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Ass Goblins of Auschwitz
AS SEEN ON COMEDY CENTRAL'S @MIDNIGHT! It's Monty Python meets Nazi exploitation in a surreal nightmare as can only be imagined by Bizarro author Cameron Pierce.
In a land where black snow falls in the shape of swastikas, there exists a nightmarish prison camp known as Auschwitz. It is run by a fascist, flatulent race of aliens called the Ass Goblins, who travel in apple-shaped spaceships to abduct children from the neighboring world of Kidland. Prisoners 999 and 1001 are conjoined twin brothers forced to endure the sadistic tortures of these ass-shaped monsters. To survive, they must eat kid skin and work all day constructing bicycles and sex dolls out of dead children.
While the Ass Goblins become drunk on cider made from fermented children, the twins plot their escape. But it won't be easy. They must overcome toilet toads, cockrats, ass dolls, and the surgical experiments that are slowly mutating them into goblin-child hybrids.
Forget everything you know about Auschwitz...you're about to be Shit Slaughtered.
In a land where black snow falls in the shape of swastikas, there exists a nightmarish prison camp known as Auschwitz. It is run by a fascist, flatulent race of aliens called the Ass Goblins, who travel in apple-shaped spaceships to abduct children from the neighboring world of Kidland. Prisoners 999 and 1001 are conjoined twin brothers forced to endure the sadistic tortures of these ass-shaped monsters. To survive, they must eat kid skin and work all day constructing bicycles and sex dolls out of dead children.
While the Ass Goblins become drunk on cider made from fermented children, the twins plot their escape. But it won't be easy. They must overcome toilet toads, cockrats, ass dolls, and the surgical experiments that are slowly mutating them into goblin-child hybrids.
Forget everything you know about Auschwitz...you're about to be Shit Slaughtered.
108 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
34 people are currently reading
1570 people want to read
About the author
Cameron Pierce
54 books197 followersCameron Pierce is the author of eleven books, including the Wonderland Book Award-winning collection Lost in Cat Brain Land. His work has appeared in The Barcelona Review, Gray's Sporting Journal, Hobart, The Big Click, and Vol. I Brooklyn, and has been reviewed and featured on Comedy Central and The Guardian. He was also the author of the column Fishing and Beer, where he interviewed acclaimed angler Bill Dance and John Lurie of Fishing with John. Pierce is the head editor of Lazy Fascist Press and has edited three anthologies, including The Best Bizarro Fiction of the Decade. He lives with his wife in Astoria, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 162 reviews
July 26, 2011
I am dreading the next book club meeting. We'll be discussing This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War and preparing to read The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. John will be reading some high brow's autobiography and Fred just can't wait for James Lee Burke's new book. Michelle will be pining for another novel by Christopher Moore. Then they'll turn to me and say, "Marvin, what did you read this week?" And I'll answer...
"Ass Goblins of Auschwitz"
And I won't feel happy about it for AGOA is very disturbing even for Bizarro literature. First there is the unfortunate choice of Auschwitz. The author may be too young for the full effect but Auschwitz holds too much dread for my generation to be effective in even this bizarre a satire. Pierce has taken scatological aliens and placed them in a third Reich setting in which they are eating and torturing children for the purpose of turning them into ass goblins. OK, I get it. Ass Goblins are adults who remove children from their "Kidland" forcing them to endure the horrors of adult life. Or maybe Pierce just wants to out gross everyone. That's the problem...we can't know. He goes for the extreme shock and loses any meaning in the story except for the word "Auschwitz" ringing in the ears of those who remember its true horrors. We do not need this kind of extreme shock for the real thing already existed.
It's unfortunate for Bizarro fiction can be exquisitely weird and Cameron Pierce can really write. This is beautiful and powerful writing that is lost in the attempt to be over-the-top and disgusting and manages to be simply disrespectful and appalling.
"Ass Goblins of Auschwitz"
And I won't feel happy about it for AGOA is very disturbing even for Bizarro literature. First there is the unfortunate choice of Auschwitz. The author may be too young for the full effect but Auschwitz holds too much dread for my generation to be effective in even this bizarre a satire. Pierce has taken scatological aliens and placed them in a third Reich setting in which they are eating and torturing children for the purpose of turning them into ass goblins. OK, I get it. Ass Goblins are adults who remove children from their "Kidland" forcing them to endure the horrors of adult life. Or maybe Pierce just wants to out gross everyone. That's the problem...we can't know. He goes for the extreme shock and loses any meaning in the story except for the word "Auschwitz" ringing in the ears of those who remember its true horrors. We do not need this kind of extreme shock for the real thing already existed.
It's unfortunate for Bizarro fiction can be exquisitely weird and Cameron Pierce can really write. This is beautiful and powerful writing that is lost in the attempt to be over-the-top and disgusting and manages to be simply disrespectful and appalling.
Want to read
February 2, 2016How is it I've overlooked this undoubtedly fine piece of literature for so long?!
December 10, 2010
In the first four pages of Cameron Pierce's A*s Goblins of Auschwitz, a row of child slaves are molested, one by one, by a giant a*s-shaped N*zi Goblin. But by the time the main character pulls a bicycle made of other children out of his scrotum, this will not seem shocking.
A*s Goblins of Auschwitz was a difficult book to read. It's been 80 years or so, but I think we can all say that the Holocaust still isn't funny.
A*s Goblins could see a lot of heat from "Serious Literary People" for making a disgusting spectacle of one of the most horrifying events in recent history.
This is because Holocaust literature (art, film, drama) generally falls into the category of High Art. Although the subjects and scenes are sometimes horrifying, they are gravely serious and have a very clear purpose in a story with a message and a resolution. People don't read (or write) these books or teach them in schools to terrify and disgust.
It's mostly agreed upon that books as diverse as Number the Stars and Elie Weisel's Night are inspiring, touching and beautiful. They are about the Holocaust but also about human courage and faith
The problem is that The Holocaust is not a touching and beautiful subject. I feel that you're far off the mark if, while reading about people locked up like animals and tortured to death, you feel touched and inspired.
Pierce, who didn't survive the Holocaust, is brave enough to make you feel what you should be feeling while reading about the Holocaust: disoriented, horrified, disgusted, and slightly ill.
A*s Goblins of Auschwitz was a difficult book to read. It's been 80 years or so, but I think we can all say that the Holocaust still isn't funny.
A*s Goblins could see a lot of heat from "Serious Literary People" for making a disgusting spectacle of one of the most horrifying events in recent history.
This is because Holocaust literature (art, film, drama) generally falls into the category of High Art. Although the subjects and scenes are sometimes horrifying, they are gravely serious and have a very clear purpose in a story with a message and a resolution. People don't read (or write) these books or teach them in schools to terrify and disgust.
It's mostly agreed upon that books as diverse as Number the Stars and Elie Weisel's Night are inspiring, touching and beautiful. They are about the Holocaust but also about human courage and faith
The problem is that The Holocaust is not a touching and beautiful subject. I feel that you're far off the mark if, while reading about people locked up like animals and tortured to death, you feel touched and inspired.
Pierce, who didn't survive the Holocaust, is brave enough to make you feel what you should be feeling while reading about the Holocaust: disoriented, horrified, disgusted, and slightly ill.
February 1, 2013
Let me guess? The ass with eyestalks covered in Nazi symbols is totally turning you away from this book. Don't. Go ahead, read it. It's worth it.
"Ass Goblins of Auschwitz" certainly looks and sounds like something that was written to be offensive for the sake of offending. It is not very long, the cover makes no attempts to mute the meaning of the title. One might think it is screaming to be thrown on the pyre. But don't be so quick to judge. Cameron Pierce always, whether intentional or not, has something to say with the subject matter he uses. He, like other Bizarro authors, does not write juvenile screed. They write things to make you think and entertain.
First, the Nazi imagery is not just empty symbolism. It is carefully chosen to evoke a certain emotional response. Horror, strife, oppression, fear. The Ass Goblins are a vehicle for examining something that has lost its edge because of the frailty of human memory and distance of time and geography. Namely war. I'd wager that every high school student who pays attention to World History hears the phrase "Holocaust" and attaches the "six-million Jews killed" statistic to it. But much like televised war we are numb to it. The horror we are never supposed to forget is being forgotten.
And it's not just World War II, it's any war. The Iraq War, The Cold War, The War on Drugs, The War on Terror, all of these have casualties that we don't often see and no clearly defined battlefields or open-viewed combat. Pierce's use of children as an easily identifiable victim allows this short narrative to cut to your heart, as children are still one of the last things everyone still holds sacred. Even among criminals, child molesters are the lowest of the low.
So by creating a story of alien asses of the most readily recognizable evil enslaving children for industry and experimentation, Pierce is slapping your face to remind you that there is more going on in the world than the new iPhone, or what happened on Idol last night. There are people dying over petty things and for petty men. Sometimes we need that splash of offensiveness to remind us. We need symbols to add the human element to cold logic. "Ass Goblins of Auschwitz" delivers this needed commentary in a deft and surprisingly touching manner.
Cameron Pierce has the gift of writing meaningful, emotionally-charged Bizarro. "Ass Goblins of Auschwitz" is just one more fine example of his ability.
"Ass Goblins of Auschwitz" certainly looks and sounds like something that was written to be offensive for the sake of offending. It is not very long, the cover makes no attempts to mute the meaning of the title. One might think it is screaming to be thrown on the pyre. But don't be so quick to judge. Cameron Pierce always, whether intentional or not, has something to say with the subject matter he uses. He, like other Bizarro authors, does not write juvenile screed. They write things to make you think and entertain.
First, the Nazi imagery is not just empty symbolism. It is carefully chosen to evoke a certain emotional response. Horror, strife, oppression, fear. The Ass Goblins are a vehicle for examining something that has lost its edge because of the frailty of human memory and distance of time and geography. Namely war. I'd wager that every high school student who pays attention to World History hears the phrase "Holocaust" and attaches the "six-million Jews killed" statistic to it. But much like televised war we are numb to it. The horror we are never supposed to forget is being forgotten.
And it's not just World War II, it's any war. The Iraq War, The Cold War, The War on Drugs, The War on Terror, all of these have casualties that we don't often see and no clearly defined battlefields or open-viewed combat. Pierce's use of children as an easily identifiable victim allows this short narrative to cut to your heart, as children are still one of the last things everyone still holds sacred. Even among criminals, child molesters are the lowest of the low.
So by creating a story of alien asses of the most readily recognizable evil enslaving children for industry and experimentation, Pierce is slapping your face to remind you that there is more going on in the world than the new iPhone, or what happened on Idol last night. There are people dying over petty things and for petty men. Sometimes we need that splash of offensiveness to remind us. We need symbols to add the human element to cold logic. "Ass Goblins of Auschwitz" delivers this needed commentary in a deft and surprisingly touching manner.
Cameron Pierce has the gift of writing meaningful, emotionally-charged Bizarro. "Ass Goblins of Auschwitz" is just one more fine example of his ability.
June 12, 2024
Together, we face Auschwitz. We march toward Dead Kid Hill and the ruins of Toy Division. “I know it sounds terrible,” I say, “but right now this kind of feels like home.”
Frannie’s torso widens into a smile and the sky brightens.
In Auschwitz Square, the morning siren screams.
Frannie’s torso widens into a smile and the sky brightens.
In Auschwitz Square, the morning siren screams.
June 28, 2018
A heartwarming piece of romantic literature
May 14, 2012
I really wanted this to be awesome. I'm a big fan of weird. I'm a big fan of gross. I'm also a big fan of writing, and that's where the book lost me.
I don't mind being made sick to my stomach, and if a book can make me actually clench my sphincter, so much the better, but I CANNOT abide poor writing.
It's not even really terrible grammar or spelling, just the odd continuity error and sentences that, when you think about it, don't actually have any meaning. For example: "Today seems worse, probably because nobody's condition ever improves in Auschwitz." If every day is the same, then how is TODAY any worse?
I can stand the assembly line of . I can even stand the children being force fed dinner by . But the pointless drivelly sentences... Argh.
Oh, and it also didn't make any actual sense. Whatevs.
It did make me feel a little ill though, so for that I'll give it an extra star.
I don't mind being made sick to my stomach, and if a book can make me actually clench my sphincter, so much the better, but I CANNOT abide poor writing.
It's not even really terrible grammar or spelling, just the odd continuity error and sentences that, when you think about it, don't actually have any meaning. For example: "Today seems worse, probably because nobody's condition ever improves in Auschwitz." If every day is the same, then how is TODAY any worse?
I can stand the assembly line of . I can even stand the children being force fed dinner by . But the pointless drivelly sentences... Argh.
Oh, and it also didn't make any actual sense. Whatevs.
It did make me feel a little ill though, so for that I'll give it an extra star.
November 8, 2009
Cameron Pierce’s strength lies in his imagination. I personally think an animation company should sign him on to come up with ideas for cartoons, video games, and stuff like that because his work does lend itself to that sort of thing. The book itself is twisted, entertaining, and creative, three traits that I rarely find all in one book.
This is the author’s second book and in many ways it’s better than the first. There is a focus present that wasn’t in the first. Pierce has an extremely strong imagination and in Shark Hunting in Paradise Garden (his first book) he let it run so wild that it was sometimes distracting. He seems to have gained some control over it now and so we have his sophomore effort, Ass Goblins of Auschwitz, a bizarro sci-fi horror exploitation novel.
Those looking for an Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS clone should look elsewhere. Though this book compares itself to a Nazi exploitation film, it’s really not at all like one except for the fact that it does feature Nazi death camp atrocities. It’s so outlandish as to not really be offensive. I mean, yeah, it does have the Ass Goblins getting drunk on cider made from fermented child flesh, but it’s written so wildly that you don’t really get the feeling that it’s real kids being used.
The weakness of this book was also evident in his last book. The imagery and descriptions overshadow the plot. Sometimes it’s almost like we don’t get a full grasp on what’s happening. In some ways this is cool because it overwhelms you with Pierce’s twisted creativity but sometimes it can also be very tiring.
I also found that there is a heavy Carlton Mellick III influence in the way Cameron uses words. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing since I believe CM3 in fact did influence Pierce and every author is bound to show their influences on their sleeve especially in their early works. That being said, this is like CM3 on hallucinogens. It’s like three Mellick books in one.
Overall this is a worthwhile read that will have you laughing at the absurd atrocities of the Ass Goblins. You will be in awe at what such a young writer could cook up.
September 19, 2019
I was sent this book by a friend who received it in error after ordering something else and who thought that I might be interested. They were right. I love reading weird and unusual stuff, and this definitely qualifies. It’s basically bizarro fiction about what happens when ass goblins launch a concentration camp and fill it with kids. It’s definitely not for those with a sensitive palette, but I thought that it set out to do something and then achieved it. Fun stuff.
December 11, 2010
Josef Mengele and Sigmund Freud had a baby and Cameron Pierce shit on it.
This book is probably the most disgusting thing I've ever read and I could not put it down.
This book is probably the most disgusting thing I've ever read and I could not put it down.
January 20, 2020
Quite possibly a Magnum Opus, unreal and gripping until the last page.
October 14, 2020
Weird...
But again Bizarro fiction makes a point of being weird.
I find the lack of butt jokes disturbing.
But again Bizarro fiction makes a point of being weird.
I find the lack of butt jokes disturbing.
October 5, 2011
It was pointed out to me that my previous review did not include the fact that I recommend the book. So here is a new review.
I was dared to read Ass Goblins of Auschwitz by friends. Unable to turn down this dare, I immediately got the e-book and started reading it. This was my introduction to the Bizarro genre, and it was eye-opening. As a WWII history fan, the incorporation of Nazi imagery appealed to me greatly; the incorporation of ass goblins appealed considerably less. But the first half of the book was compelling and I read it very quickly.
The second half, unfortunately, slowed down quite a bit. I would go so far as to say I lost track of the plot, or perhaps the author did; what started out as children and Nazis turned into mutants and confusion. It took me a while to actually finish the book; the rest of it was a big slog. I trudged through, though, because I was dared to read it.
In the end, I am glad I finished the book. Bizarro is something that not everyone will be interested in; if you liked Fifty Shades of Gray, you probably won't like Ass Goblins of Auschwitz. You'll pick it up, read one page, and throw it across the room. But for those who think the title is appealing, and the idea of getting your digested food (siblings) sucked out from your ass isn't revolting, then this is a good introduction to Bizarro. It's not very long, and it's amusing, though it'll never win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction due to a complete lack of literary merit (this isn't Hemingway). But read it, why not? Go try it.
I was dared to read Ass Goblins of Auschwitz by friends. Unable to turn down this dare, I immediately got the e-book and started reading it. This was my introduction to the Bizarro genre, and it was eye-opening. As a WWII history fan, the incorporation of Nazi imagery appealed to me greatly; the incorporation of ass goblins appealed considerably less. But the first half of the book was compelling and I read it very quickly.
The second half, unfortunately, slowed down quite a bit. I would go so far as to say I lost track of the plot, or perhaps the author did; what started out as children and Nazis turned into mutants and confusion. It took me a while to actually finish the book; the rest of it was a big slog. I trudged through, though, because I was dared to read it.
In the end, I am glad I finished the book. Bizarro is something that not everyone will be interested in; if you liked Fifty Shades of Gray, you probably won't like Ass Goblins of Auschwitz. You'll pick it up, read one page, and throw it across the room. But for those who think the title is appealing, and the idea of getting your digested food (siblings) sucked out from your ass isn't revolting, then this is a good introduction to Bizarro. It's not very long, and it's amusing, though it'll never win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction due to a complete lack of literary merit (this isn't Hemingway). But read it, why not? Go try it.
April 24, 2013
I imagine that most people who give this book one star, do so because they were offended by the way nazis and concentration camps are used in the story. That is not the case here. I was not in the least offended by what I read.
My problem with the book is that every element added to the story is there just to try to cause a reaction from the reader, whether they make sense or not. Being in the bizarro genre is no excuse for a poor plot and poor characters, but the writer seems to think these two elements are unnecessary if you have enough "bizarre" ideas.
This book feels like the kind of story a bunch of 8 to 10 year olds would come up with, if they kept trying to "one up" each other and see who could come up with the most disgusting/outrageous idea. This book tried to be too hip and cool, but all it did was show its own immaturity, as it so often happens in real life with teenagers who want to look more adult.
My problem with the book is that every element added to the story is there just to try to cause a reaction from the reader, whether they make sense or not. Being in the bizarro genre is no excuse for a poor plot and poor characters, but the writer seems to think these two elements are unnecessary if you have enough "bizarre" ideas.
This book feels like the kind of story a bunch of 8 to 10 year olds would come up with, if they kept trying to "one up" each other and see who could come up with the most disgusting/outrageous idea. This book tried to be too hip and cool, but all it did was show its own immaturity, as it so often happens in real life with teenagers who want to look more adult.
August 31, 2016
This reminds me of The Poop That Took a Pee from that episode of South Park. It's just shocking for the sake of being shocking. I'm not that well versed with bizarro fiction. This is only the second or third piece I've read from that genre. It was a readable story but I think I'm more of a Carlton Mellick III guy.
January 31, 2011
whoah. Look, I've read a lot of bizarro, but this book is the weirdest, most insane thing I have ever read. Ever.
January 2, 2012
When I first learned of the Bizarro genre I thought it would be some truly weird stuff, I read some descriptions of books and some customer reviews and there seemed to be some strange and twisted books out there. One that I was intrigued by was AGOA, I had already read Abortion Arcade and knew that Cameron Pierce was a go to guy for the truly bizarre work. After having finally got around to purchasing AGOA and reading it I’ve got to say this book here is what Bizarro is all about. From the Goblins themselves to the descriptions of Auschwitz landscape, Pierce’s imagination seems limitless. He’s crafted a morbid and disturbing world for our narrator 999 and his conjoined twin, 1001. This book is perfect for anyone interested in Bizarro, it showcases how far you can go within the genre and still maintain an interesting story.
July 25, 2018
Let's be honest: you already know if you're going to read this book or not based solely upon that glorious title. After finally diving in and completing this wild ride, I can't quite shake the impression of its scatological imagery, intense body horror, and weirdly sincere emotional core. We had an hour-long chat about this extraordinary work of bizarro fiction on the Bad Books for Bad People podcast: http://badbooksbadpeople.com/mini-epi...
January 19, 2021
This was utter, utter shit. Not sure if the author was aiming for humour, gross-out, horror or some other ill-defined notion; but whatever the goal (unless that goal was to write a puerile, boring waste of time) was, it was missed by a mile.
January 7, 2024
Ah yes, the controversy I’m sure the title alone inspires. I don’t believe that Pierce is trying to do anything other than be as extreme as he possibly can and to mine earballs anyways I love how fucked up this writing is.
July 3, 2020
oh dear lord
March 15, 2021
The dreamlike narrative is a phantasmagoric flight of fecal fancy, yet most readers will find it jarringly familiar. It only takes a few hours to read, which is a bonus.
July 15, 2021
A blast to read. Read in a few hours. Bought another of his books to see if the greatness goes between titles
July 30, 2021
I have to say this before getting into this review.. I love reading bizarro books and like how they are totally different with the characters and the world's in the books but, this book actually made me really uncomfortable while reading it. Since the book was focused on kids and rape, it's just not a concept I want to be reading about...
October 29, 2011
If you've noticed a recent trend in my reviews, I've been reading a lot of what gets classified as “bizarro fiction.” I remember when I first heard about it, about a year ago, and I pictured stories that would be weird, off-the-wall, and probably containing concepts or imagery that would be purely for shock value. What I had read so far was okay in these regards, but I was more surprised at the way these authors had chosen not to push these boundaries as hard as I expected.
Then I read Ass Goblins of Auschwitz by Cameron Pierce, a book whose title alone would immediately push the envelope. This is the kind of book that I pictured bizarro fiction would be like when I first heard about it. It's shocking to the point that, if you're not disturbed or even feel the need to vomit, at least early on in the book, then you probably need psychological help.
The story itself is pretty simple. It's told from the perspective of a boy named 999, a conjoined twin with his brother Otto from Kidland, who are prisoners in the land of Auschwitz, ruled by the cruel ass goblins. The only prisoners are children. Some are sacrificed on a daily basis.
The first half of the book deals with describing life in Auschwitz, while the second half is where the full plot really comes in as 999 and his brother become the subjects of an experiment by a particular ass goblin known as the White Angel.
In terms of describing daily life, I'm not sure if the author was attempting some kind of satire or underlying meaning to everything, whether it's the cruelty of adults to children, the jealousy of childhood innocence, or the injustice of a prostate exam. Most of this gets buried under imagery so disturbing that you don't really care about any underlying meaning.
Are there flaws in the book? Well, honestly, I can't really point to any in particular. While the imagery is disturbing and even over-the-top, I'm pretty sure that was the author's goal, so mission accomplished. I guess there are a few logistical problems in terms of consistent character description or actions, but these tend to get diluted in an otherwise consistent novel. So the novel is definitely very proficient technically
At the same time, while I try to be fairly objective, personal opinion and feelings are going to come into reviews like this, and keeping that in mind, I failed to really like the novel. Based on my previous experience with bizarro fiction, the title, and the somewhat silly cover, I expected something that would be a little more satirical and probably a bit offensive but ultimately funny in its offense. I was not prepared for the mental assault experienced, particularly at the beginning. Come to think of it, that's very much what the opening feels like. It's like you're being assaulted mentally by the disconcerting, and it feels a bit like the author is doing it for the same reason that the ass goblins torture the children: Because he can.
At the same time, it's difficult to fault the novel or the author. He had a goal in mind, and if I read it correctly he achieved his goal, even if I'm not entirely sure what that goal was, but at the end I just felt drained and empty over the usual curiosity or wanting more.
Ass Goblins of Auschwitz is ultimately an okay novel, but the assault to the senses can be a bit much, even for bizarro fiction based on my previous experiences. At the same time, it did leave me somewhat morbidly curious about Cameron Pierce's other works, as the novel is quite good on a technical level. But I would only recommend this novel for those who want something more “extreme” in the genre and have a fairly strong stomach. Which I do, but I think I simply wasn't prepared for what I got, like expecting hot buffalo wings that turn out to be atomic.
Ass Goblins of Auschwitz earns 2.5 out of 5 stars (three stars on Goodreads for benefit of the doubt and lack of half-star ratings).
Then I read Ass Goblins of Auschwitz by Cameron Pierce, a book whose title alone would immediately push the envelope. This is the kind of book that I pictured bizarro fiction would be like when I first heard about it. It's shocking to the point that, if you're not disturbed or even feel the need to vomit, at least early on in the book, then you probably need psychological help.
The story itself is pretty simple. It's told from the perspective of a boy named 999, a conjoined twin with his brother Otto from Kidland, who are prisoners in the land of Auschwitz, ruled by the cruel ass goblins. The only prisoners are children. Some are sacrificed on a daily basis.
The first half of the book deals with describing life in Auschwitz, while the second half is where the full plot really comes in as 999 and his brother become the subjects of an experiment by a particular ass goblin known as the White Angel.
In terms of describing daily life, I'm not sure if the author was attempting some kind of satire or underlying meaning to everything, whether it's the cruelty of adults to children, the jealousy of childhood innocence, or the injustice of a prostate exam. Most of this gets buried under imagery so disturbing that you don't really care about any underlying meaning.
Are there flaws in the book? Well, honestly, I can't really point to any in particular. While the imagery is disturbing and even over-the-top, I'm pretty sure that was the author's goal, so mission accomplished. I guess there are a few logistical problems in terms of consistent character description or actions, but these tend to get diluted in an otherwise consistent novel. So the novel is definitely very proficient technically
At the same time, while I try to be fairly objective, personal opinion and feelings are going to come into reviews like this, and keeping that in mind, I failed to really like the novel. Based on my previous experience with bizarro fiction, the title, and the somewhat silly cover, I expected something that would be a little more satirical and probably a bit offensive but ultimately funny in its offense. I was not prepared for the mental assault experienced, particularly at the beginning. Come to think of it, that's very much what the opening feels like. It's like you're being assaulted mentally by the disconcerting, and it feels a bit like the author is doing it for the same reason that the ass goblins torture the children: Because he can.
At the same time, it's difficult to fault the novel or the author. He had a goal in mind, and if I read it correctly he achieved his goal, even if I'm not entirely sure what that goal was, but at the end I just felt drained and empty over the usual curiosity or wanting more.
Ass Goblins of Auschwitz is ultimately an okay novel, but the assault to the senses can be a bit much, even for bizarro fiction based on my previous experiences. At the same time, it did leave me somewhat morbidly curious about Cameron Pierce's other works, as the novel is quite good on a technical level. But I would only recommend this novel for those who want something more “extreme” in the genre and have a fairly strong stomach. Which I do, but I think I simply wasn't prepared for what I got, like expecting hot buffalo wings that turn out to be atomic.
Ass Goblins of Auschwitz earns 2.5 out of 5 stars (three stars on Goodreads for benefit of the doubt and lack of half-star ratings).
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December 19, 2009Chock-full of bile, feces, vomit, torture, cannibalism, and gore--all involving children--this is probably the most repulsive book I've ever read, and I'm no stranger to Bizarro. That's not necessarily a bad thing, of course, and though I can't say I exactly *enjoyed* this, it was an interesting, if thoroughly uncomfortable, read. It's a bit like Ren & Stimpy mixed with Naxi-exploitation, except taken to an extreme. We're talking things entering all the private holes--some sharp, some too big to realistically fit. This element makes up a *huge* part of the book; indeed, the sickest bits are probably given the most detail out of anything in the book, which sometimes lacked great visual detail in other ways.
One almost gets the feeling that the shocking grotesqueries are trying to distract you from the book's notewrothy shortcomings. I confess feeling a bit confused in places, though no one sequence comes to mind. I can't say I was terribly impressed with the writing style, which is (intentionally) childlike, and often feels extremely rushed. Scenes just fly by; and given that the book is only 100 pages, it can be read in just a few hours. I'm not sure making this book all that much longer would be a good thing due to its cartoonish nature, but more details that don't have to do with bodily functions, and some more space between the disgusting scenes, would have done a lot to make each new repulsive development have more impact. The twisted images are so pervasive that they start to lose much meaning before too long. Similarly, while you can sympathize with the tortured children, as characters they are completely one dimensional, and so when they get mutilated for the umpteenth time, it's hard to keep caring all that much. The book is basically too short to fully develop its ideas, characters, and images, but too long to keep the reader's full emotional investment. There also just isn't as much depth here as in some other Bizarro books, though to be honest I'm not sure I'd want a lot of depth from a book titled "The Ass Goblins of Auchwitz." xD
But don't be discouraged, for the book is not without its merits. There were several laugh-out-loud funny moments, and it's hard not to be left in awe at the sheer sickness of Pierce's imagination. It's a bit like that feeling you get when watching Peter Jackson's "Meet the Feebles," where it's far too lowbrow and juvinille to be thought of as quality art, but it's just so damn ballsy--so fearless about being as offensive and ridiculous as possible--that you get a skewed kind of respect for it. "Ass Goblins" also gets props for having my favorite book title of the year; I laughed so hard when I first heard of it. So, it's a flawed but interesting ride; just be aware of what you're getting into.
One almost gets the feeling that the shocking grotesqueries are trying to distract you from the book's notewrothy shortcomings. I confess feeling a bit confused in places, though no one sequence comes to mind. I can't say I was terribly impressed with the writing style, which is (intentionally) childlike, and often feels extremely rushed. Scenes just fly by; and given that the book is only 100 pages, it can be read in just a few hours. I'm not sure making this book all that much longer would be a good thing due to its cartoonish nature, but more details that don't have to do with bodily functions, and some more space between the disgusting scenes, would have done a lot to make each new repulsive development have more impact. The twisted images are so pervasive that they start to lose much meaning before too long. Similarly, while you can sympathize with the tortured children, as characters they are completely one dimensional, and so when they get mutilated for the umpteenth time, it's hard to keep caring all that much. The book is basically too short to fully develop its ideas, characters, and images, but too long to keep the reader's full emotional investment. There also just isn't as much depth here as in some other Bizarro books, though to be honest I'm not sure I'd want a lot of depth from a book titled "The Ass Goblins of Auchwitz." xD
But don't be discouraged, for the book is not without its merits. There were several laugh-out-loud funny moments, and it's hard not to be left in awe at the sheer sickness of Pierce's imagination. It's a bit like that feeling you get when watching Peter Jackson's "Meet the Feebles," where it's far too lowbrow and juvinille to be thought of as quality art, but it's just so damn ballsy--so fearless about being as offensive and ridiculous as possible--that you get a skewed kind of respect for it. "Ass Goblins" also gets props for having my favorite book title of the year; I laughed so hard when I first heard of it. So, it's a flawed but interesting ride; just be aware of what you're getting into.
December 21, 2009
Reading Cameron Pierce’s sophomore bizarro novella is kind of like watching a Monty Python sketch where all the actors are on acid and so are you. It’s weird, it’s fucked up, but somehow it all makes sense. As with Shark Hunting in Paradise Garden, Pierce has molded a surreal world out of the Play-Doh that is his brain, and he’s filled it with grotesque mutants, cartoonish action, and gross-out satire.
The Nazploitation genre was ripe for a bizarro interpretation, and the result is the Ass Goblins of Auschwitz. The themes are here: Nazis torturing and experimenting on Jews, all for some obscure and usually very futile end. Only here the Nazis are played by ass goblins, troll-like monsters that worship war and ugliness. The Jews are played by kids, innocent little beings that were kidnapped from their peaceful child-themed planet. Auschwitz is their home, a place of ritualistic torture and humiliation. The kids’ suffering at the hands of the ass goblins is comical at times. Sure, the holocaust isn’t funny, POW camps aren’t funny, but that’s the point. Pierce makes such a grand spectacle of the horrors that you can’t help but laugh. It’s as if Ren & Stimpy made a Nazploitation movie.
Cameron Pierce’s writing isn’t for everyone. I struggled with certain scenes in “Ass Goblins”, as the narrative rushes along at a break-neck pace. Pierce throws image after image of weird, gross, violent, and sometimes poignant stuff at you. But I found some grounded ideas in the ass goblins’ belief in the relationship between freedom and war (opposite-meaning words that are always thrown together somehow). Plus, you can’t help but sympathize with the kids. Even though they’re parodies, and their suffering is utterly ridiculous, Pierce makes them come to terms with that suffering, like real people.
The Nazploitation genre was ripe for a bizarro interpretation, and the result is the Ass Goblins of Auschwitz. The themes are here: Nazis torturing and experimenting on Jews, all for some obscure and usually very futile end. Only here the Nazis are played by ass goblins, troll-like monsters that worship war and ugliness. The Jews are played by kids, innocent little beings that were kidnapped from their peaceful child-themed planet. Auschwitz is their home, a place of ritualistic torture and humiliation. The kids’ suffering at the hands of the ass goblins is comical at times. Sure, the holocaust isn’t funny, POW camps aren’t funny, but that’s the point. Pierce makes such a grand spectacle of the horrors that you can’t help but laugh. It’s as if Ren & Stimpy made a Nazploitation movie.
Cameron Pierce’s writing isn’t for everyone. I struggled with certain scenes in “Ass Goblins”, as the narrative rushes along at a break-neck pace. Pierce throws image after image of weird, gross, violent, and sometimes poignant stuff at you. But I found some grounded ideas in the ass goblins’ belief in the relationship between freedom and war (opposite-meaning words that are always thrown together somehow). Plus, you can’t help but sympathize with the kids. Even though they’re parodies, and their suffering is utterly ridiculous, Pierce makes them come to terms with that suffering, like real people.
November 15, 2009
Growing up, I watched a lot of TV. Nickelodeon, mostly. Ah! Real Monsters, Rocko’s Modern Life, Ren & Stimpy. They were light-hearted and funny, sure, but deep-down they were kind of unsettling, and with your eyes glued to the tube, you felt like you were given a glimpse into truly twisted minds, minds that were trying their very best to warn their audience of the darkness of adulthood to come. These cartoons with their drab colors and their focus on offal and snot and lint and gas were just too ugly and honest to be on the Disney channel.
“Ass Goblins of Auschwitz” is what happens when those kids, so mesmerized by the cartoons of their youth, grow up and write stories of their own. AGOA is a Nickelodeon cartoon pushed to the extreme and injected with cynicism. You’re born, things are good, you start to check out girls, and before you know it a goblin has his finger in your ass and is turning your friends into cider, you’re mutating and growing wings and you’re becoming one of them and you’re rebelling and you’d do anything to get out of the prison you’re in.
I promised myself I wouldn’t use the word “imaginative”, but AGOA is so filled to brimming with the products of a big, Mountain Dew-fueled brain that other words fail. The first half of the book is gripping, every page contains a unique, surreal image or idea, but it does not let up for a moment, and if you are not careful, by the end it could bury you under them. I enjoyed the quick pace and the brevity, but I also found the last twenty pages to be exhausting, a wild dash for the finish could have been sharper, more fleshed out.
That said, I can’t wait to see what Pierce will do next. With an imagination as fertile and frenzied as his, I’m sure I won’t have to wait long to find out.
“Ass Goblins of Auschwitz” is what happens when those kids, so mesmerized by the cartoons of their youth, grow up and write stories of their own. AGOA is a Nickelodeon cartoon pushed to the extreme and injected with cynicism. You’re born, things are good, you start to check out girls, and before you know it a goblin has his finger in your ass and is turning your friends into cider, you’re mutating and growing wings and you’re becoming one of them and you’re rebelling and you’d do anything to get out of the prison you’re in.
I promised myself I wouldn’t use the word “imaginative”, but AGOA is so filled to brimming with the products of a big, Mountain Dew-fueled brain that other words fail. The first half of the book is gripping, every page contains a unique, surreal image or idea, but it does not let up for a moment, and if you are not careful, by the end it could bury you under them. I enjoyed the quick pace and the brevity, but I also found the last twenty pages to be exhausting, a wild dash for the finish could have been sharper, more fleshed out.
That said, I can’t wait to see what Pierce will do next. With an imagination as fertile and frenzied as his, I’m sure I won’t have to wait long to find out.
February 21, 2011
Despite the horrifically offensive title, this book isn't torture porn for Neo Nazis. It's an entry in a school of writing known as 'Bizarro' fiction, in which the authors attempt to lampoon, well, something, anything really, by being as strange and outrageously offensive as possible. Curiously, this has the effect of making the book inoffensive on any level beyond the most cursory of glances as you quickly become inured to the cartoonish extremes the writer takes things to and now and again mesmerised by the nature of the prose; at times it seems almost like intersection writing or cut-up prose. Unfortunately, for me at least, the book didn't really succeed in getting its message across, whatever that may have been. There are flashes of genuine talent in there and some passages are very reminiscent of Kinky Friedman at his best, or even William S. Burroughs, but ultimately the book loses itself in the imagery. A valiant, occasionally funny, intermittently entertaining, but not entirely successful attempt at doing something new.
Not a top notch effort, but the author is certainly one to keep an eye on in future and I'll be sure to check out his next novel when it arrives.
Not a top notch effort, but the author is certainly one to keep an eye on in future and I'll be sure to check out his next novel when it arrives.
October 21, 2012
You obviously expect weird, twisted, demonic, savage, abusive, and disgusting things to occur in a book titled ASS GOBLINS OF AUSCHWITZ, and they do. Perhaps you expect some poignancy, some deep sentimentality and hope, well, there's that too. Perhaps you expect crappy writing? Well, there's none of that. There is the token mad nazi doctor, but he is an assgoblin, so perhaps it's not so bad.
So what else has the book got to offer?
Children forced into a labour camp to make toys for the goblins. Painful, humiliating roll-calls, amazingly gross breakfasts and dinners. Strange nazi-experiments on children. Yeah, the books got plenty to offer in the department of shock and disgust. But it also has great characterisation, heroism, strong prose, a moral fibre, action, adventure and a cake floor.
Cameron Pierce is one of the best young writers around, and this book (horrendous though the actions depicted are) proves it: he can take an already absurd and gross thing like the holocaust, and turn it into something else equally/more disgusting while still retaining the sentimentality and sense of loss of innocence, and adding just a sprinkling of humour into the proceedings.
So what else has the book got to offer?
Children forced into a labour camp to make toys for the goblins. Painful, humiliating roll-calls, amazingly gross breakfasts and dinners. Strange nazi-experiments on children. Yeah, the books got plenty to offer in the department of shock and disgust. But it also has great characterisation, heroism, strong prose, a moral fibre, action, adventure and a cake floor.
Cameron Pierce is one of the best young writers around, and this book (horrendous though the actions depicted are) proves it: he can take an already absurd and gross thing like the holocaust, and turn it into something else equally/more disgusting while still retaining the sentimentality and sense of loss of innocence, and adding just a sprinkling of humour into the proceedings.
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