Russell Hokes is a man with a mission. If he ever hopes to be paid on his book contract, he??'s got 50,000 words to deliver. The subject: the dying...
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Sep 11, 2007
Bronwen
rated it: 
I love Amy Sedaris. And I love Stephen Colbert. I even love Strangers with Candy, so I was surprised to find myself so disappointed in this book. I've decided it's because their humor is best experienced in short bursts, or the same jokes just become overkill. I laughted out loud during the first couple chapters, though, and the photos were hilarious. I think a book of short stories of essays would have been more enjoyable.
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Dec 16, 2009
Susie
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this book (and my other current read, stephen colbert's "i am america...") taught me the valuable lesson that i need to stop borrowing 'comedy' books from the library, no matter how much i love their authors. i think the audiobook reading of this was probably significantly more entertaining than if i were to read it in print, but even then -- with the funny voices and the tag team storytelling -- it was really bad. roughly 100 times in this book, the narrator mentions his needs for fil
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Aug 12, 2009
jess
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I really really wanted to like this book. look at the authors - those are funny people. i have read and loved other books they wrote. i forced myself through this book, laughing out loud occasionally and trying to make the various character/portraits a subject of conversation. my stepson puzzled over the pics, but they didn't seem funny. we read the interviews together. still not funny. every time this book made me LOL (about 6 times in all 205 pages), my spouse would ask "What's so funny?"
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Jul 09, 2009
Sarai
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From Publishers Weekly
The authors are well-known comedians. The photographer is a famous designer. The result is unlike anything the genre of humorous fiction has seen before. The book tells, sort of, the story of Wigfield, a small town that realizes it's in danger when the government wants to destroy a local dam in order to protect the local salmon population. Faced with imminent flood, the town solicits Russell Hokes, a self-centered hack journalist, who hopes to capture the undying spir More...
The authors are well-known comedians. The photographer is a famous designer. The result is unlike anything the genre of humorous fiction has seen before. The book tells, sort of, the story of Wigfield, a small town that realizes it's in danger when the government wants to destroy a local dam in order to protect the local salmon population. Faced with imminent flood, the town solicits Russell Hokes, a self-centered hack journalist, who hopes to capture the undying spir More...
Jan 09, 2012
Gil
rated it:
This book was a really ruthless read about people who live in small town America. I realize it was joking. I realize it was unfair and biased, but I still didn't appreciate the characterizations of small town America--obviously a way to target conservatives.
I'm not exactly conservative, nor am I from a small town, but it was really crude and talked about gun-toting, uneducated people in a way that was unfair.
I gave it two stars because it was really really funny.
I'm not exactly conservative, nor am I from a small town, but it was really crude and talked about gun-toting, uneducated people in a way that was unfair.
I gave it two stars because it was really really funny.
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Feb 18, 2009
Patrick
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Still lamenting the fact ‘Strangers with Candy’ has been off the air now for half a decade, one should rejoice that three of the “biggies” got together and wrote a book. (Stephen Colbert went on to do something, not sure what.) But alas, the funniest part of this mindless drivel is the fact they were contracted to write a book and had to come up with something. It’s a running joke—and a pretty good one. The town of Wigfield is about to be destroyed and a reporter (Colbert) arrives and spends the
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Jul 15, 2011
J
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(FROM JACKET)From the comedic team behind "Strangers with Candy", a hilarious, satirical look at a small town on the verge of extinction.
Russell Hokes is a man with a mission. If he ever hopes to be paid on his book contract, he's got 50,000 words to deliver. The subject: the dying small towns of America. In his desperate search for a small town dying in America, Hokes stumbles upon a quarter-mile stretch of concrete and gravel dotted with strip clubs and used auto parts shops.
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Russell Hokes is a man with a mission. If he ever hopes to be paid on his book contract, he's got 50,000 words to deliver. The subject: the dying small towns of America. In his desperate search for a small town dying in America, Hokes stumbles upon a quarter-mile stretch of concrete and gravel dotted with strip clubs and used auto parts shops.
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Aug 12, 2009
Michelle
rated it: 
after reading some of the other reviews on here i would just like to point out a few things...
first of all, if you know any of the collaborative authors, (amy sedaris, stephen colbert, and paul dinello)and you think you like them... but subsequently managed to hate this book, or felt the plot was lacking, or didn't laugh at all, i'm not sure what you were expecting to get out of this book.
the book, and much of their other work, is meant to be laughed at for being ridiculo More...
first of all, if you know any of the collaborative authors, (amy sedaris, stephen colbert, and paul dinello)and you think you like them... but subsequently managed to hate this book, or felt the plot was lacking, or didn't laugh at all, i'm not sure what you were expecting to get out of this book.
the book, and much of their other work, is meant to be laughed at for being ridiculo More...
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Mar 18, 2009
Alex
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Sep 10, 2009
Mike
rated it: 
I'm a sucker for ridiculous, crude, stupid humor.
That's why I loved this book.
It's pretty stupid. Ridiculous. Perverted at times. But contains many classic lines, like this (from Cinnamon):
"I can't help the starving people of India because I don't know what they need. People can't help what they don't know."
Or this (from Julian):
"When my rabbits get out of hand, I stamp my feet and clap my hands until they come to att More...
That's why I loved this book.
It's pretty stupid. Ridiculous. Perverted at times. But contains many classic lines, like this (from Cinnamon):
"I can't help the starving people of India because I don't know what they need. People can't help what they don't know."
Or this (from Julian):
"When my rabbits get out of hand, I stamp my feet and clap my hands until they come to att More...
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Jul 29, 2011
Andrew
rated it:
So, I have to admit that I did not actually read this book... It was read to me by Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinelo via books on tape. I've heard there are some really good pictures in the book and I would love to see them some time, but if you ever feel the need to listen to a book on tape, this would be a great choice! The way these three read the story it's almost like a play. I can't imagine it being as fun to read as it was to listen to on tape. And that says a lot because I enj
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Apr 08, 2009
Xiphias
rated it:
I cheated and listened to the audibook version - which both helped and hurt the book. The writers all come from improv / performance backgrounds, and, surprisingly enough, most of the book's jokes really only work when said aloud.
The downside is that three authors are doing the voices of a good twenty or so characters - and there's only so many fake, goofy southern accents I can really stand to listen to before I kind of thing they all need to be slapped.
It has the same More...
The downside is that three authors are doing the voices of a good twenty or so characters - and there's only so many fake, goofy southern accents I can really stand to listen to before I kind of thing they all need to be slapped.
It has the same More...
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May 10, 2010
Alicia
rated it:
If you like Colbert and Sedaris you will love this book. It's funny and insane and just like a wacky episode of "Strangers With Candy." Which if you love that show like I do, you will love this book.
It's a satire about an author going to a small run-down town where there is a dam in danger of being torn down. The destruction of the dam will mean the destruction of the town. The "author" decides he will find out all he can about the town, it's inhabitants and do wh More...
It's a satire about an author going to a small run-down town where there is a dam in danger of being torn down. The destruction of the dam will mean the destruction of the town. The "author" decides he will find out all he can about the town, it's inhabitants and do wh More...
Mar 12, 2010
Mary
rated it:
I listened to the audiobook version of this book (well, half of it), which was narrated by the authors. I really, really wanted to like it, because I love Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert. But the book was terrible. I do love their brand of humor, but this was just too saturated with it. I finally decided to just stop reading it because I couldn't stand any of the characters and didn't care what happened next. I don't like to give up on books, but I also don't like to spend the precious little ti
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Mar 11, 2010
Aaron
rated it:
Considering how much I love Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert, I was surprised how quickly I grew bored with this book.
It's clever and satirical and funny, with a hapless narrator, and the authors' collective tongues so firmly in their cheeks, they must all have sore jaws. I did chuckle during the first couple chapters, and there are definitely some monty-pythonesque moments, but I quickly realized this style of comedy works much better in small doses. Chapters 2 through 27 are just m More...
It's clever and satirical and funny, with a hapless narrator, and the authors' collective tongues so firmly in their cheeks, they must all have sore jaws. I did chuckle during the first couple chapters, and there are definitely some monty-pythonesque moments, but I quickly realized this style of comedy works much better in small doses. Chapters 2 through 27 are just m More...
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Apr 12, 2011
Stephanie
rated it:
This is one of my favorite books of all-time. It is by no means a work of literary brilliance. It is not deep or meaningful in any way. It certainly won't change the way you look at the world or add depth and character to your being. But it will probably make you laugh harder than anything else you've ever read. If you are unfamiliar with David Sedaris (where have you been living) then you likely wouldn't know his sister Amy Sedaris unless you were a huge fan (like I am) of the show "Strang
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Jul 17, 2008
J
rated it:
At the time this book was written, Amy Sedaris, sister to writer David, was probably the best known member of the three writer-performers behind the bizarre Comedy Central show, Strangers with Candy. Of her cowriters Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert, it was the latter, later on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, then his own show, the satire of rightwing talk, The Colbert Report, who has moved into the ascendant. His recent showing at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, in a merciless
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Jun 10, 2008
Michael
rated it:
This book is hilarious in the perverse way that Amy Sedaris and crew are known for. If you like things such as Strangers with Candy, and the satire of the Colbert Report this is highly recommended. I read this on audiobook and that seems to be the preferable format because the main character/narrator is played by Colbert with Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Paul Dinello all playing various characters from the creepy little town of Wigfield. Esp. amusing are the passages in which all the charac
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Jan 24, 2010
Kelly
rated it:
Ugh! I absolutely love Amy Sedaris, so I thought I'd really like the audio version of this book read by the authors (her, Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello). I couldn't even make it past the first CD.
The protagonist in the book continually reminds the reader that his only goal is to reach the 50,000 word minimum required by the publishing company which he tricked into giving him an advance to write a book without even having an idea in his head. It seems that Sedaris, Dinello and Co More...
The protagonist in the book continually reminds the reader that his only goal is to reach the 50,000 word minimum required by the publishing company which he tricked into giving him an advance to write a book without even having an idea in his head. It seems that Sedaris, Dinello and Co More...
May 08, 2011
Starhen
rated it:
Wigfield, sadly, was a let down; while it started off promising, the book soon stalled with its joke generator stuck in a loop. I was disappointed in the authors' reliance on stereotypes of the rural poor, which came off not as satirical but stale and ugly. And, unfortunately, the narrator's cliche- and malapropism-heavy writing, while cleverly parodic at times, failed to sustain the lulz. On the bright side, the authors' newer work shows substantial growth.
Dec 05, 2009
Molly
rated it:
Well, really I listened to this as an audiobook, and that might have made all the difference. While I didn't get to see the photos that the book has, the audiobook had the advantage of being read by the authors- complete with accents and all. Reading something and pretending like Stephen Colbert is saying it is one thing, but having him read it to you, acting out every inflection is a completely different and wonderful thing. I highly recommend for a car ride.
Mar 24, 2009
Chris
rated it:
A book about a scam artist writing a book about a "town" of used auto parts stores and strip clubs. Wigfield is a small town in the desert built at the foot of a dam that is due to be demolished. Someone must chronicle the plight of the townfolk; that someone is Russel Hokes the former street lane marker painter turned author. Russel shows us lots of bizarre people who like stabbing and arson, over the top scenery with mercury mounds and arsenic pits and a town with a collective IQ of
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Dec 21, 2007
Tracey
rated it:
Checked this out from the library -- and I'm glad I didn't spend any money on it.
It sounded clever, a wanna-be writer documenting a community's struggles against a State mandate to tear down the local dam, which would flood them out.
It turned out to be mean-spirited and semi-sordid. Wigfield is a squatter's town - with the main "industry" being strip clubs and used auto parts. The interviews with the townspeople weren't as funny as they wanted to be and the ac More...
It sounded clever, a wanna-be writer documenting a community's struggles against a State mandate to tear down the local dam, which would flood them out.
It turned out to be mean-spirited and semi-sordid. Wigfield is a squatter's town - with the main "industry" being strip clubs and used auto parts. The interviews with the townspeople weren't as funny as they wanted to be and the ac More...
Sep 06, 2009
Stephen
rated it:
Hilarious! Done by three of the stars of Comedy Central's "Strangers With Candy," Wigfield is definitely a trip down into the craziness of their minds. With text accompanied by photos of the authors dressed up as the characters in various costumes and makeup (Amy Sedaris tends to play the strangest of the town's residents...of course). This book definitely requires that kind of strange sense of humor that "Strangers With Candy" appealed to, so if that's your kind of thing, th
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Jan 26, 2009
Sheila
rated it:
This book satirizes both America's nostalgia for small-town America - and the act of writing itself, with its bottomless bag of cliches and mixed metaphors, thrown together by a self-defined "writer" who doesn't like to write.
The first quarter of the book had me laughing to the point of exhaustion; after that, I had to go for longer periods between the laughs (although they do continue, intermittently, until the end of the book).
The first quarter of the book had me laughing to the point of exhaustion; after that, I had to go for longer periods between the laughs (although they do continue, intermittently, until the end of the book).
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Mar 02, 2009
Sheela
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This book was hilarious! A must-read if you are a Colbert fan. It's about a brainless "journalist" who attempts to save a small town named Wigfield by writing a book about the neglect of small communities in America. In his quest for 50,000 words or more for his book, he gets to interview the residents and you get to meet the most interesting characters with the oddest stories.
Aug 15, 2008
Charlotte
rated it:
This dark satire is good for some laughs, especially for those who like Stephen Colbert/Amy Sedaris-esque humor (I'm a big fan of the Colbert Report, not so much of Strangers with Candy). The book's narrator, Russell Hokes, is a reporter assigned to cover the story of Wigfield, a small town about to be wiped off the map by the removal of the Bulkwaller Dam. Most of the book consists of Hokes interviewing the town's trashy, completely off-the-wall residents. The interviews are funny, but they ten
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Feb 25, 2009
Wes
rated it:
This was really, really funny, as you might expect coming from the 'Strangers with Candy' crew. It just happened to be an added bonus that the audio version was actually read by the authors; Stephen Colbert takes the lead character and a few others, Sedaris' characters a constant source of smiles. And, as with most humorous works, the jokes either wane, or you're just tired of the barrage, by the books end.
Jul 27, 2011
Ubalstecha
rated it:
Brilliant, sarcastic and very funny story of Wigfield, a town that is threatened by desturction when the governement destroys the local dam. Read by the authors Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert, this book on CD is laugh a minute funny. Worth getting on CD just to hear the delivery.
Feb 24, 2011
Chad
rated it:
I wanted to like this book, sounded promising, but it just seemed like they were trying too hard. Mildly amusing at its best, moderately annoying at its worst, I probably wouldn't pick up another by the authors - unless at a thrift store at some time when I didn't have piles of others to read.
