Hilarious and devastating

The writing and the story of this book is incredible. Absolutely believable, shocking and compelling. Highly recommended.

The different comic’s narrating is a great idea, although the quality of narration does vary. Regardless, a great book for fans of standup and human tragedy

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I'd never heard of Sam tallent before last week.

I started this book on a whim (that's what I call phones), and within an hour I was watching his stand up bits online. He's a great comedian. Really. Considering the dross that passes for stand up nowadays he's truly a shining light in a field of broken bulbs. But his writing is a class above. Lyrical, poetic, savage and obviously funny. the narrators are a mixed bag but that doesn't impede the excellence on show here. Might be my favourite book this year.

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Book about me

I'm no comedian.
I'm a troubled family man, with flaws and vices. This book came at the exact time to make me think. About where I'm going, where I've been and where I am at the time. Damn, a fictional 50-something comedian spoke wisdom to a 30-something troubled man. A great book. Makes me love comedy and comedians even more. The depiction of Norm is priceless. Amazingly written and read with passion. Damn, I think about this book a lot. 5/5 no doubt.

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A vivid character story!

You can’t help but feel for the once great comedian, but a shit person’s journey.

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Loved every second.

Loved this audio book, I'll be honest though, I wish Doug Stanhope read the whole thing, it feels like a man telling his own life story even though it isn't. I think he's the only comedian who didn't miss a beat either the "so-called" drunken shambles read it like a champ. Sam has a great knack for painting a picture and I look forward to his next offering!

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There’s always somebody worse off than you

It’s comforting to watch a fifteen car pileup when all you’ve suffered is a mild fender bender.
This book offers perspective. Same again, barkeep!

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Excellently written, beauty and the bleak

Tallent’s writing is fantastic, I loved the characters, ugly and reminiscent of Vonnegut. Only let down is the inconsistency of the readers. Some like Marc Maron were great, others like Bert Kreischer were hard to listen to.

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great writing, a comedians Inside Llewellyn Davis

very well written and paced. performances range from great to awful. Dan soders performance is the best and Tim Dillon's is the worst, Dillon sounds like he is rushing through, luckily he only reads for 20 minutes. Talent's strong prose always shines through. incredible

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Fantastic book, marred a little by the narrators.

First of all, this is a fantastic book - you won't regret purchasing it. I can't wait for whatever Sam comes up with next.
That said, the narration is quite poor. Initially, you may be excited by hearing the recognisable voices of Bert Kreisher, Doug Stanhope etc., but many of the comedians are not well-read and don't know how to pronounce some of the words. Sometimes they'll take another go at it and re-read a line, but the editor doesn't pick it up and remove the first mistake.
Having the book read by famous comedians is a huge thumbs up from the community, but really having it read by a professional narrator would have served the book far better.

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1 person found this helpful

Excellent ode to the stand up comic

Excellent tale of the stand up comedian, with all the anxiety, trappings and surviving in a world of misfits. A scumbag who almost was.

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