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ABJECT. TRAVEL. FAILURE.
From Alabama to Aswan, an Idiot Fails Abroad.
Spoiler alert: Dromedaries are not rendered in a favorable light.
Booksellers: download this sell sheet and just scan the barcode to order Fat in Paris.
No Camels Were Harmed in the Making of this Book
But the author was. He fell off a camel on the way to a Bedouin camp behind the pyramids; he was nearly burned alive in an Alabama boat fire; he ate rat soup on the Playa Major; he was attacked by bats in a Mexican cenote; he was, briefly, shark bait off the coast of Belize; nearly died from heat stroke on the Nile; and was savaged by a swarm of elderly Japanese women in a men’s room at a gas station somewhere in Spain.
Starting from Chicago, the author visits nine countries and various states with his significant [attorney] in an attempt to have a perfect vacation. It never works, but that doesn’t stop him.
The result is a hilarious f-bomb of a travelogue. Garlington holds nothing back, showing the maddening side of international travel without an Instagram filter. Readers will learn nothing useful about the cities he visits, nor will they use his book as a guide. It is more of a roadmap for ruthless schadenfreude as we watch helplessly while Garlington fails himself into a brick wall time after time.
Written in a style reminiscent of Bill Bryson if he were a rampaging drunk, or Anthony Bourdain, if he cussed more, Fat in Paris might be the funniest travel memoir in the last ten years.
(Please note: this book contains scenes of inadvertent camel abuse, conspicuous tourism, sniveling, a luridly detailed account of testicular damage, a nearly unbelievable VERY DETAILED story of losing control of one’s bodily functions, way too many footnotes, a plague of scorpions, a lovely French couple, the author’s two wives, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir)
Buy Fat in Paris
Loved it! Garlington is a thinking person's lowbrow humorist.
This is the type of memoir that made me sad to come to an end because it was such a non-stop ride, and non-stop laughter. This is the kind of book I'd easily recommend; bestow as a gift at xmastime; and make me look up what else you'd written so that I could consume more.
This was my first encounter with Garlington but it won't be the last. This collection of humorous essays based on his life and travel is pure humor genius in a way that really resonates. From Egypt to the Caribbean to California wine country and all points in between, including Paris, this memoir swings from one laugh-out-loud vignette to another in the most polished way possible, in the author's inimitable style.
5.0 out of 5 stars I laughed so hard I literally cried — Rare is the book I’ll go absolutely feral for but this is one such book. To call this book humorous is insufficient. It’s screamingly funny, and Bull Garlington is a master of the craft. This is the type of book that everyone will enjoy for the global escapades, gasp out loud moments, and even relatability. This book makes the perfect gift too because once you read it, you’ll want everyone else to enjoy it too. 100/10!!!
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