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By Paul Lepp & Bil Lepp Brothers Paul and Bil Lepp have been winners of the Vandalia Festival Liars Contest 10 times between them, and they can truly spin a yarn. What is the Monster Stick? It's Paul's mythical nine-foot, surf casting fishing rod sporting 6 miles of 50 pound Stren carp cord, with which Paul has caught bears, boats, motor homes, and an airborne DC-6. The Monster Stick opens with a foreword by Ken Sullivan, founder of the Liars Contest, who calls the Lepps about the best natural prevaricators he's ever seen. Many of Bil's stories are about Buck-dog, Bil's extraordinary hunting dog whose mamma was a German shepherd but whose daddy was a determined and extremely prolific basset hound. You'll find hilarious stories about women, carp, catfish and bass, trains, hunting and cars. "A man spends many sleepless nights on the riverbank trying to understand women and many sleepless nights in bed trying to understand carp." What's the Monster Stick? It's Paul's "nine-foot, surf casting rod full of six miles of brand new 50-pound test Stren Carp cord with 20 pound, custom made, stainless steel, slip-sliding sinkers." The adventures Paul finds himself in from the day the Monster Stick comes into his life rival those of Paul Bunyan but add a modern twist, as when he somehow sets the hook in a DC-10 flown by drug smugglers. Then there's Buck-dog, Bil's "extraordinary hunting dog, whose mama was a German shepherd but whose daddy was a determined and extremely prolific basset hound." Buck is smarter than your average human and stronger than four CS&X train engines pulling in unison, which he proves repeatedly as he takes on anything, including the government.
These tall tales led the Lepp brothers to so many championships in the West Virginia State Liars' Competition that their amateur status was nearly revoked. But that's another tale ... AWARDSï¾
PLA/ALLS Best New Books for New Adult Readers
Storytelling World Award
REVIEWS School Library Journal "These 23 tall tales for the '90s...will tickle the funny bones of mature readers." Insights Vol. 35, No. 4 - Angelaï¾ Murphy-Walters "Besides being published by August House, what better recommendation could there be for a book of tall tales than that both of the authors are repeat winners of the West Virginia State Liars Contest? Paul Lepp, now deceased, was a featured storyteller at storytelling festivals and fairs. The book was his idea, but was completed by his brother Bil, who is a Methodist minister, freelance magazine writer, and regular columnist for the Fayette Tribune. Althogh Bil claims he has suffered from "nocantellumlies" (a.k.a. the Honesty Bug), there is no evidence of that in this book. There are stories featuring Buck, Bil's extraordinary hunting dog whose mother was a German shepherd and whose daddy was a prolific and extremely determined bassett hound," CS&X trains loaded with 19,364 tons of pure West Virginia bituminous coal, the beautiful mountains, rivers and lakes of "Almost Heaven," and, of course, Paul's amazing fishing rod, the Monster Stick.
One of the best tests of any writing, and especially of stories, is whether they can be read aloud without losing anything. These stories pass the test with an A+. They are much better when read aloud and shared. A word of warning, though: although there is very little dialect in the writing, you may find it impossible to read them aloud without sounding like a hillbilly, which brings up the next caution: although some stories involve politics, do not expect to find a hint of political correctness here. This is a book in which the men hold farting contests and hunt deer, while women bake sweet rolls and, well, do not do much else. But tall tales are all about fun, and these hit the mark with a "Wealtherby Mark V rifle with gold inlays and a Leopold scope."
Monster Stick would be an excellent choice for public libraries, middle and high schools, and any academic or special libraries which collect stories and/or Appalachian literature. "Notes on the stories" will be of special interest to academicians and storytellers. There are details on which parts of the stories the Lepps claim are true, as well as which ones were West Virginia State Liars Contest Winners. Read this book for fun, aloud if you can find an audience, and if you feel the need, judge for yourself the accuracy and credibility of the stories and their writers. True or not, you will find in these stories a glimpse of life in Appalachia and a trainload of laughs. As Bil wrote in the Acknowledgments, "lying does pay off."
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