“Hilarity Ensues”
By Tucker Max
Simon & Schuster, $15.59
BUY NOW
People hate Tucker Max. If you need evidence, look no further than the back cover of the best-selling author’s new book, “Hilarity Ensues”:
“I resent the fact that I live in a country that has purchased millions of Tucker Max’s books.”
“Tucker Max is a vile, scummy, abrasive creature that barely qualifies as human.”
“I would comment about how much I loathe Tucker Max, but every time I do I feel like I throw another gasoline-soaked log on the blazing inferno that is his insatiable ego.”
That these are actual blurbs which Max hopes will help sell his third collection of brash, lewd, socially irredeemable real-life tales of reckless boozing, callous sex and wanton stupidity tells you quite a lot about Max’s unique appeal. His first two books — 2006’s “I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell” (which was later made into a forgettable film of the same name) and 2010’s “Assholes Finish First” — were huge hits, selling millions of copies, and not all, apparently, to emotionally stunt- ed frat guys. They also made him the bête noire of the publishing world — loathed by feminists, evangelical Christians, liberals and many, many others.
“At first, I loved the negative press because when you’re struggling for attention, you don’t give a f**k what kind of attention it is,” Max said during a recent interview with The Daily. “But so many of these people who hated me hadn’t read any of the stuff and were just raging about whatever stupid pet issue they wanted. It was comical to me. I became some symbol for shit I had nothing to do with. But if I spent my life worrying about what a bunch of people I don’t know and don’t care about thought about me I’d have a real shitty life.”
The haters may soon have to find a new target for their enmity anyway. You see, Max is a changed man. Well, sort of. In the final chapter of “Hilarity Ensues,” the now-35-year-old author announces he is starting to — gulp! — grow up.
“As awesome as my last nine years writing these stories has been, I think it’s time for me to move on,” he writes. “There are a lot of reasons, but the big one is pretty simple: This is not who I am anymore.”
After years of writing about his drunken, skirt-chasing exploits, Max is hanging up his spurs. Over the last few years, he came to realize that having achieved so many of his dreams — fame, wealth, an endless supply of willing sexual partners — he was still largely unhappy. Hence the changes: A seemingly unquenchable thirst for booze has largely been swapped for a low-carb “paleo diet,” and regularly scheduled psychotherapy sessions have taken the place of anonymous hookups. He’s not quitting writing but he’s done with “fratire,” the defiantly politically incorrect literary subgenre he helped popularize.
“We all played with toys when we were 10 that we didn’t feel like playing with anymore when we were 15,” he said. “The things that interested me at 25 don’t interest me at 35. Going out, getting drunk, hooking up and acting like a fool is really awesome for a period of time but it’s not awesome forever. My period of doing that was awesome, but now it’s over.”
Don’t mistake the changes in Max’s life for an apology or a disavowal of his past, though, because he’s definitely not sorry.
“I’m not a born-again Christian or any sh*t like that,” he said. “I’m not trying to say, ‘Oh, I did all this stuff but it’s bad for you kids!’ I don’t regret what I went through; I don’t wish I could undo it. In fact, I’m pretty happy about it. It worked out really well for me.”
So what now then? Max says he’s lined up to co-write the autobiography of a “big, A-list celebrity” whom he can’t yet name since the deal is not finalized. He also wants to write a book of practical advice on surviving and thriving in your 20s.
“Every advice book that’s geared to young people is written by old people who are moralizing at them,” he said. “That doesn’t help. I don’t know how to get married, find God or become a Buddha, but I do know how to make it through your 20s in a safe, fun, healthy, effective way and set yourself up for a good life if that’s what you want. I think I could write a great book of advice for those people.”
Max is well aware that the swaggering lothario persona he promoted with this trilogy of books is going to follow him around a long time, maybe forever, and those who have hated him for it aren’t likely to have a change of heart. But he’s not too concerned.
“I can’t write three massive best-sellers that invented a literary genre and not always be associated with that in some way,” he said. “To be honest, it doesn’t embarrass me. I’m not worried about being associated for the rest of my life with my past success. I may never do anything better than what I’ve done. I may never write a book that sells more copies than ‘Beer in Hell.’ No big deal.
“That’s the cool thing about selling millions of books,” he continued. “I can do whatever I want.”
By Tucker Max
Simon & Schuster, $15.59
BUY NOW
People hate Tucker Max. If you need evidence, look no further than the back cover of the best-selling author’s new book, “Hilarity Ensues”:
“I resent the fact that I live in a country that has purchased millions of Tucker Max’s books.”
“Tucker Max is a vile, scummy, abrasive creature that barely qualifies as human.”
“I would comment about how much I loathe Tucker Max, but every time I do I feel like I throw another gasoline-soaked log on the blazing inferno that is his insatiable ego.”
That these are actual blurbs which Max hopes will help sell his third collection of brash, lewd, socially irredeemable real-life tales of reckless boozing, callous sex and wanton stupidity tells you quite a lot about Max’s unique appeal. His first two books — 2006’s “I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell” (which was later made into a forgettable film of the same name) and 2010’s “Assholes Finish First” — were huge hits, selling millions of copies, and not all, apparently, to emotionally stunt- ed frat guys. They also made him the bête noire of the publishing world — loathed by feminists, evangelical Christians, liberals and many, many others.
“At first, I loved the negative press because when you’re struggling for attention, you don’t give a f**k what kind of attention it is,” Max said during a recent interview with The Daily. “But so many of these people who hated me hadn’t read any of the stuff and were just raging about whatever stupid pet issue they wanted. It was comical to me. I became some symbol for shit I had nothing to do with. But if I spent my life worrying about what a bunch of people I don’t know and don’t care about thought about me I’d have a real shitty life.”
The haters may soon have to find a new target for their enmity anyway. You see, Max is a changed man. Well, sort of. In the final chapter of “Hilarity Ensues,” the now-35-year-old author announces he is starting to — gulp! — grow up.
“As awesome as my last nine years writing these stories has been, I think it’s time for me to move on,” he writes. “There are a lot of reasons, but the big one is pretty simple: This is not who I am anymore.”
After years of writing about his drunken, skirt-chasing exploits, Max is hanging up his spurs. Over the last few years, he came to realize that having achieved so many of his dreams — fame, wealth, an endless supply of willing sexual partners — he was still largely unhappy. Hence the changes: A seemingly unquenchable thirst for booze has largely been swapped for a low-carb “paleo diet,” and regularly scheduled psychotherapy sessions have taken the place of anonymous hookups. He’s not quitting writing but he’s done with “fratire,” the defiantly politically incorrect literary subgenre he helped popularize.
“We all played with toys when we were 10 that we didn’t feel like playing with anymore when we were 15,” he said. “The things that interested me at 25 don’t interest me at 35. Going out, getting drunk, hooking up and acting like a fool is really awesome for a period of time but it’s not awesome forever. My period of doing that was awesome, but now it’s over.”
Don’t mistake the changes in Max’s life for an apology or a disavowal of his past, though, because he’s definitely not sorry.
“I’m not a born-again Christian or any sh*t like that,” he said. “I’m not trying to say, ‘Oh, I did all this stuff but it’s bad for you kids!’ I don’t regret what I went through; I don’t wish I could undo it. In fact, I’m pretty happy about it. It worked out really well for me.”
So what now then? Max says he’s lined up to co-write the autobiography of a “big, A-list celebrity” whom he can’t yet name since the deal is not finalized. He also wants to write a book of practical advice on surviving and thriving in your 20s.
“Every advice book that’s geared to young people is written by old people who are moralizing at them,” he said. “That doesn’t help. I don’t know how to get married, find God or become a Buddha, but I do know how to make it through your 20s in a safe, fun, healthy, effective way and set yourself up for a good life if that’s what you want. I think I could write a great book of advice for those people.”
Max is well aware that the swaggering lothario persona he promoted with this trilogy of books is going to follow him around a long time, maybe forever, and those who have hated him for it aren’t likely to have a change of heart. But he’s not too concerned.
“I can’t write three massive best-sellers that invented a literary genre and not always be associated with that in some way,” he said. “To be honest, it doesn’t embarrass me. I’m not worried about being associated for the rest of my life with my past success. I may never do anything better than what I’ve done. I may never write a book that sells more copies than ‘Beer in Hell.’ No big deal.
“That’s the cool thing about selling millions of books,” he continued. “I can do whatever I want.”
PHOTO: Jay B Sauceda for The Daily
Now 36, Max says he’d like to write a book of advice for people in their 20s.
