done with friends. It is in this that Tucker's talent and the strong point of the book clearly lies; capturing the essence of comedic dialogue. He can carry a room, but so can plenty of others. His unique and valuable skill is the ability to recognize it in other people, and to have the balls to run with it. His narcissism permeates his entire existence, but in this case, he allows humor to prosper in any character, even when it outshines himself.
- Book Review: I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
- Published: December 23, 2005
- Type: Review
- Section: Books
- Filed Under: Books: Humor, Books: Nonfiction, Books: Philosophy, Culture: Society
- Writer: ChaunceyBillups
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Comments on this articleComments
Ryan - that's a great book review! Very well written and thought out.
My favorite quote from your review: "What you lack in notoriety or fame, make up tenfold with passion."
Despite the fact that Max obviously terribly misunderstands Hell - you expose a great point in this review!
well said, brother. I read it because of this review, and i am obsessed with tucker max now. good job bro
obession wasn't my intent, but I'll take what I can get.
Funniest book I ever read!
Nice review.
Nice job.
Good work.
Shit is hilarious.
This book is an amazing take on life and its hilarity. The review is pretty awesome as well.
Good work, I have read this book and the review is apt. Definately worth the money.
Excellent review, really will pick it up and truly have been thinking about....." a single question: "If I can get away with all this shit, what do you have to be afraid of?" So real.
Thank you Ryan, keep it up! You are on my Favorites List:)~
Spot on review
Love the book so much
got the book at barnes and noble last night. last copy.
Excellent review Ryan, I'll be sure and pick up a copy or 10!
Best Christmas present I got this year....
Great review for a great book. Nice job.
Fantastic book. An easy read, and any man who is in college, or who is in his 30's or middle-aged who wants to re-live his youth should definitely READ THIS BOOK.
Just make sure to hide it from your girlfriend or wife.
anyone know how the book is selling?
if u havent already read this book, BUY IT, its hilarious
I JUST READ THE REVIEW AND I DONT THINK I HAVE EVER BEEN EXCITED TO READ A BOOK...EVER. I ALREADY KNOW THAT THIS WILL BE THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ!!!! IM SOOO PUMPED TO GO GET IT!!!
The only problem is this: Tucker Max stories aren't true. He embarrassed himself on a satellite radio show (Opie & Anthony), after being exposed as a liar. From Wikipedia:
"On June 27, 2006, Max appeared on the Opie and Anthony show on XM Satellite Radio. After Max told his "Tucker Tries Butt-Sex" story, the hosts asked him about the video referred to in the tale. Max stated the tape was destroyed, which invited skeptism[16]. He also claimed that there was no police report for a collision discussed in his "Absinthe Donuts" story, casting doubt on its truthfulness. Max was then led to believe his headphones had broken. While Max's headphones were off, the audience was told Max was lying and later he was compared to author James Frey.[17] When leaving the studio, Opie threw his book at a window, meanwhile Jim Norton tore the same book to pieces. Max left the building, allegedly giving show producer Erik "E-Rock" Nagel the middle finger. No reference to the appearance can be found on Max's (heavily moderated) website."
In addition, here's a select post that summarizes only some of the inconsistencies and apparent lies within the Tucker Max short story collection:
"Just to get the record straight: A reporter tried to confirm Sushi Pants, and was unable to even find the restaurant Tucker seemed to be referring to, much less anybody who remembered it, despite the large crowd there.
The Buttsex story is full of many logical holes -- the major one being, it's so dark in the room that Tucker can't tell he's been crapped on, but somebody is still, supposedly videotaping it from the closet.
The Pepper Spray story is also logically impossible due to the construction of a pepper-spray canister and its safety cap -- you could lay on one all night and it wouldn't go off.
Tucker appears on the Anthony and Opie show, and completely lacks any of the brilliant sarcasm or cutting comebacks that he purports to have in his stories.
Tucker has pictures of himself at a party with Katy Miss America or whoever she was (although of course that doesn't mean he had sex with her) and pictures of himself with the girl who got "I Fucked Tucker Max" on her cooze. (Although the tatto should probably have been "I desperately fucked dozens of losers over the years, and Tucker Max was the culmination of it all").
Tucker has been unable to produce a police report for the absinthe donuts story -- anyone tried to find one? Surely, if an unindentified car crashed through the front of a shop, it would have made the papers." source
DOES IT MATTER IF ITS REAL OR BS MAKES FOR GOOD READING AND THATS WHY WE BYE BOOKS RIGHT?
get a life man this is ridiculous
i loved the book. it rememinded me of "a million little pieces" but this guy is a bigger dick. just like you dave!
The book is definitely worth reading
I know Tucker Max, and can assure you that this book is 100% bullshit. Ask him about how he screws over the Rudius Writers too.
Yes, in fact it does matter if its true or not. He claims 100% honesty and that is HUGE reason why his books sell and he is popular. If everyone knew these were just fictional stories, they would be laughed at for a minute and forgotten.
The fact of the matter is his stories are complete bullshit. Its laughable and at the same time pathetic that so many people admire this guy.
Once you started reading this book, you cant stop.
This book is amazing so far.
his stories are not real- but they are funny. he is full of sh*t when he says they are "all true"- what crap.
Have read the book, yeah its OK, but everyone has some stories like this from their youth, but with less misgony and sociopathic overtones, I'm not really sure what the big deal is, they're not laugh out loud funny, not cutting satire, or even paticularly edgy, just some rich kid bragging about drinking and having sex, that is if the stories are to be believed
hmmm, Freud & Jung would have their own indulgences with this work. Little boys become intoxicated beyond maitenance and chase the "acclaimed asshole" character type. There is much more than our sensory adaptations can perceive. Listen to some Tori Amos and excavate your true reflection.
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Just picked up a copy on Amazon. Better be as good as everyone says it is.