True Story
A Novel
Published on 1. October 2005
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-7432-9135-4 (ISBN)
Description
The hilarious and controversial host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher's debut novel about the wild and crazy life of the stand-up comedian-a bawdy, rowdy tell-all report from the front line.
Set in New York, circa 1979, in the late-night, neon-lit comedy clubs when the comedy boom was just heating up, True Story features five would-be comics, their shticks, their chicks, their rampant egos. These guys are desperate for celebrity, desperate for money, and-what else?-desperate to get laid. Which means they're also required to become "road comics," shacking up in low-rent condos provided by sleazy club owners as the comedy scene spreads to the heartland in the early '80s.
The result is a hilariously funny novel about the peculiar world of stand-up, where the ultimate prizes are fame, fortune, and fornication -- and the ultimate aspiration is, quite simply, to be laughed at. With perfect-pitch delivery, in classic sardonic style, Maher gives us a bona fide look at these resilient comedians and the scumbag promoters, hostile audiences, and die-hard groupies who make up their warped and twisted world.
Only Bill Maher could have written True Story. And lucky for us he did. Because True Story is hilarious. It's offensive. At times it's even touching. So sit back as Maher puts you stage side at the very birth of the comedy boom. You'll laugh in all the right places. Hey, it's a True Story.
Set in New York, circa 1979, in the late-night, neon-lit comedy clubs when the comedy boom was just heating up, True Story features five would-be comics, their shticks, their chicks, their rampant egos. These guys are desperate for celebrity, desperate for money, and-what else?-desperate to get laid. Which means they're also required to become "road comics," shacking up in low-rent condos provided by sleazy club owners as the comedy scene spreads to the heartland in the early '80s.
The result is a hilariously funny novel about the peculiar world of stand-up, where the ultimate prizes are fame, fortune, and fornication -- and the ultimate aspiration is, quite simply, to be laughed at. With perfect-pitch delivery, in classic sardonic style, Maher gives us a bona fide look at these resilient comedians and the scumbag promoters, hostile audiences, and die-hard groupies who make up their warped and twisted world.
Only Bill Maher could have written True Story. And lucky for us he did. Because True Story is hilarious. It's offensive. At times it's even touching. So sit back as Maher puts you stage side at the very birth of the comedy boom. You'll laugh in all the right places. Hey, it's a True Story.
Reviews / Votes
"Anyone considering a career in stand-up comedy should read this book, then consider something else, because all this great stuff is over."-- Jerry Seinfeld "One of the funniest novels since John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces."
-- Library Journal "Crisp, funny, bitter and wise....Bill Maher really knows stand-up comedy."
-- Steve Allen "This is the novel I would have written about stand-up comedy if I was a sick egghead like Bill Maher."
-- Roseanne
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 215 mm
Width: 143 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
272 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7432-9135-4 (9780743291354)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2010
1st Edition
Simon + Schuster LLC
€14.83
Available for download
Person
Before hosting Real Time on HBO for the last twenty-one years, Bill Maher created and hosted Politically Incorrect on ABC. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
Content
Contents
Foreword
The Act You're Not Good Enough to See
More Green, Asshole
It's a Living Hell, but It's a Living
Show Me the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, and Somewhere There's a Guy Who's Tired of Fucking Her
Good Evening, Ladies and Geniuses
Love Is When You Don't Feel Shitty After You Come
The Work Isn't Bad -- but the Hour!
No Set, No Hamburger
Loyalty Is a One-way Street
The Nice-Ass Act of 1980
You Better Be a Winner in This Business, Because if You're Not, It's Shit
It's Easy to Do Great, It's Hard to Be Great
When Opportunity Knocks, All Some People Do Is Complain About the Noise
People: The Problem That Won't Go Away
I Dreamed I Went to See Mort Sahl, and He Was Doing Dog-and-Cat Material
When You Can't Light the Joint, You're Stoned Enough
The Power of Negative Thinking
The Sweet Stench of Success
Epilogue: The Future Isn't What It Used to Be
Foreword
The Act You're Not Good Enough to See
More Green, Asshole
It's a Living Hell, but It's a Living
Show Me the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, and Somewhere There's a Guy Who's Tired of Fucking Her
Good Evening, Ladies and Geniuses
Love Is When You Don't Feel Shitty After You Come
The Work Isn't Bad -- but the Hour!
No Set, No Hamburger
Loyalty Is a One-way Street
The Nice-Ass Act of 1980
You Better Be a Winner in This Business, Because if You're Not, It's Shit
It's Easy to Do Great, It's Hard to Be Great
When Opportunity Knocks, All Some People Do Is Complain About the Noise
People: The Problem That Won't Go Away
I Dreamed I Went to See Mort Sahl, and He Was Doing Dog-and-Cat Material
When You Can't Light the Joint, You're Stoned Enough
The Power of Negative Thinking
The Sweet Stench of Success
Epilogue: The Future Isn't What It Used to Be