Hell Is for Real, Too: A Middle-Aged Accountant’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Hell and Back

Image of Hell Is for Real, Too: A Middle-Aged Accountant's Astounding Story of His Trip to Hell and Back
Author(s): 
Release Date: 
November 23, 2011
Publisher/Imprint: 
Penguin (Non-Classics)
Pages: 
144
Reviewed by: 

“So if you possess a penis, are a bathroom bibliophile with the attention span of a gnat, and happen to be looking for a read that is as timely as, say, feather hair extensions, then perhaps Hell Is for Real, Too will fit the bill.”

If you are expecting a compelling true story about an accountant uncovering unsavory Wall Street shenanigans you are reading the wrong book. This comic romp through hell is priced at $13 for the paperback version ($10.19 on Amazon) and since it is only 128 pages this seems a bit steep. Still, for a stocking stuffer and a way to get young adult males to read, this book is worth considering.

Highlights and Lowlights:

Let’s start with the lowlights. Since there are so many cultural television and social media references, the book’s current value and cultural relevance will last about as long as mom’s fruitcake, but then again, that is pretty darn long. Secondly, in this pamphlet of pranks, there are far too many descriptions of the effluence that comes from one’s rear end.

Highlights include the reference to Axe body spray as the odor of hell, so fragrantly offensive it can also be used as an insecticide. The illustrations in the book, contributed by Leif Parsons, are wonderful, especially the dildo page. Also, turnabout is fair play when author Shmuley mentions the sagging balls of one particular elderly gentleman—including the “splash down”—without resorting to the usual shtick of comparing that to an aging woman’s breasts. High five and a round-the-world for “The View” jokes much deserved for that particular brat pack of “entertainers.”

After several unsatisfying attempts to laugh while reading this book, I concluded it was written for humans with penises and not vaginas. Though I appreciated the Jesus parody, none of my Bible materials ever showed a blond haired, blue eyed Jesus, but to be fair, perhaps that was just the King James Version? Regardless, my Jesus was definitely olive skinned with dark hair.

So if you possess a penis, are a bathroom bibliophile with the attention span of a gnat, and happen to be looking for a read that is as timely as, say, feather hair extensions, then perhaps Hell Is for Real, Too will fit the bill.