Hilarity Ensues (2012) is the third New York Times best selling book by Tucker Max.[1][2] It chronicles his stories of drunken debauchery and ridiculous antics and debuted at #2 on the New York Times Bestseller List.[3][4] Hilarity Ensues is the third installment of his fratire trilogy, preceded by I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell and Assholes Finish First.[5][6][7]
 | |
| Author | Tucker Max |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Non-fiction / Fratire |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | February 7, 2012 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 416 |
| ISBN | 1-4516-6903-8 |
| Preceded by | Assholes Finish First |
Background
editHilarity Ensues is similar in style and content to Max's two previous published works, and expands upon the "Miss Vermont" story originally mentioned in I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell.[8][9] Hilarity Ensues also includes a section where he recounts sexts he received after making his personal phone number public.[8][9] Max has announced that the release of Hilarity Ensues marked his retirement from fratire, stating, “I’m just gonna move to another area of my life where I focus on different things, but I had a great time and I don’t really regret any of it, I just wanted to do something different now.”[8][10]
Synopsis
editHilarity Ensues opens with stories that Tucker experienced living and working in Cancun while still enrolled in as a full-time student at Duke Law School.[1] It continues through to his attendance at friends' weddings and bachelor parties.[11][12][13] The following stories are included in Hilarity Ensues:
- "The Cancun Stories"
- "Drugs Are Bad, Mmmkay?"
- "Why Halloween Is Awesome"
- "Fat Girls Cross Tucker, Hilarity Ensues"
- "The Deadliest Vacation"
- "Sexting With Tucker Max: Mean"
- "The Fight Stories"
- "Meet My Friend Hate"
- "Tucker Ruins A Wine Tasting"
- "The Ex-Girlfriend Threesome Fallout"
- "In the Trunk"
- "The (Almost Banned, Now Complete) Miss Vermont Story"
- "Tucker Max: Knee Abuser"
- "Sexting with Tucker Max: A/S/Location, Location, Location"
- "The Law School Weddings and Bachelor Parties"
Release and marketing
editThe marketing for Hilarity Ensues was well-publicized for its scandalous nature.[2][14] Of particular note was Max's use of SponsoredTweets.com, where he attempted to simultaneously embarrass A-list celebrities and promote the third installment to his fratire series. Celebrities involved in this prank included Chris Rock, Snooki, and Nick Cannon, among others—with a tweet from Kim Kardashian reading: "I loved Tucker Max's new book because it's a lot like the men I date: black on the outside, full of dirty words and insults on the inside."[2] Ultimately, Max was banned from the site due to “ethics violations.”[2]
Max also attempted to donate $500,000 to Planned Parenthood in Texas.[15] Although initially accepting his offer, Planned Parenthood denied his donation after coming to the conclusion that the perception of his donation may reflect poorly on the organization.[15][16] The failed donation was profiled a Forbes article by Ryan Holiday, Max's publicist, and received coverage in The Huffington Post, TIME, Slate, and Jezebel, among others, which helped to draw attention to Max's book.[14][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]
On the date of Hilarity Ensues' publication, Max simultaneously released his fourth book, Sloppy Seconds: The Tucker Max Leftovers for free online.[24][21] He stated, "I’ve sold millions of books because of the support of my fans, so I felt like I should give something back to them. What could they possibly want more than a free book of stories? So thats my gift to you, as a thank you for supporting me and buying my other three books."[25]
Reception
editHilarity Ensues received mostly favorable reviews, and debuted on the best seller lists of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.[3][26][27][28][29][30] Kirkus Reviews dismisses Max's work as "repetitious barhopping stories."[31] Others however cite similar reasons as strengths, with Barnes & Noble writing, "This all-new collection of Tucker Max stories will refresh fans of his website and his bestselling Assholes Finish First and I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. These outrageous stories of bachelor parties, wedding receptions, Mexican sojourns, and law school roommates might make you wish that you could live at least briefly on the wild side."[32] Alec Bemis of Book Forum, spoke of the quality of Hilarity Ensues beyond simple frat-boy humor, writing, "The best test of a book is not the seduction of a well-planned first sentence; it is how well the book satisfies expectations at the bitter end. By this measure, Tucker Max’s third book, Hilarity Ensues, is a great read."[33]
References
edit- ^ a b Max, Tucker (2012). Hilarity Ensues. Blue Heeler Books. pp. 448. ISBN 978-1451669039.
- ^ a b c d Thier, Dave. Tucker Max's Rejected Twitter Campaign and Stab at Celebrity Endorsement. Forbes. February 7, 2012.
- ^ a b Best Sellers. The New York Times. February 26, 2012.
- ^ Cowles, Gregory. Inside the List. The New York Times. February 17, 2012.
- ^ Ro, Sam. Tucker Max Will No Longer Write 'Hilarious' Books Archived 2013-01-18 at archive.today. Business Insider. January 21, 2012.
- ^ Otis, Lauren. Interview: Tucker Max Talks His New Book "Hilarity Ensues", True Validation, And Retirement Archived 2012-02-17 at the Wayback Machine. Complex Magazine. February 13, 2012.
- ^ Max, Tucker. Hilarity Ensues: Book Description[permanent dead link]. TuckerMax.com.
- ^ a b c Bacon. An Interview with Tucker Max Archived 2012-08-18 at the Wayback Machine. TotalFratMove. February 6, 2012.
- ^ a b Daisy. The Same 5 Questions We Always Ask: Tucker Max. xoJane. February 8, 2012.
- ^ Ellsberg, Michael. Max Gives Up the Game: What Happens When a Bestselling Player Stops Playing?[dead link]. Forbes. January 18, 2012.
- ^ Hilarity Ensues Description. iTunes Preview.
- ^ Hilarity Ensues Book Description. Simon & Schuster.
- ^ Hilarity Ensues. Google Books.
- ^ a b Abad Santos, Alexander. Forbes Lets Tucker Max's Strategist Play Contributor The Atlantic Wire. April 3, 2012.
- ^ a b Holiday, Ryan. Why Wouldn't Planned Parenthood Take $500,000?. April 3, 2012.
- ^ O’Connor, Clare. Planned Parenthood Was Right To Reject Tucker Max's $500K, But Who Won This Round?. Forbes. April 5, 2012.
- ^ Jill. Planned Parenthood and Tucker Max. Archived 2012-06-15 at the Wayback Machine Feministe. February 3, 2012.
- ^ Marcus, Stephanie. Planned Parenthood Turns Down $500,000 from Tucker Max. Huffington Post. April 3, 2012.
- ^ Shahid, Aliyah. Planned Parenthood says no to Tucker Max’s $500K donation. NY Daily News. April 4, 2012.
- ^ Ryan, Erin Gloria. Tucker Max’s Bizarre Campaign to Use Planned Parenthood for Publicity. Jezebel. April 3, 2012.
- ^ a b Gibson, Megan. Planned Parenthood Turned Down a $500,000 Donation — and It Was a Smart Move. TIME. April 5, 2012.
- ^ Lowder, J. Bryan. Planned Parenthood Have Taken Tucker Max’s Donation?[permanent dead link]. Slate. April 4, 2012.
- ^ Lobello, Carmel. Tucker Max tried to give Planned Parenthood $500K in exchange for naming a clinic after him. Death and Taxes.
- ^ Max, Tucker. Ensues” and “Sloppy Seconds” Wrap-up news[permanent dead link]. TuckerMax.com.
- ^ "Hilarity Ensues" in stores, "Sloppy Seconds" is free. TuckerMax.com.
- ^ Wall Street Journal Best-Sellers. February 16, 2012.
- ^ WSK Best-Selling Books. February 12, 2012.
- ^ Hilarity Ensues. USA Today.
- ^ Peisner, David. Tucker Max Is Not Sorry. The Daily. February 5, 2012.
- ^ Miller, Andrew and Coleman Lukas. Write Drunk, Edit Sober, Hilarity Ensues: A Chat With Tucker Max. The Student Line.
- ^ Hilary Ensues April 15, 2012.
- ^ Herbert, Jules. Hilarity Ensues.
- ^ Bemis, Alec Hanley. Tucker Max's Book Memes for the Digital Age Archived 2012-10-23 at the Wayback Machine. "Book Forum." June 27, 2012.