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Grundish and Askew Lance Carbuncle Books

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Grundish and Askew Lance Carbuncle Books

Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of narrative that is in present tense, be that in first person or third person. However, the writing is good and the story is good, so I was able to look past my discomfort in that particular style of narration for this book.

So, have you ever wondered what the TV series "My Name is Earl" might be like if it were rated R? Maybe you never have, but if you read this story, you'll find out, and I mean that in a good way.

From the beginning to the very end, this is a gritty, no-holds-barred story of 2 heterosexual life partners that get into some messed up stuff and have to figure out how they're going to get out of it without ending up in prison. Askew's aunt Truleen comes along for the ride, too, and for as good a cook as that woman seems to be, I wish I could have been there with them in the flesh instead of in fantasy. I could practically smell what she was cooking, and I probably ate too much because it literally made me hungry. I say that to give some perspective on the quality of the writing. It was good enough to make me hungry and over eat for a good part of reading this.

Askew goes a little nuts, Grundish has to put up with it, there's a sacred donkey, a young lady of ill repute shows up, pizza for everybody, people get the snot beaten out of them (to put it mildly), and it's hot as balls because it's Florida. What's not to like?

Come on, it's like four bucks. This book is very much worth those four bucks, so pass Mr. Carbuncle a few dollars for his excellent writing and unique ideas and characters, and have yourself a fun little adventure into the trailer park and beyond!


Tags : Amazon.com: Grundish and Askew (9780982280003): Lance Carbuncle: Books,Lance Carbuncle,Grundish and Askew,Vicious Galoot Books,0982280009,Action & Adventure,FICTION Humorous General,Fiction - General,Fiction Humorous,Fiction : Action & Adventure,FictionAction & Adventure,Humorous - General,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Grundish and Askew Lance Carbuncle Books Reviews

Throw Trailer Park Boys, "Of Mice and Men", and Carbuncle's "Smashed, Squashed, Splattered, Chewed, Chunked and Spewed" into a blender, and this is what you'd come up with -- a surreal and violent odyssey through central Florida, where "tell me about the rabbits" becomes "tell me about the ladies", and dogs and donkeys visit your dreams to dispense advice.

While this book features some old friends from the author's previous book, "Grundish and Askew" is much darker. There is a lot more violence here, some of it gruesome enough to make me pause while reading. There are also a lot of grotesque images -- throat cheese? Ugh! -- that those of us who are more sensitive will have a hard time forgetting.

Grundish and Askew are not good guys. They're bad guys. But -- at least in Grundish's case -- bad guys with a heart of gold. They share a genuine affection and loyalty towards each other that is truly touching. Even knowing that they're headed down the wrong path, you can't help but root for them, hoping against hope that their inevitable tragedy will be averted.

While I felt the plot meandered a bit, and the characters' motivations weren't always entirely clear, the story was intriguing and suspenseful. I cared about all of the characters, even when they didn't do what I wanted them to do, even when they made choices that dragged them deeper and deeper into this terrible hole they had dug for themselves. The ending -- while unexpected -- felt like the only possible outcome after all was said and done.

I would definitely recommend this book, but with a warning for those of a squeamish nature.
There's something that tells this reader that the Official Florida Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation does not have author Lance Carbuncle's Grundish and Askew on its list of reading material for those preparing to visit the fabled Sunshine State. In fact it's almost as if the California Travel and Tourism Commission has gleefully paid author Lance Carbuncle to write this book about the misadventures of Grundish and Askew in order to focus attention away from its own bad publicity.

And before anymore is said, the author's offering here is not for the squeamish of those looking for a Florida romance with long walks along the shore or romantic interludes in the sunset on the beach. There are "romantic interludes" but not in the type you may be looking for, so be warned. But if a bit of off-the wall surrealism doesn't scare you off, then read on.

Grundish and Askew aren't heroes or good guys. In fact they're actually bad guys, but at least in the case of Grundish, bad guys with a good heart... sort of. This white-trash, trailer-park-dwelling duo has a genuine affection and loyalty for each other, and as the author's novel progresses, they take off on a moronic and misdirected crime binge. One cannot help but root for them, hoping that in some way their probable catastrophe will be prevented. This is amplified when one of them suffers a psychosomatic smack that renders him homicidal, to put it simply.

But there's a lot to be learned here in the world of their trailer park and beyond. There are some so-called monkey-spankers here, and you'll learn what a "gunner" is in prison slang, and how it's different from a "sniper." You'll also learn why Grundish throws hot dogs at some poor excuses for human beings. The author has a way with words, putting it simply.

This example of how the author can describe things stand out, as it's the opening of Chapter 27 "In the far southeast of the corner of the United States is Florida, a peninsula dangling limply from the rest of the country. In the center of the nation's dong is a largish, ruptured varicose vein known as Polk County. Sitting right smack in the middle of this burst vein is an infected carbuncle, a little pus-filled town by the name of Bartow."

As noted earlier, this is not the type of thing that the Florida tourism officials will be passing out in its press releases, but the book is full of such darkly-descriptive paragraphs. The plot does ramble and meander a bit, but just about when the reader wonders where it's all headed, something else occurs that jolts the sensibilities and pulls it all together again. And without dropping a spoiler here, the unexpected conclusion was probably the only possible ending that could occur, after all was said and done.

Some have compared Carbuncle with fellow Florida author Carl Hiaasen, but this reader finds the similarity to be not as close. A better comparison would be with Tim Dorsey, whose Electric Barracuda A Novel has recurring characters Serge A. Storms and his sidekick Coleman to have similar dark tendencies as Grundish and Askew. Another good comparison would be to the writings of another Florida author of an older generation, novelist and short story writer Harry Crews, and his 1999 classic Celebration offered an earlier look at the often grotesque inhabitants of trailer parks in this generally kinky offering. Lance Carbuncle's characters would be in good company with this one.

Fans of Lance Carbuncle's first novel, Smashed, Squashed, Splattered, Chewed, Chunked and Spewed (popularly referred to as "SSSCC&S") will enjoy this one, but will find it to be much darker. Idjit Galoot is back, but in a strange cameo role that sort of makes sense, but there's nothing predictable here.

Disclaimer I had originally received an advance copy of this book from the author, and that was fine except that it was 'borrowed' by a friend who never returned it, along with my previous copy of SSSCC&S. Since I had not had a chance to finish the book, I decided to get my own in format so that it would not get lost again.

I would recommend this book, but cautiously so, with a warning for those of an easily offended nature. That being said, this reader will be looking forward to the next one.
Awesome book if you enjoy his work. I had read Smashed a few years back and it was great. The characters in his books could easily be people that I met throughout my life especially around Pensacola, FL. I think that is what makes me laugh so hard during certain points in Lance Carbuncle's books the characters are so real that it is both sad and hilarious all at once because you know these people exist somewhere. Unlike any other author. I should add that one should probably be familiar with a certain kind of lifestyle (past or present) to fully enjoy Dr. Reverend Carbuncle's work.
Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of narrative that is in present tense, be that in first person or third person. However, the writing is good and the story is good, so I was able to look past my discomfort in that particular style of narration for this book.

So, have you ever wondered what the TV series "My Name is Earl" might be like if it were rated R? Maybe you never have, but if you read this story, you'll find out, and I mean that in a good way.

From the beginning to the very end, this is a gritty, no-holds-barred story of 2 heterosexual life partners that get into some messed up stuff and have to figure out how they're going to get out of it without ending up in prison. Askew's aunt Truleen comes along for the ride, too, and for as good a cook as that woman seems to be, I wish I could have been there with them in the flesh instead of in fantasy. I could practically smell what she was cooking, and I probably ate too much because it literally made me hungry. I say that to give some perspective on the quality of the writing. It was good enough to make me hungry and over eat for a good part of reading this.

Askew goes a little nuts, Grundish has to put up with it, there's a sacred donkey, a young lady of ill repute shows up, pizza for everybody, people get the snot beaten out of them (to put it mildly), and it's hot as balls because it's Florida. What's not to like?

Come on, it's like four bucks. This book is very much worth those four bucks, so pass Mr. Carbuncle a few dollars for his excellent writing and unique ideas and characters, and have yourself a fun little adventure into the trailer park and beyond!