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Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir

Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-16 08:53:15
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Norm Macdonald
  • ISBN：0812983866
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Summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "Driving， wild and hilarious" （The Washington Post）， here is the incredible "memoir" of the actor， gambler， raconteur， and Saturday Night Live veteran。

Don't miss Norm's new Netflix special， Hitler's Dog， Gossip & Treachery！

When Norm Macdonald， one of the greatest stand-up comics of all time， was approached to write a celebrity memoir， he flatly refused， calling the genre "one step below instruction manuals。" Norm then promptly took a two-year hiatus from stand-up comedy to live on a farm in northern Canada。 When he emerged he had under his arm a manuscript， a genre-smashing book about comedy， tragedy， love， loss， war， and redemption。 When asked if this was the celebrity memoir， Norm replied， "Call it anything you damn like。"

Praise for Based on a True Story

"Dostoyevsky by way of 30 Rockefeller Center 。 。 。 the best new book I've read this year or last。"--The Wall Street Journal

"This book is absurd fiction。 。 。 。 Scathing and funny。"--The New York Times

"Hilarious and filled with turns of phrase and hidden beauty like only a collection of Norm Macdonald stories could be。"--Esquire

"Raucous 。 。 。 a hilarious， innovative work。"--A。V。 Club

"Part personal history and part meta riff on celebrity memoirs， the book， it quickly becomes clear， is also just partly true （and all hilarious）。"--Vulture

"Very， very， very funny！ Thanks， Norm， for letting me be part of this Booker Prize-for-literature-quality effort。"--David Letterman

"Norm is brilliant and thoughtful and there is sensitivity and creative insight in his observations and stories。 A lot of comics over the years have been compared to Mark Twain， but I think Norm is the only one who actually matches the guy in terms of his voice and ability。 I seriously f**king love Norm Macdonald。 Please buy his book。 He probably needs the cash。 He's really bad with money。"--Louis C。K。， from the foreword

"Norm is one of my all-time favorites， and this book was such a great read I forgot how lonely I was for a while。"--Amy Schumer

"I always thought Normie's stand-up was the funniest thing there was。 But this book gives it a run for its money。"--Adam Sandler

"Norm is one of the greatest stand-up comics who's ever worked--a totally original voice。 His sense of the ridiculous and his use of juxtaposition in his writing make him a comic's comic。 We all love Norm。"--Roseanne Barr

"Norm Macdonald makes me laugh my ass off。 Who is funnier than Norm Macdonald？ Nobody。"--Judd Apatow

"Norm Macdonald is more than a triple threat--he's a septuple threat。 He is smart， funny， wry， rakish， polite， rakish 。 。 。 no， wait。 He is polite， insightful， and 。 。 。 aaaaah 。 。 。 warm。 No。 He's exciting。 Yeah。 Exciting！ You never know what he'll do。 Okay， then make that unpredictable。 Add that up。 He's amazing。"--Alec Baldwin

"Norm is a double threat。 His material and timing are both top-notch， which is unheard of。 He is one of my favorites， both on- and off-stage。"--Dave Attell

"Letterman said it best: There is no one funnier than Norm Macdonald。"--Rob Schneider

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Reviews

Nate Myers ，

Norm was genuinely one of the best to ever do it， and this book is a witty reflection of that talent。 The writing is genuinely poignant and deep at times as well。 Norm is a great narrator too， I can’t imagine listening to this in anyone else’s voice。 My favorite chapters were the ones that dealt with his childhood memories and OJ; those really cracked me up。One of the unintentionally funny aspects is a forward section written by Louis C。K proudly displayed on the front cover。 That forward secti Norm was genuinely one of the best to ever do it， and this book is a witty reflection of that talent。 The writing is genuinely poignant and deep at times as well。 Norm is a great narrator too， I can’t imagine listening to this in anyone else’s voice。 My favorite chapters were the ones that dealt with his childhood memories and OJ; those really cracked me up。One of the unintentionally funny aspects is a forward section written by Louis C。K proudly displayed on the front cover。 That forward section is absent from the audiobook version and while I’m not sure if that is intentionally removed due to the authors controversial scandal or simply easy to not record lines for， I’m going to assume the latter。Part of me believes this might vaticinate the future legacy of Mr。 Macdonald。 Let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised if guy who’s profile shot should be the picture in the dictionary next to “Hilarious chauvinistic curmudgeon” had some skeletons in his closet。 I hope I’m wrong tho， I’d like to laugh constantly at clips of his jokes on YT without discomfort 。。。more

Hunter Smith ，

“Death is a funny thing。 Not funny haha， like a Woody Allen movie， but funny strange， like a Woody Allen marriage。”The funniest person who ever lived。 RIP

Lyle ，

RIP God bless

Timmy ，

If you were to put a gun to my head and asked me what the funniest book I've ever read is， it's this one hands down。 Norm MacDonald was a tremendous one of a kind human being。 Based on a True Story。。。。Five Stars If you were to put a gun to my head and asked me what the funniest book I've ever read is， it's this one hands down。 Norm MacDonald was a tremendous one of a kind human being。 Based on a True Story。。。。Five Stars 。。。more

Fred Parker ，

I forgot that I had read this until I was sadly reminded of it today。 As a comic， he pulled no punches - a sign of true comedy。 Adam Sandler said he was fearless - that sums it up quite nicely。 David Letterman said "No one is funnier than Norm Macdonald。" I couldn't agree more。 I didn't agree with his political views， but I always could disregard them and appreciate his humor in spite of them。 And oh yeah - the book is cleverly crafted and downright hilarious！ I'm gonna miss his ascerbic wit。 I forgot that I had read this until I was sadly reminded of it today。 As a comic， he pulled no punches - a sign of true comedy。 Adam Sandler said he was fearless - that sums it up quite nicely。 David Letterman said "No one is funnier than Norm Macdonald。" I couldn't agree more。 I didn't agree with his political views， but I always could disregard them and appreciate his humor in spite of them。 And oh yeah - the book is cleverly crafted and downright hilarious！ I'm gonna miss his ascerbic wit。 。。。more

Bill ，

I liked this book in the sense that it was funny。 It was not a memoir though。 He rambled on for hours with a bunch of silly yarns as usual。 Just being awkward。 It’s funny but it’s not a memoir。 Great audiobook though。 Still， not a memoir。

Tommy ，

This is one of those books you don't want to finish。If you're a fan of Norm MacDonald you will love this book。 There are many inside jokes I enjoyed having seen Norm Macdonald's shows with adam eget。 It was great reading this with Norm's voice in my head and made it 10x funnier being able to paint the picture of every scene written in this book。 5/5 no doubt。 This is one of those books you don't want to finish。If you're a fan of Norm MacDonald you will love this book。 There are many inside jokes I enjoyed having seen Norm Macdonald's shows with adam eget。 It was great reading this with Norm's voice in my head and made it 10x funnier being able to paint the picture of every scene written in this book。 5/5 no doubt。 。。。more

Conner Haagenson ，

Probably the only stand up memoir I’ll ever read， ‘cause it just can’t get any better than this。

Roland Spamalot ，

This Norm guy sounds like a real jerk！

Aman J ，

Dark Humor， just what I need in my woman。

Alex Fernández ，

Norm es un genio。 No me refiero a “es un genio porque no le entiendes como yo que soy un mamador que toma vino tinto y le llama TAPAS a las botanas”。 Un verdadero genio de la risa。 La magia de Norm recae en que siempre se muestra ingenuo y lleno de autodesprecio， pero en el fondo， todo está fríamente calculado。 No les quiero spoilear el viajesote que es este libro， pero sin duda de mis favoritos en la categoría “libros chistosos”。 La vida de Norm Macdonald se mezcla con ficción para crear una es Norm es un genio。 No me refiero a “es un genio porque no le entiendes como yo que soy un mamador que toma vino tinto y le llama TAPAS a las botanas”。 Un verdadero genio de la risa。 La magia de Norm recae en que siempre se muestra ingenuo y lleno de autodesprecio， pero en el fondo， todo está fríamente calculado。 No les quiero spoilear el viajesote que es este libro， pero sin duda de mis favoritos en la categoría “libros chistosos”。 La vida de Norm Macdonald se mezcla con ficción para crear una especie de Realismo Mágico gabacho que， si decides entrarle al juego mientras lo lees， te va a sacar un chingo de risas。 Cuando narra sus apuestas， recuerda a Dostoievsky。 Cuando le ocurren desgracias inimaginables， a Kafka。 Cuando viajamos con él por el decadente Estados Unidos， a Hunter S。 Thompson。 Y cuando nos hace reír， sin duda nos recuerda al gran Norm Macdonald。 。。。more

Dan ，

A few great Norm moments， but mostly just fictional gibberish。 A lot of Norm's classic style of letting a mediocre joke take up too much time。 A few great Norm moments， but mostly just fictional gibberish。 A lot of Norm's classic style of letting a mediocre joke take up too much time。 。。。more

Lars Aumueller ，

At times these stories are very funny， but almost the entire book seems completely made up， so I got no insight into Norm's personality。 I guess it didn't help that I don't know his career very well。 At times these stories are very funny， but almost the entire book seems completely made up， so I got no insight into Norm's personality。 I guess it didn't help that I don't know his career very well。 。。。more

Elaine Bryce ，

A Not Very True Story I like Norm Macdonald and his comedy so much but was disappointed by his book only for the fact that it wasn't fact。 It was not a biological story of his life as much as a work of fiction。 I did like his best stories on Weekend Update。 A Not Very True Story I like Norm Macdonald and his comedy so much but was disappointed by his book only for the fact that it wasn't fact。 It was not a biological story of his life as much as a work of fiction。 I did like his best stories on Weekend Update。 。。。more

James Wright ，

Hilarious， if you're a fan of Norm's humor。 Hilarious， if you're a fan of Norm's humor。 。。。more

Daniel Yuen ，

I've just started reading and it just seems like this is the longest norm joke yet lmao I've just started reading and it just seems like this is the longest norm joke yet lmao 。。。more

Paul Mills ，

Very funny read。 And a great way to escape into the genius creative mind of Norm MacDonald

Kristi ，

The most Norm Macdonald thing to ever Norm its way into the Macworld。 It was fucking hilarious， beautifully performed and brilliantly constructed。 He's a story teller。 He's not for everyone。 He's Norm fucking Macdonald。 Aces。 The most Norm Macdonald thing to ever Norm its way into the Macworld。 It was fucking hilarious， beautifully performed and brilliantly constructed。 He's a story teller。 He's not for everyone。 He's Norm fucking Macdonald。 Aces。 。。。more

AlexF ，

An unusual take on the celebrity memoir with MacDonald clearly enjoying filling the book with stories which are outrageously false and blatantly untrue along with a sprinkling of tales which actually happened， while he also uses a device involving a trip to Las Vegas and the use of a ghost writer to complicate matters even further。 None of which is important as the main thing is just how funny this book is， for my money this is the funniest book yet written by a comedian and I certainly can't re An unusual take on the celebrity memoir with MacDonald clearly enjoying filling the book with stories which are outrageously false and blatantly untrue along with a sprinkling of tales which actually happened， while he also uses a device involving a trip to Las Vegas and the use of a ghost writer to complicate matters even further。 None of which is important as the main thing is just how funny this book is， for my money this is the funniest book yet written by a comedian and I certainly can't remember laughing while reading one as much as I did here。 Some stories you can see the punchline coming a mile off yet Norm is so skilled that despite this the punchline kills each and every time， and his turn of phrase is often exquisite。 There was one minor element involving Norm's frequent sidekick Adam Eget and a relationship he has with a woman who Norm believes to be a man which I didn't quite get the point of， but otherwise I've no complaints and if you're in any way a fan than this is a must read。 4。5/5 。。。more

Kevin ，

If you love Norm MacDonald and his unique style of storytelling then this is exactly what you’ll get out of this memoir。 He goes from an honest retelling of how he got started in stand up and SNL to a wide array of adventures including losing millions of dollars gambling and ending up in prison。 All this while a running commentary throughout trying to get his ghost writer to finish typing up the book。

Bryan Rainstein ，

This was a slog。 I like Norm generally but this is a silly concept executed poorly with some ok jokes and some really bad jokes and some pretty shitty jokes。 All in all not worth your time。

Bradley ，

This book practically sold itself because -- NORM MACDONALD。 Fact: if you like Norm， you probably don't like anything else because you have a malfunctioning sense of humor or you're Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy。 Or you're just twisted， appreciate people who just don't give a shit， or you also have a deadpan affect and this kind of shit makes you supremely giddy because you've finally found someone else who others hate as much as they hate you。Well， I'm here to say I also don't give a shit a This book practically sold itself because -- NORM MACDONALD。 Fact: if you like Norm， you probably don't like anything else because you have a malfunctioning sense of humor or you're Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy。 Or you're just twisted， appreciate people who just don't give a shit， or you also have a deadpan affect and this kind of shit makes you supremely giddy because you've finally found someone else who others hate as much as they hate you。Well， I'm here to say I also don't give a shit and I laughed out loud many times during this absolute farting farce of an autobiography。Not all of it， mind you。 I did love everything that wasn't all about gambling。 Unfortunately， the book is almost all gambling， so I guess I hated the book。That is， I hated the book until I realized it was all made up-bullshit except for the bits about Lorne Michaels using Norm as his hook up for liquid morphine。 I'm sure that's true。Honestly， this book made my day。 After all， dry humor is my favorite dry hump。 It ought to be much better than it is -- but I'm used to disappointment。 Yes， yes， I know。 Don't encourage me。 。。。more

Jeff B。 ，

Norm Macdonald can be brilliant and I know this， but I am more of a casual fan。 I like him when I see him on stuff， but I am not that familiar with his body of work。 I've never seen Dirty Work or the Norm show， but I did really enjoy this book。 I give this book 3。5 stars， rounded up to 4。 I read some of it on Kindle and listened to large parts of it as an audiobook。 Here are my thoughts:1。 Norm Macdonald is the ultimate "unreliable narrator" in this mock-memoir。 There are foundations of truth in Norm Macdonald can be brilliant and I know this， but I am more of a casual fan。 I like him when I see him on stuff， but I am not that familiar with his body of work。 I've never seen Dirty Work or the Norm show， but I did really enjoy this book。 I give this book 3。5 stars， rounded up to 4。 I read some of it on Kindle and listened to large parts of it as an audiobook。 Here are my thoughts:1。 Norm Macdonald is the ultimate "unreliable narrator" in this mock-memoir。 There are foundations of truth in these stories， so it's not always easy to know when the facts end and the fiction begins。 I ended up doing further research online of some of these stories - like I was watching YouTube videos of his appearance on Star Search。 2。 This book is funny。 Sometimes I felt like the butt of the joke， like when he shares the dark secret about Rodney Dangerfield， but more often it was Norm， himself， who was the butt of the joke。 Often he plays the role of the clueless， self-absorbed， celebrity。 Stalking Sarah Silverman or always referring to his joke about answering machines。3。 Besides just being humorous， this book borders on absurdism， often commenting on the pointlessness of life。 There are profound nuggets of wisdom on the nature of addiction and gambling。 This book also goes "Meta" sometimes with the ghost writer often chiming in as a character whose life didn't go as planned。5。 I've recently read "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"， and this book sometimes reminded me of it - Crazy adventures of degenerates gone awry。Anyway， I enjoyed this book。 I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the work of Norm Macdonald， as long as they go in with the correct expectations。 It's funny and smart， but you're not going to get the real scoop on Norm。 Now I'm going to go watch the movie "Dirty Work"。 。。。more

D ，

I think I read more than half of this aloud to my husband。 It's absolutely hysterical in many parts。 If you're not really familiar with Norm， and can't hear his cadence and rhythm in your head， get the audiobook because you need to hear his voice deliver these lines。 Now I'm picturing someone reading/listening to this without knowing who Adam Eget is and it's cracking me up。 I think I read more than half of this aloud to my husband。 It's absolutely hysterical in many parts。 If you're not really familiar with Norm， and can't hear his cadence and rhythm in your head， get the audiobook because you need to hear his voice deliver these lines。 Now I'm picturing someone reading/listening to this without knowing who Adam Eget is and it's cracking me up。 。。。more

Bobby Daugherty ，

Not entertaining， funny， interesting， etc。 I like his comedy but this was garbage。

britt_brooke ，

You realize rather quickly that this isn’t really a memoir。 It’s a bizarre satire rooted in （possibly） true stories。 Some are very obviously made up。 I liked the quirkiness initially。 MacDonald is funny and self-deprecating， but then things get dark and disturbing。 It was a bit much， IMO。 And as the “ghostwriter” character popped in more and more， I enjoyed the story less and less。 A weird read for sure。

Daniel Eastman ，

How could such an eventful life not have a hilarious memoir？ I mean， here’s an excerpt from the chapter where Norm dies of a drug overdose and meets God:“I’m not here to argue about silly things like whether God is a man or woman or black or white。 （He’s a white guy， by the way。）”

Kitap ，

Norm McDonald in book form。 I may have been hallucinating， but I swear that he introduced one chapter using language that was almost cut and pasted from Dante's Paradiso。 Hilariously strange and strangely hilarious。Or so the ghost writer Charles Manson would have you believe。 Norm McDonald in book form。 I may have been hallucinating， but I swear that he introduced one chapter using language that was almost cut and pasted from Dante's Paradiso。 Hilariously strange and strangely hilarious。Or so the ghost writer Charles Manson would have you believe。 。。。more

Jordan ，

funny。 if u're not a fan of norm might be waste of time。 funny。 if u're not a fan of norm might be waste of time。 。。。more

Lauren ，

So irreverent， so Norm。 Not surprised that I was like “what the hell？ Is isn’t real right？” And numerous other thoughts questioning reality truthfulness and storytelling。 Entertaining in a very Norm way。 Beginning is quite tragic and haunting however。 Audiobook with his voice is the way to go。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0