This was possibly the craziest book I've read in a while. From being almost crucified, to being literally dumped on ( Insert poo emoji here) to trying to suppress his desires the main characterdefinitely had a crazy life.
I just didn't get this book. They say not everything is for everyone..and while this wasn't in the end a book for me..maybe you'll enjoy it.

This is the story of a man with a big dick who had been sexually abused from a young age because of it and then uses it to his advantage. At one point in his life he decides that life is only pursuit of fulfilling his desires and meaningless. In order for him to live a meaningful life, he feels like he needs to kill all his desire. this is where the book goes downhill fast.

One of the fake reviews at the end of the book says it is like the Aristocrats if the Aristocrats was a novel and that is very fitting for this book. The author seemed to be going for shock value and then more shock value on human depravity and the depths of how shallow, greedy, and narcissistic people can be and then wrap it in sex, poop, and masochism.
raves and rants:
I didn't like the book but it was a fast read. I didn't like the characters, but that is where the author excelled - in developing a couple of key characters we don't want to like. Others were so shallow as to practically be irrelevant other than the source of recipient of the lead character's depravity.
There was one line in the whole book that struck me as prophetic and will remain with me for a while - not sure if it is profound or if it is just indicative of my current condition - warning this is a direct quote with the punctuation, such as it is. "But life is a liar. And love is the lie. Whispered in the ears of fools."
The other fake reviews at the end are very funny.
While reading I wondered if I was just wasting my time and should move on to another book that I would like better, but, for better or worse, I tend to have hope that the book will improve, and need to just finish them all regardless. When I worked myself up to keep reading it, it was a fast read, but not sure I could say it was worth it. There has been only one book that I received in return for an unbiased review that was so awful that I couldn't finish - so there's that.
I do appreciate the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the book for free in return for an unbiased review.

Shallman’s The Tyrrany of Desire is a laugh-out-loud riot that seemed to come out of nowhere. It tells the story of grade-A loser Puchy Mushkin. He has a lot going wrong every day. His jobs, lovers, and even daily routines scream dead-end Coen Brothers schlimazel. But he has one thing going for him that no one seems to believe, even himself – a truly, horrifying giant… er… personal endowment. In fact, if there was some way to describe the opposite of an Achilles heel, in its most literal sense, it would be Mushkin’s Member. In navigating all other aspects of his life, he will never be satisfied until he is blessed with the fortune and accomplishment he feels he deserves. In pursuing this, he takes a personal Shakespearean vow to banish all desire beyond that which will enrich and encourage his success, he finds more and more problems piling up and getting in his way with no help from his third leg to arrive at his destination.

I absolutely loved Shallman’s novel. It is probably one of the most Jewish novels I have read in some time, pulling tropes and jokes that mirror any number of folk tales, comedies, stereotypes, and even the echoes of self-deprecating racist beliefs. Shallman spins them on their head and delivers an incredibly well-written standup routine of a novel that I flew through, and then I immediately began to recommend it to friends. It is simply a masterclass in comedy writing about a down-and-out loner who can’t get close to anybody without it going horribly wrong. A raucous, funny read that in the hands of any other author would never have the momentum, hilarity, and engagement that this piece does.

Easily one of the funniest books I have ever read, but an absolute favorite for 2023.

I cannot find any humor, satire or otherwise, in this disappointing work. Maybe it's just me but I don't see any redeeming features. Sorry Morty.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this.

I found this an OK read, but unfortunately, this was a book that I could not completely get into. It was mainly due to Punchy's and how he is portrayed. While this book was not for me, I do hope this book finds its readers, and despite me not liking this book, I would still encourage people to read, as it maybe something they would like.

This is a fast paced, short, twisted tale of sex, debauchery, depravity, political corruption, and violence that one reviewer described as one long penis joke, which isn’t far off the mark. It’s actually a satire of “the LA scene,” with it’s cookie cutter, “beautiful people,” molded and sculpted by plastic surgeons and dressed by fashion designers, fueled by money and ego to look the best and be the best and have the best. The title of the book says it all: “The Tyranny of Desire: A Comedic Masterpiece of Mind-Boggling Proportions.”

The book was written by multi-talented Morty Shallman, who also is a singer, songwriter, producer, screenwriter, and creative director for a premier California political consulting and advertising agency. The book starts off being extremely funny, with an introduction warning readers that “[t]his book is the most messed up thing you will ever read.” In its first chapters it introduces the hapless protagonist, Puchy Mushkin, who was born with an abnormally gigantic penis. He describes his ongoing sexual abuse from preschool on by adults who couldn’t get enough of his enormous “shlong.” The depravity continues until it’s no longer funny but instead becomes rather sad and, eventually, tragic. Not bad for a book clocking in at less than 200 pages.

If you’re into thinking about what you read and don’t mind a lot of dirty language, kinky sex, and gross fetish behaviors, you’ll love this book. I did, and I would like to thank its author, Morty Shallman, his publisher, Flying Bed Books, and The Book Whisperer for providing me an advanced reader’s digital copy so that I could leave my unbiased opinion.

I'm not usually into fiction, but I will absolutely read a book that is bizarre and weird and crazy, as this book looked and turned out to be. Dark comedy and a bit more disgusting than I'd prefer, but the author earns the right to write deranged stuff like this just because of how GOOD he is at that.

Ebook/Absurdist Fiction: It was okay. Christopher Moore is the king of absurdist fiction because he combines obnoxious with tame. Shaliman is pretty much all obnoxious, but he had a plot. It was a story about a man trying to grow up, but in the end, I really don't think he did.
I want to thank Netgalley for a ARC of the book.

I’m not a sensitive reader and I generally like subversive books, so I thought I’d be just fine to read this. Unfortunately, no. It wasn’t for me. It wasn’t even the vulgarity that bothered me. I just couldn’t get past Puchy’s pretentious yet childish dislikability. I hope this book finds its readers, but it’s not me.

I started this book and lost interest quite fast. It simply was not for me. I am used to reading disturbing books of all types, but this was not the book I should have read at that particular time. I encourage everyone to give it a go, it simply was not for me.

Described as dark humor/comedy this short read did not disappoint. I enjoyed the look into these characters and was sad when it was over. I am very much looking forward to more from this author.

The story of 'Puchy' is actually very sad but the narration is a tad vulgar and comical. The miserable fate of Puchy seems befitting his deeds. Though, his existence is fictitious, the events in his life seem practical. If the vulgarity of certain sections can be ignored, the story line is good.

I'll definitely reiterate other reader's opinions on this being different. I am also on the fence on whether I liked or disliked it. Overall, it was entertaining to say the least, whether I was irate or laughing is a subsequent matter.

No my dear friends, this was not what I expected. Looking at the cover image I knew there was something twisted or little macabre waiting for me within the pages of the book, but not this. Did I find this book extremely hilarious? Yes, I did. Did I question what the hell this dude with larger than life penis was doing? Yes, I did. Did I think if it's possible to banish desire and anything that could create notion of desire? Yes I did; but, I could not think that it is doable. It is nature of the humankind; we are all wants, needs, and desires.

Puchy, being his own Vichy, was a colossal failure. He thought if he wanted/desired less, he couldn't be disappointed with life, with himself, so there would be nothing to consider as failure. But more he tried to want less, more he messed things up. So sometimes pushing hard is not the answer. You need to let it go. If you are a failure, you are failure.

Having taken warnings into account, I still recommend this book to everyone. Sometimes it is good to read weird, hilarious, and WTF stories in between all WWII or mythological retellings. Don't get me wrong I like them too, but it's good to spice things up

I really could not get into this book - the dialogue was amateur/immature and I could not feel any sympathy for the main character. Do not recommend.

This was a book. It was fine. It came with a big disclaimer/trigger warning that it was going to be disgusting and if you're sensitive you shouldn't read it. Not being sensitive I chose to proceed. Yes, it was disgusting, in oh so many ways. But here's the thing. I also just didn't care. The wannabe philosophical content was overshadowed by the complete lack of plot or feeling anything toward the main character. It was just one outrageous scene of debauchery to the next without any redeeming quality overall. The main point for Puchy, the anti-hero main character, is that he wants to kill any level of desire in his life. He thinks that will solve all his problems (spoiler alert: it doesn't, it just lands him in a psych ward with legal charges). But maybe he did actually succeed in killing desire, my desire to read any more of this writing to write pseudo-intelligent drivel. The best part about it was it's barely 200 page length.

Thanks, I guess, to NetGalley and the publisher for the Arc.

Unfortunately I could not get past the juvenile yet pretentious prose to finish reading this. While I have sympathy for the subject, this just wasn’t my cup of tea. Grateful to Netgalley for letting me try.

Sorry, just couldn’t read this - beyond my comfort level. Exceedingly graphic. I am seeking to learn more about this community but I think I am too much of a beginner for this one.

I thought THE TYRANNY OF DESIRE was funny, sad, and crude. If you like crude dark humor, this is the book for you. If you don’t like perverted subjects you should sit this one out.

While not poorly written, Tyranny of Desire was just gratuitous and gross. Like if John Waters and Howard Stern, rather than try to out gross each other in a writing contest, decided to team up and be vulgar just for vulgarity sake. There is little to learn or gain from either the plot or the characters. As a fan of the "Sultan of Sleaze" I was unable to see Shallman so much as kistch for the smut.