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(as of Sep 16, 2024 09:15:58 UTC – Details)
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Driving, wild and hilarious” (TheWashington Post), here is the incredible “memoir” of the legendary actor, gambler, raconteur, and Saturday Night Live veteran.
When Norm Macdonald, one of the greatest stand-up comics of all time, was approached to write a celebrity memoir, he flatly refused, calling the genre “one step below instruction manuals.” Norm then promptly took a two-year hiatus from stand-up comedy to live on a farm in northern Canada. When he emerged he had under his arm a manuscript, a genre-smashing book about comedy, tragedy, love, loss, war, and redemption. When asked if this was the celebrity memoir, Norm replied, “Call it anything you damn like.”
4.5
Reviewer: A1
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Wisdom hidden by levity
Review: This book was incredible, and not just because it was hilarious from start to finish. Sincerely, you only have to look to the first page, the dedication, for a joke that already had me laughing. Norm was obviously an exceptional comedian, but this book is, in a way, the perfect memoir for him in that he demonstrates his true genius under the façade of absurdity. So many times, a line would leave me thinking far more than the literal interpretation of the words given the light-hearted and silly context. His joking style of discussing death, depression, gambling addiction; these are the true bits of Norm that shine through and offer real wisdom and show how smart he really was. The moth joke, with its clear homage to the Russian literature he adored. Him talking about the (entirely fabricated) Make-a-Wish experience and what it’s like to deal with illness. His style of painting himself as a buffoon while using it to discuss brutal topics, defended by the clearly painted fact that most of the novel is fiction. All these show Norm so much better than a perfectly factually-correct book ever could, and as I read I felt as though I was sitting with him in a park while he told me these stories himself, in his unique tone and voice with that smile on his face. This is one of my favorite books now, providing so much depth while being so light-hearted and goofy. What can I say, except it was good enough for an ol’ chunk of coal like me. And, it’s good that we finally hear more about that punk Adam Eget. Those parts were all obviously true.
Reviewer: If you like Norm….
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Perfect Humor with Philosophical Musings….
Review: If you like Norm Macdonald’s humor and philosophical musings, then you will definitely enjoy this book. He gives some truly clever insights from his life experiences with the perfect humor that only Norm has. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading it again.
Reviewer: Y. Homnick
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Beyond The Norm…
Review: To be truthful, I don’t buy a lot of digital books. Usually, any book that doesn’t help me reach a high shelf, or can’t be used to swat a fly on the wall, isn’t multi-purpose enough for my medieval mindset.But Norm MacDonald is Norm MacDonald is Norm MacDonald, and I wanted a copy at 12:01a.m. of its release date. I also wanted to save the tree that would’ve been used to print this book so that the tree could be used for its most natural purpose: Baseball bats. Or exacerbating forest fires. (Take that, Smokey, you overgrown, smarmy, preachy Ursus Americanus!)As one of Norm’s slavish Twitter followers, I tweeted that I would be counting my audible laughs, divide them by the purchase price, and determine whether I got good value from my purchase. While I haven’t finished counting the marks on my wall, and add the fact that I was forced to stop marking the wall by a wife who under-appreciates Jail Cell-style decor, I can only give you a rough range on this. I surmise that each laugh cost slightly under two cents. Even if you count belly laughs as worth a dime, and short,snorting laughs as being worth a penny, I got good value from this tome.And whether my purchase amount helps him recover from his last gambling flame-out, or helps fund his next downward spiral, I figure I contributed to a Good Cause.But, I didn’t buy this book just for laughs, or to take credit for fueling the MacDonald Publishing Empire. I wanted to get a glimpse into one of the most original, brilliant comedic minds of our time. In that capacity, Norm opened a small window into his soul… then slammed it closed on my fingers.First, my view of Norm: Most comedians come from ethnic groups that are held down artificially, or had harrowing childhoods, or are introspective to the point of self-flagellation. Norm, by contrast, seems to be a cheery, boyishly handsome, middle-class Caucasian with an impish quality to him. And Canadian, to boot. From where comes the compulsion to make us laugh?On top of that, he has a strong anti-establishment streak, and a refusal to be controlled. “Big deal,” you say, “So do I!” Norm differs in that his unwillingness to be controlled includes the people that sign his checks, or that could lift him onto the next step of the success ladder. And for some reason, Bosses tend not to hire unpredictable Free Spirits that may defy direct orders on a whim – even if they’re excellent at what they due. Check Signers like predictability, period.So, when you continue to make witheringly effective O.J. jokes while working under one of O.J.’s friends & golf partners, or when you’re asked to be “shocking” at a roast of Bob Saget and you therefore write one cornball line from the 1950’s after another, it makes TV producers skittish about giving you a late-night talk show, for example. So, while that level of subversion & unpredictability adds to his legend, it commensurately subtracts from his potential income.Yet, Norm protests that he’d rather be a high-profile comic than a “comic’s comic”, a commercially successful comedian than a critically acclaimed one. So, I wonder out loud from where the dissonance stems.Norm hints that he might have been repeatedly sexually abused as a boy. But, since this is only “BASED ON a True Story”, he leaves you wondering: Was this a literary device to introduce another of many writing styles he uses throughout the book? Or was this a way of explaining why he never wants to feel “totally out of control” in his life again? Was this a comedic device to make an anti-joke when you were expecting a joke? Or was this a way to connect to his readers with a deeply personal admission? Was this an attempt to exploit another taboo subject for devastating comic effect – as he has with prison rape, media treatment of murders, gay pride, Hitler, bestiality, psychopathic sadists, etc.? Or is this the exposing of one of the roots of his addictive personality?We’ll never know. Norm has recently bristled at this book being referred to in the media as a memoir, when in his mind he wrote a novel. Mind you, a memoir is not synonymous with an autobiography. A memoir allows for a greater exchange of Truth for truthiness. And novels generally don’t use real people’s names, especially real people who have lawyers on retainer.So, if you want to read a funny, entertaining, quirky & unique book, it’s a 5. If you want to read about Norm’s life, it’s a 2. If you want to read Alice In Wonderland with a male lead, and where the mind-altering substances are addiction and gambling, it’s a 3.5.Stop reading this, and buy the stupid book already. It’s still more real than that frappuccino you were going to spend the money on, and it’ll keep you awake at least as well. And while you’re at it, re-watch Norm’s Dirty Work, disregarding the poor pacing and below-par acting. There’s still comic gold to be mined in them thar celluloid hills.
Reviewer: Stephen
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Norm
Review: Worth every second spent reading in norms voice. Someone should do something about finding some help for that Adam eaget character.
Reviewer: Jeff
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Norm is great
Review: Completely caught off guard several times. If you like norm and can read this in his voice, it’s great. I had to buy a doghouse because of Norm.
Reviewer: TT69
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Norm MacDonald has been my favorite comedian ever since I saw him live at the …
Review: Norm MacDonald has been my favorite comedian ever since I saw him live at the Hollywood Improv Comedy Club in December of 1991. Iâll never forget the joke he told about riding in the backseat of a car where he was so out of the conversation with the people in the front that he started communicating with people in the backseats of other cars! Norm was the first person in L.A. I could identify with and he had a similar sense of humor as me. I knew he was going to make it big and when I saw him on SNL I was extremely happy!!! I was also extremely pissed when he got fired for ânot being funnyâ because his fake news segment was the funniest thing about the show.As for his book, I was excited to read it, but lost interest half way through and havenât finished it yet. What threw me was his veering off into fantasy by telling a story of accompanying a boy to fulfill his wish of clubbing a baby seal to death. Itâs not funny. Some of the other fictional stuff he tells about his sidekick Adam Eget isnât funny either….itâs too dark. I can appreciate black comedy, but only when itâs funny.Iâve heard Norm mention in interviews that he reads a lot of Tolstoy, and that heâs his favorite author. It shows as his book seems Tolystoyesque at times. Tolstoy is not funny, insightful about the human condition, but not funny. Perhaps Norm is just showing his intelligence and depth by not focusing on being funny all the time, or perhaps his comedy has gotten so intellectually deep that I can longer comprehend it.Whatever the case may be, there are enough interesting stories, details and humor that I plan to finish the book sometime in the near future. Norm is my favorite comedian and Iâm glad he shared his story with the world.
Reviewer: Jorge
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
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Review: I had to go through blood and bones to get this book. Turns out it was available in nothern canada
Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
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Review: âAll my lifeâs about is cracking people up and them cracking me up. And trying not to think about dying. That doesnât cost much.â -Norm MacDonaldReading this book was bittersweet for me. I purchased the book and began reading it 4 days before Norm passed. Of course I get very sad at this unfortunate untimely death. But I felt in a sense I was able to celebrate Normâs life by continuing the book.The book, although I canât decider what was actually true or not became really unimportant to me. It was a delightful, hilarious read! I donât laugh out loud for many books, but this one had me roaring.I am glad for Norms life. His genius, individual type of comedy. I am glad he existed. He sure brought light to my life, through his comedy and this book!
Reviewer: Srdjan Bogunovic
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
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Review: I looked for a long time to get a hold of this book and not disapointed. Any Norm fan, must have!
Reviewer: Sriranjan Seshadri
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
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Review: Rarely have I read a funnier or better book. The genius of Norm Macdonald continues to stand out.
Reviewer: Filippo F.
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
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Review: Everything is exhaggerated for comedic effect, but it also has some serious and very touching moments. Norm went all out in this one and what we have is a truly wonderful read. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll appreciate the few (very interesting) opinions Norm has on comedy, people, and life in general.Its only fault is the pacing: in 90% of chapters the reality-to-fiction ratio is perfectly balanced, in the other 10% it’s a little too skewed towards made up stuff, which results in entire chapters (again though, not many) feeling “useless”, like a waste of time: The cool story set in the present and the interesting flashbacks of Norm’s past life are all suddenly paused. Those chapters didn’t feel great.Other than that, it is a truly unique and wonderful work of art; one that’s made with love by a very special man. Give it a read.
