THE TYRANNY OF DESIRE: A NOVEL

#1 AMAZON BESTSELLER (Absurdist Fiction, Kindle Store) • #1 AMAZON NEW RELEASE (Humorous Dark Comedy, Kindle Store) • #1 AMAZON NEW RELEASE (Absurdist Fiction, Kindle Store) •Meet Puchy Mushkin, the hero of this “fast-paced phantasmagoric satire of a debauched contemporary LA…” (1) who “vows to live a life devoid of want…” (2) while thrusting himself into “the wildest situations and transgressions in a carnivalesque Los Angeles.” (2) This novel is “often uproarious,“(2) “delightfully wicked, outrageous…" (3) “brilliantly written and very funny.” (1)

Puchy Mushkin is a big dreamer and an even bigger loser whose spectacular failure as a human being is exceeded only by the enormity of his penis.

In the depths of his despair, Puchy has an epiphany: could the endless series of screw-ups that define his existence be the result of his overwhelming desire for success—the success he believes is his birthright?

To test his theory and, hopefully, change his fate, Puchy vows to banish all dreams, goals, aims, ambitions, and obsessions from his life except one: to assassinate desire itself and hang it by its feet like Mussolini.

What follows is the hilariously dark, raunchy, and irreverent tale of one man’s twisted war with himself—an anti-story about an anti-hero whose only motivation is to have no motivation at all.

Will Puchy succeed in his quest to conquer desire? Or will desire get him first? Grab your copy of The Tyranny of Desire TODAY to find out.

(1) Robert Grossmith, Author of the Empire of Lights (2) Booklife by Publishers Weekly (3) Readers’ Favorite

What Critics Are Saying

"A Comedic Masterpiece.”
— Readers' Favorite, Five-Star Review

"A ribald and incisive provocation... riotously bawdy!”
— Booklife by Publishers Weekly

”...Shallman seems eager to challenge readers' senses of decency whenever possible... a lively but profane comic tale.“
— Kirkus Reviews

“Filled with droll humor, quick-witted dialogue, and colorful characters, the narrative keeps you in stitches and rarely allows your attention to waver...”
— Readers' Favorite, Five-Star Review

“…In the spirit of the norm-shattering, can-you-top-this? sexually frank comic novels of a generation ago, with a welcome queer edge…”
—Booklife by Publishers Weekly

“Readers who relish irreverent literary play will be rewarded with insight and challenges to convention.”
—Booklife by Publishers Weekly 

“A shocking, sensationalist, satire of contemporary US culture…“
—Readers’ Choice

“Simply a blast to read… If you're looking for a good laugh, don't miss out on this one." 
— Readers' Favorite, Five-Star Review

Morty Shallman's The Tyranny of Desire is a laugh-out-loud “work of comedic genius” (The Book Whisperer) that's perfect for fans of John Kennedy Toole (A Confederacy of Dunces), Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club), Vladimir Nabokov (Lolita), Kurt Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse-Five), Joseph Heller (Catch-22), Hunter S. Thompson (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), and Philip Roth (Portnoy's Complaint).

What Readers are Saying

“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 that 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.”

—Garrett Zucker
Verified amazon customer review

“WOW- what an insanely hilarious monstrously funny book- I read it in 2 days! The end was EVERYTHING AND MORE. Morty Shallman - you’re a freak and a genius, man. 5 STARS”

—Chava Floryn
Verified amazon customer review

“I love this book... it is in my permanent (everything is temporary) collection. Desire will be the death of us! Not really, it will keep us attached to this nightmare. Great book. Thank you.

—Joan Winter
Verified amazon customer review

“This novel reads like the love child of Holden Caulfield and Humbert Humbert grew up to be a sexual deviant, and then spiraled into a full blown existential crisis as the protagonist of the raunchiest Chuck Palahniuk story you could ever imagine.”

—Booksforbj
Verified amazon customer review

“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.”

—Marcia C.
Verified amazon customer review

“I am the perfect audience for Morty Shallman's The Tyranny of Desire. Why? Because I am that rare woman who likes to take it all in, every last lasciviously lubricious undoubtably dubious detail In fact I was delighted to devour this grandiloquent chronicle. Was I amazed, appalled, astonished? Indeed. Was I aroused, amused, absorbed? Absolutely!… I would recommend this book to any brave reader who has flexible beliefs and is willing to be stretched and left in stitches.”

K_Indie Woods
Verified amazon customer review

“This is the weirdest and most glorious book ever written and I want MORE. Fans of Chuck Palahnuik and Kurt Vonnegut will be pleased to know there is a new contender in the gritty raw world of transgressive fiction. Please read this book!”

Maddogish
Verified amazon customer review