Random, Penn Jillette
Random, Penn Jillette
List: $16.95 | Sale: $11.87
Club: $8.47

Random

Author: Penn Jillette

Narrator: Penn Jillette

Unabridged: 7 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/11/2022


Synopsis

Two weeks before his twenty-first birthday, Las Vegas native Bobby Ingersoll finds out he’s inherited a crushing gambling debt from his scumbag father. The debt is owed to an even scummier bag named Fraser Ruphart who oversees his bottom-rung criminal empire from the classy-adjacent Trump International Hotel. Bobby’s prospects of paying off the note, which comes due the day he turns twenty-one, are about as dim as the sign on the tower’s façade.The two weeks pass in the blink of a (snake) eye, but before Bobby’s luck runs out, he stumbles upon enough cash to pay Ruphart off and change his family’s fortune. More importantly, he finds himself with a new, for lack of a better word, faith.Bobby does not consign his big break to a “higher power"—what Penn Jillette hero ever could? Instead, he devises and devotes himself to Random, a philosophy where his life choices are based entirely on the roll of his “lucky” dice. What follows is a hilarious exploration into not so much what defines us as what divines us when we give over every decision—from what to eat to whom to marry to how or when to die—to the random fall of two numbered cubes.Combining the intellectual curiosity of Richard Dawkins with the humor and grit of an Elmore Leonard antihero, Jillette’s up-on-his-luck Ingersoll is the character we need to help us navigate the chaos of the post-truth era.Well, unless his roll runs cold.

About Penn Jillette

Penn Jillette is a cultural phenomenon as a solo personality and as half of the world-famous Emmy Award–winning magic duo Penn & Teller, whose live show spent years on Broadway and is now the longest-running headlining show in Las Vegas. Jillette cohosted the Showtime series Penn & Teller: Bullshit! which was nominated for thirteen Emmy Awards and won him a Writers Guild Award. He currently cohosts the CW Network competition series Penn & Teller: Fool Us! His weekly podcast, Penn’s Sunday School, was the number one downloaded podcast on iTunes during its debut week and was named by iTunes as Best New Comedy Podcast. He is the author of numerous books, including the nonfiction New York Times bestselling books Presto!: How I Made Over 100 Pounds Disappear and Other Magical Tales and God No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales; the novel Sock; and the essay collection Every Day Is an Atheist Holiday!


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sara

Thank you to Akashic Books for an ARC of this book. As someone who loves living in Las Vegas, I hoped this book would strike the right chord with me. And wow did it ever! The deeper I got into this story, the more I felt like I was reading a modern day version of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" beca......more

Goodreads review by Jim

Ten years ago, a coworker said to me, “Jim, you’re so random!” I took it as a compliment and have worn it since. I requested and received a review copy of this from the publisher through LibraryThing, as the premise intrigued me and I’ve been a fan of Mr. Jillette for a long time. (Met, talked to, s......more

Goodreads review by Matt

An absolutely bonkers, entertaining tale from beginning to end. I was sad every time I had to put it down to sleep or be a responsible human being.......more

Goodreads review by Alicia

Even if I hadn't known this book was written by Penn Jillette, if you had just handed me a mystery manuscript I would know this was from the brain of Mr Jillette. I may go and get the audio book in addition to my print copy just so I can hear him read it, I heard it in his voice in my head but ya kn......more


Quotes

“Random is everything you would hope from Penn Jillette and so much more. Random numbers are seemingly crazy, unconnected, and unpredictable: this fabulous, wondrously compelling, funny, and original novel is all that too. As for laughs—it passed the the fling-up-the-head-snort-and-slap-the-thigh test a dozen times in the first few pages alone. Hugely recommended.” Stephen Fry

“Bravo, Bobby Ingersoll. Encore, Penn Jillette!” Debbie Harry, singer songwriter and actor