Monster Stick & Other Appalachian Tall Tales

by Paul Lepp, Bill Lepp

Brothers Paul and Bil Lepp have been winners of the Vandalia Festival Liars Contest 10 times between them, and they can truly spin a yarn. What is the Monster Stick? It's Paul's mythical nine-foot, surf casting fishing rod sporting 6 miles of 50 pound Stren carp cord, with which Paul has caught bears, boats, motor homes, and an airborne DC-6. The Monster Stick opens with a foreword by Ken Sullivan, founder of the Liars Contest, who calls the Lepps about the best natural prevaricators he's ever seen. Many of Bil's stories are about Buck-dog, Bil's extraordinary hunting dog whose mamma was a German shepherd but whose daddy was a determined and extremely prolific basset hound. You'll find hilarious stories about women, carp, catfish and bass, trains, hunting and cars. "A man spends many sleepless nights on the riverbank trying to understand women and many sleepless nights in bed trying to understand carp."

What's the Monster Stick? It's Paul's "nine-foot, surf casting rod full of six miles of brand new 50-pound test Stren Carp cord with 20 pound, custom made, stainless steel, slip-sliding sinkers." The adventures Paul finds himself in from the day the Monster Stick comes into his life rival those of Paul Bunyan but add a modern twist, as when he somehow sets the hook in a DC-10 flown by drug smugglers. Then there's Buck-dog, Bil's "extraordinary hunting dog, whose mama was a German shepherd but whose daddy was a determined and extremely prolific basset hound." Buck is smarter than your average human and stronger than four CS&X train engines pulling in unison, which he proves repeatedly as he takes on anything, including the government.

These tall tales led the Lepp brothers to so many championships in the West Virginia State Liars' Competition that their amateur status was nearly revoked. But that's another tale ...

AWARDSﾠ
PLA/ALLS Best New Books for New Adult Readers
Storytelling World Award

Genres: Short Stories, Humor

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard Bil Lepp tell one of his tall tales at a storytelling festival some years back and he kept me laughing the whole time. It's not quite as fun to read these stories silently to yourself (if you can do it with a West Virginia accent you'll enjoy it more), but if you typically laugh at outrageous hyperbole or enjoy a good fishing story, then you don't want to miss this collection. Bil Lepp is hilarious in almost every tale. Paul's style is different, but I found about half of his stories to be equally entertaining.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only weakness of a collection like this is that some kinds of tall tales just work better as spoken word pieces than they do on paper. On the other hand, some of the stories have some absolutely wonderful imagery, ranging from the world's strongest cross-breed dog to a fishing pole with such magnificent attributes that there's a whole story explaining its origins.
If you like tall tales and liars' contests, then this book may prove to be a source of inspiration. Otherwise, it will be enjoyable, but probably won't change your life...unless you're a secret fishophobe, but that's another story.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book my mom gave me when I was in high school. I liked it simply because I know the author and his brother. There is a liar's competition to determine the best liar in West Virginia ever year, and Paul Lepp or his brother have won consistently over the past 20 years. Pretty funny book if you're into Appalachian folk lore.

[Jeanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by two brothers about the fishing and country roads of their home. They have awards in the tall tales category.