John Omaha

STEVE-OKEEFE
4.0 out of 5 stars DeJocqueville Travels Amerikkka
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is a fantastic setup for a book: Standup comedian takes his show on the road, crossing the United States and reporting on what he finds along the way. Comedian Barry Wild finds trouble. It's almost like he's looking for it.

"I am the son of America," Wild says, and he's on a tour to find himself as much as to find America. The first stop is Reno, Nevada, and it becomes clear that Barry Wild is not a fan of MAGA: "It's like stupidity is a pathway to immortality." Ouch! His confrontational jokes ratchet up the tension and push the narrative.

The chapters swerve back and forth between travelogue and standup sets. Wild meets someone in each town who helps fill in the picture and provide fresh material for his bits. He meets cowboy poets in Salt Lake City, an 81-year old cranky veteran in New Mexico, a wealthy Black man in New Orleans, a Native American in Alabama.

As Wild's comedy gets riskier and riskier, the brushback goes from heckling to physical assault to attempted murder. Wild seems committed to using his comedy for social change, using humor to pry open discussions about difficult topics. Will he make it back to San Francisco alive?

My only caveat is that Cray Cray Nayshun has raunchy sex, graphic violence, and a lot of profanity, so I do not recommend it for kids. Adults will die laughing.

Edition Reviewed:
Cray Cray Nayshun, by John Omaha
Published in 2023 by Daishe Bisghwaldo Press, Santa Rosa, California.
Paperback, 6 x 9, 271 pages, ISBN 979-8351115535

Steve O'Keefe https://www.amazon.com/stores/Steve-OKeefe/author/B001HD0BJ4 is the author of Set the Page On Fire: Secrets of Successful Writers (New World Library, 2019) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1608686116… (lisätietoja)