Dirty Jokes and Beer : Stories of the Unrefined

Rating:
Summary: In its own way, a masterpiece.
Review: I just finished reading a translation of the Nina Berberova novel The Book of Happiness (published by New Directions). Normally, of course, I read only socially/morally uplifting and intellectually challenging books, but from time to time Mr. Hyde wants to come out of the closet and flash somebody. Sometimes I can hold off this attack with a bit of froth, like a mystery novel; at other times, only what I call (for want of a better title) Crud Books will do. I just picked up a great one: Drew Carey's Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined. Criteria for judging great crud books include vulgarity, filth, and humor almost any adult would be ashamed to admit they like. My favorite chapter includes 101 mostly hilarious jokes about genital elephantisis, to use a euphemism. Carey's prose is good enough. He also prefaces almost every chapter with a very funny dirty joke.

After a good amount of this kind of carrying-on, however, comes a very strange part indeed: the stories of the unrefined. It seems Carey wanted to write a book of short stories. The consensus from his friends and business associates who read these stories, however, was "dark," and Carey can't sell dark, only funny. So they get slipped in after Carey has given the customers what they expect - a real professional. The stories are dark indeed (and also funny), and if they are based, even remotely, on what actually happened to him (they sound like they do), I can understand why he tried to commit suicide twice.

The stories are mostly about down-and-outs and marginal characters in Cleveland (West Side equivalents of R. Crumb and Harvey Pekar), so that part was fairly interesting to me, since I grew up in Cleveland as a somewhat marginal figure. They weren't bad at all, as stories, if not up to Wings of the Dove. But Carey surprised me. They didn't have to be good at all.

Carey writes probably pretty close to the way he talks and he talks about things almost every adult male talks about. He didn't write it for prudes, male or female, liberal or conservative. It's up-front, funny (for those who can see the humor), and take-it-or-leave-it.

Rating:
Summary: Just as good as the show
Review: If you're a fan of The Drew Carey Show, then you will love this book. Consider it a kind of extension of the show, only better, because in print, he isn't limited by censors. By his own admission, the book covers ground that he couldn't even begin to touch on air. This book is highly recommended for anyone who wants to know what the show really should have been like.

Rating:
Summary: A Very Very Funny Book!
Review: When I first began to read this book I was very shocked at the jokes and the language that he used (picturing the Drew seen on televison) but then I realized that this is the way that most guys think. I never put this book down. He put an honest a hardworking effort into this book and it came out great. I just couldn't stop laughing. I had no clue that it would be like this and I loved it because it surprised me. I especially like the jokes that he put in front of every chapter and his stories that wrap up the book. In conclusion I would like to say that you must look at the title. If you don't like books containing foul language and dirty jokes well you might as well push the back button on your browser but ..... if you love dirty jokes and you wanna have a good laugh I recommend that you read Dirty Jokes and Beer : Stories of the Unrefined by Drew Carey.