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The Man Who Scared a Shark to Death and Other True Tales of Drunken Debauchery

by Neil Boivin, Christopher Lombardo

Drinking stories can be fun. For many of us, they’re as close to an oral storytelling tradition as we’re ever likely to come. The problem is, they’re a bit like bubblegum: enjoyable for about two minutes, after which they just become tedious.

One of the inherent problems with this collection of alcohol-fuelled anecdotes is that they are ripped from the headlines, so there is a certain anonymity to them all – a major concern if you agree that the secret to a good drinking story is that the audience know at least one of the characters. Here, we’re mostly talking about strangers – drunken, idiotic, occasionally funny strangers, but strangers nevertheless. There’s a reason most drinking stories are passed on by word of mouth rather than in book form. Quite likely the drinking stories of the authors themselves are at least as compelling as the material here, which is culled from newspapers and websites.

The dipsomaniacal vignettes certainly cover a lot of ground, from soused doctors, dentists, and elected public officials to romance gone bad because of the drink to actual drunken sailors. Certainly, we can all relate to some of the stories, but many of them are just sad or painful rather than funny, notwithstanding the cheeky tone of the authors, which itself becomes almost as annoying as the catalogue of newsmaking pisstanks on offer here.

For nine excruciating chapters, the authors try very hard to distill comedic nectar from what are mostly dregs. If, for example, a Tokyo judge has his briefcase stolen on the subway ride home because he’s fallen asleep after getting sloshed at a golf tournament, it’s more unfortunate than funny.

On the upside, there is surely a drinking game to be had by taking a swig of beer every time the authors come up with a synonym for “drunk.”

 

Reviewer: Stephen Knight

Publisher: Penguin Canada

DETAILS

Price: $18

Page Count: 280 pp

Format: Paper

ISBN: 978-0-14-305211-1

Released: Nov.

Issue Date: 2007-1

Categories: Reference