Surfing Armageddon: Fishnets, Fascists, and Body Fluids in Florida

By George Tabb

Book Overview

Having moved from the richest suburb in America to a plantation in Florida (which his father dreams of recreating as Tara, the mansion from Gone with the Wind ), George Tabb enters late adolescence with a black leather jacket and a penchant for punk rock -- quirks that don't sit well with his conservative Southern classmates. In Surfing Armageddon, Tabb shares his painfully funny recollections of teenage rebellion, family turmoil, and an abusive father with black humor and real humanity.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1932360999
• ISBN13: 9781932360998
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Soft Skull
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey...

No one can tell a story like Mr. Tabb. If you've read his first book, Playing Right Field, or any of his MRR columns, you know that. George's journey through first experiences with sex, drugs, punk rock and Rocky Horror are both hilarious and heart wrenching. The ups, the downs, the good, the bad - George makes it feel like you're experiencing it all right beside him. From his first leather jacket, to losing his virginity and back again... it is impossible to put down. The end leaves you with tears in your eyes, a smile on your face, and an intense curiosity about what happens next. This book, along with Playing Right Field, has skyrocketed to the top of my list of favorite reads, and I recommend it to anyone and everyone.

George Tabb knows the score

If you spent your high school years reading MRR, you know how utterly hilarious George Tabb is. Fans of his afforementioned columns, or his last book, Playing Right Field, should definately check Surfing Armaggedon out---but beware---this book, for me at least, was unlike anything he's ever written. Don't get me wrong, the majority of this book will have you doubled over, positively crippled in laughter, but the end was one of the more disturbing reading experiences I've ever had. When you invest faith in an author, there seems to be a tendancy to come to have steady expectations of what they'll produce. And without ruining it for anyone, the very last scene of this book left me glassy-eyed and chilled. Which is kind of leading me to believe that there is way more to this guy than we'll ever know. After reading this you'll see that this guy has more depth and range than you could believe. Book of the year----10 million f-ing stars.

A little masterpiece

Hilarious, poignant and honest as ever. In "Surfing Armageddon," George picks up where he left off in "Playing Right Field." But now as a teenage Jewish "freak" in redneck Florida, he amazes and terrifies the school football team in the locker room with his circumcised [...] and bionic arm. His college roommate happens to be the son of the local KKK Imperial Wizard. And in an effort to make new friends, he nearly gets sucked into a creepy campus Jesus cult. A pivotal moment is when George gets his first black leather jacket and begins to find an identity. He convinces the local movie theatre management that weekend screenings of "Rocky Horror" will rake in the big bucks, and brings the cult phenomenon to Tallahassee, where he finds a lot of other like-minded fans to hang out with. All the while, he's desperately hoping to find the girl of his dreams or at least not die a virgin. Innocent and naive as ever, you find yourself rooting for him to succeed and triumph. And to keep from being killed by that rich, sadistic father of his, Lester, and the constant berating by Lester's evil trophy wife. Achingly sad at times, but always funny, in that conversational style George Tabb is such a genius at. You'll want to share this book with everyone you know.

I couldn't put it down, so I didn't...

Just like "Playing Right Field" before it, George Tabb narrates the story of his young life, which is at the same time sad and hilarious. Some of the same characters appear from "Playing Right Field", like Lester, George's abusive closet transvestite father and Cybill his twisted stepmother. But now that George has moved to the "Redneck Riviera", there are a whole cast of crazy characters, Rocky Horror Freaks, Ku Klux Klan, et al. Whether you're an avid reader or an occasional comic book reader, you'll love this book because it reads like a hilarious letter from an old friend.

I Laughed, I Cried, It Became a Part of Me

George Tabb does it again. Surfing Armageddon is like the second Harry Potter book, in that it's just as cool as the first one, but the characters are a bit older and more complex. It's hilarious and terrifying and an amazing story of survival told in George's true voice. He writes the way he is, and to read him is to know him. Yes, he Really is that sweet. By the time I finished the book I had tears of mingled laughter and heartbreak streaming down my face. George has the gift of being able to make good things out of bad. If his horrific childhood and adolesence was the price he had to pay to write this book, then maybe it was worth it. He is my hero.