Jeff Burroughs, The Midwest Book Review
As the town's mayor allows his brother another task, the accidents that begin to spew forth careen into more and more, as Kral brings a fine brand of humor and satire on the more laughable aspects of society. Idiotville is a strong pick for humorous fiction collections, recommended.
Ross Rojek, Sacramento Book Review, San Francisco Book Review Star Rating: 4 out of 5
Imagine every numbskull, dimwit, nincompoop, and shortsighted goofball you've ever met lived in the same town. A town where the buck is passed whenever possible, where committee groupthink has replaced actual thinking, where the easy way is the only way anyone ever considers. From time machines to drug-laced chocolates, erotic shoeshines to election shenanigans, life is never dull there. Welcome to Idiotville.
Idiotville is a series of interconnected short stories that build toward a collective vision: a town full of Gilligans, Barney Fifes, and Michael Scotts. Characters recur throughout, and inane molehills quickly become ludicrous mountains as the absurdities pile up with every passing page.
It starts off strong with its opening story, and the chapter featuring the Church of Bob is a real highlight, but Chapter 11's The Wildlife is the true comedic highwater mark. The town decides to divvy up its remaining forested area for development, and soon rumors of monsters in the woods run rampant. It's a wonderfully bizarre story with a great payoff.
Amidst the idiocy, Kral delivers some delightful turns of phrase. (Describing the F-word as "the most magnificent of all swearwords, the mother of all curses" was a particular favorite of mine.) ||//Idiotville// is a little something for the idiot in all of us.
Imagine every numbskull, dimwit, nincompoop, and shortsighted goofball you've ever met lived in the same town. A town where the buck is passed whenever possible, where committee groupthink has replaced actual thinking, where the easy way is the only way anyone ever considers. From time machines to drug-laced chocolates, erotic shoeshines to election shenanigans, life is never dull there. Welcome to Idiotville.
Idiotville is a series of interconnected short stories that build toward a collective vision: a town full of Gilligans, Barney Fifes, and Michael Scotts. Characters recur throughout, and inane molehills quickly become ludicrous mountains as the absurdities pile up with every passing page.
It starts off strong with its opening story, and the chapter featuring the Church of Bob is a real highlight, but Chapter 11's The Wildlife is the true comedic highwater mark. The town decides to divvy up its remaining forested area for development, and soon rumors of monsters in the woods run rampant. It's a wonderfully bizarre story with a great payoff.
Amidst the idiocy, Kral delivers some delightful turns of phrase. (Describing the F-word as "the most magnificent of all swearwords, the mother of all curses" was a particular favorite of mine.) ||//Idiotville// is a little something for the idiot in all of us.
Sassy Peach, Book Blogger
Idiotville is an everytown in an everystate in America. Their residents lack common sense and often find themselves maimed or killed for their stupidity. Each chapter follows different residents through their days in their lives of Idiotville leaving the audience with a clear picture of why they would never want to live there--but are glad the residents of Idiotville do for our entertainment and enjoyment.I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It had me chuckling on my train ride and getting funny looks from passengers. My favorite moment in the book was a wedding ceremony between the town indigent and the mayor's daughter performed by a priest with Tourette's. I can't give the scene away because it will ruin one of the most hilarious literary moments I have enjoyed this year.
Charles Ashbacher (TOP 500 REVIEWER) 5.0 out of 5 stars The right amount of truth surrounded by exaggeration
When it is done right, satire is amusing, biting and based on a great deal of truth. Kral touches all those bases in this novel about a city where things go wrong, with disaster following disaster. From the Church of Bob to infected trees to a proven idiot running a nuclear reactor, this story mimics much of what happens in real life, albeit exaggerated. The characters are so incompetent that they cannot even use a time machine effectively, a local election is absurdly executed and nepotism runs awry. With a kernel of truth in every absurd event, this is an amusing story of things going wrong in very funny ways.
When it is done right, satire is amusing, biting and based on a great deal of truth. Kral touches all those bases in this novel about a city where things go wrong, with disaster following disaster. From the Church of Bob to infected trees to a proven idiot running a nuclear reactor, this story mimics much of what happens in real life, albeit exaggerated. The characters are so incompetent that they cannot even use a time machine effectively, a local election is absurdly executed and nepotism runs awry. With a kernel of truth in every absurd event, this is an amusing story of things going wrong in very funny ways.