{"product_id":"9780743291354","title":"True Story: A Novel","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe hilarious and controversial host of HBO's \u003ci\u003eReal Time with Bill Maher\u003c\/i\u003e's debut novel about the wild and crazy life of the stand-up comedian—a bawdy, rowdy tell-all report from the front line.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSet in New York, circa 1979, in the late-night, neon-lit comedy clubs when the comedy boom was just heating up, \u003ci\u003eTrue Story\u003c\/i\u003e features five would-be comics, their shticks, their chicks, their rampant egos. These guys are desperate for celebrity, desperate for money, and—what else?—desperate to get laid. Which means they're also required to become \"road comics,\" shacking up in low-rent condos provided by sleazy club owners as the comedy scene spreads to the heartland in the early '80s.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe result is a hilariously funny novel about the peculiar world of stand-up, where the ultimate prizes are fame, fortune, and fornication -- and the ultimate aspiration is, quite simply, to be laughed at. With perfect-pitch delivery, in classic sardonic style, Maher gives us a bona fide look at these resilient comedians and the scumbag promoters, hostile audiences, and die-hard groupies who make up their warped and twisted world.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOnly Bill Maher could have written \u003ci\u003eTrue Story.\u003c\/i\u003e And lucky for us he did. Because \u003ci\u003eTrue Story\u003c\/i\u003e is hilarious. It's offensive. At times it's even touching. So sit back as Maher puts you stage side at the very birth of the comedy boom. You'll laugh in all the right places. Hey, it's a \u003ci\u003eTrue Story. \u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43246284439613,"sku":"9780743291354","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0603\/0838\/9949\/files\/9780743291354_p0.jpg?v=1780476077","url":"https:\/\/www.tatteredcover.com\/products\/9780743291354","provider":"Tattered Cover","version":"1.0","type":"link"}