Was extremely gross at times. It did, however, have some laughs. ( )

It's been a long time since I listened to a book in one sitting, but I could not set "Grundish and Askew" aside. Without a doubt, it is one of the funniest books I have ever read.

Grundish and Askew are two friends who are outlandish, socially inappropriate, and irreverent. I loved them, and knew them well by the ending of the novel.

Askew, whose family lineage has graced prisons for a couple of centuries, has simply bought one too many tickets to ride the crazy train, and just never got off. And Grundish,....well, I believe there is a whole lot more to Grundish. I'll let you decide for yourself.

Lance Carbuncle (now that's funny) has a writing style that reminds me a lot of Hunter S. Thompson. Carbuncle has more wit than Thompson, but also has that same gift of being able to create those flamboyant, unorthodox, flawed characters that draw you in without effort or thought.

The narrator was an exact match for this novel, and was character consistent. Impressive.

This book is graphic and the swearing is endless.. but somehow appropriate. It accurately reflects the characters and their way of life.

Reader, don't be overwhelmed by the reviews. It's ok. Just jump on the crazy train. Hunter S. Thompson would be the first to say, "Buy the ticket. Take the ride." ( )

Mr. Carbuncle's reviews of his own books read like something a brilliant adolescent boy raised on Beavis and Butthead and Quinten Tarantino might have written. The humble, multi-layered, self-praise really caught my attention in a kindred spirit kind of way.

So I made the leap of faith and bought one of his books. I don't regret it and actually plan on buying another copy to send to a friend.

If you haven't read Of Mice and Men then I would suggest you do or at least see the movie before reading this. If not it will still be fun but the ending won't be as "touching".

Just a couple comments. This is bizarre, scatological, meta writing. Not something you pick up at an airport before you hop on a jet. It's not deep, you don't need to intensely concentrate or even be all the way sober or awake to read it but it is not your average summer blockbuster.

It's a modern day retelling of Mice and Men, that includes ghostly talking dogs, white trash main characters, and some great informational footnotes. I LOL'd many times and often found myself reading out of the book to gross those around me out or just blow their minds.

As with most "experimental" stuff I read I thought it could have been a little shorter but really I took forever to read it (because I've been writing a lot myself) so it may have been affect of reading it over 2 months. ( )

I sing the body poop-centric.

What is Grundish & Askew? Well, the human body is quite grundish at times and definitely askew. After all, we all get sick, we all eventually get old and die (unless we’re crushed by a large object before it’s really time for us to go…and such events are, perhaps, uber-grundish). This book purports to be a buddy story, about two downtrodden fools, but I think it’s more of a meditation on all the fucked up shit that makes us physically tick. It’s reminding us that we are animals, human animals, yes, but animals with body parts that go bad, organs that spring leaks, and even minds that can’t be controlled with will-power. In many ways, we are helplessly at the mercy of Mother Nature. Alzheimer’s might be in our genes. Or perhaps a grapefruit-sized tumor is preparing to burst from our neck. Grundish & Askew slaps us around a bit and says, hey motherfucker, you ain’t some kind of flying spaghetti-monster angel, you’re made out of dirt. It’s a reminder well deserved given all the self-help pabulum that people turn to when the going gets tough.

Carbuncle’s bodily theme is communicated through the quite amusing story of two white trash lowlifes committing semi-accidental murder (repeatedly) while on the run from the pigs. Is it well told?...absolutely. Very funny and with sincere, solid characters. It’s a great adventure story. In fact, I felt the story was so well written, that the occasional footnotes that were “from the author,” giving a slight post-modern spin on the book, were unnecessary and detracted from the narrative itself, which rocked like Molly Hatchet. Yes, you need a bit of a stomach to appreciate this, but any reader willing to step out of her ivory tower and get down in the muck will love it. Highly recommended. ( )

Imagine if Kurt Vonnegut found an unpublished John Steinbeck novel and gave it a rewrite. Then imagine in a drugged out haze Hunter S Thompson found it and rewrote it again, this book is what you would get. Losers Grundish and friend since childhood Leroy Askew can't seem to catch a break. Askew who has never raised his voice as long as Grundish has known him, goes into a killing rampage. Hiding from the law with Askew's Aunt, they get deeper and deeper into trouble. WOW. Greta way to spend an afternoon in the sun. ( )