Comments on: Comic Books

By: Keir

Keir — Fri, 15 May 2009 21:17:45 +0000

Cynthia Crossen offers her thoughts on more funny books here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124235361356322469.html

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 06 May 2009 22:03:10 +0000

Another vote for Confederacy of Dunces.

A strong vote for Richard Russo’s Straight Man, which I think is a funnier academic satire than Lucky Jim.

And, finally, a vote for a first novel I just read a couple of months ago: Calisto, by Torsten Krol, starring a rum-swilling version of Forrest Gump (without the piety)who is desperate to fight in Iraq because he has a crush on Condie Rice and hopes to impress her.

By: Laura

Laura — Fri, 01 May 2009 22:38:19 +0000

One of my all-time favorites for funny is The Heroic Life of Al Capsella by J. Clarke. A precursor to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, you could say.

By: Gillian

Gillian — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:49:52 +0000

And from the YA world:

Two of this year’s Printz Honor Books, Nation by Terry Pratchett and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, have some brilliant, comic moments. And Feed by M.T. Anderson is a now-classic satire.

By: Gillian

Gillian — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:40:11 +0000

I’m casting another vote for Lucky Jim. Other favorites: The Quality of Life Report by Meghan Daum, The Collected Stories by Lorrie Moore (I know, not a novel, but wonderful, often comic fiction), Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh

By: Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:25:19 +0000

Alexander McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street novels make me laugh. He manages to present foolish characters without being mean about them.

By: Donna Seaman

Donna Seaman — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:31:51 +0000

And now for something completely different:

Binnie Kirshenbaum. The Scenic Route.
Margaret Atwood. Moral Disorder and other Stories.
Margaret Drabble. The Sea Lady.
Julie Hecht. Happy Trails to You.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:16:18 +0000

I hate to be predictable, but:

A Confederacy of Dunces
Catch-22
Broom of the System

By: Jerry Eberle

Jerry Eberle — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:26:34 +0000

Get Shorty, by Elmore Leonard

Although technically his novels fit the crime genre, I always thought Elmore Leonard’s stuff was funny–and not just the dialog. Look at the basic plot for Get Shorty: a tough loan shark from Brooklyn (originally)who dreams of the movies lands in L.A. and decides that he can make films as well as anybody in the business, and how hard can it be, anyway? Funny stuff. The plot here is the setup to the joke. Of course, Leonard’s dialog is priceless, such as the scene where Chili Palmer (loan shark) discusses the proper use of “e.g.” and “i.e.” in a sentence with his new mob boss. The dialog can’t be repeated on this PG-rated site, but trust me, it’s funny–and it went unchanged directly from the page into the movie. I guess when it comes to Leonard’s stuff, Hollywood finally got it.

By: Ian

Ian — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:25:57 +0000

I’d lobby for Nicholson Baker’s The Mezzanine, which is not only the finest, but also the funniest novel that takes place entirely on an escalator ride from one floor to the next. Also, George MacDonald Fraser’s The Pyrates and, more recently, The Reavers are in a class of their own (that class being wooly anachronistic costume dramas heavy on hilarity).

By: Ray Olson

Ray Olson — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:22:16 +0000

Yeesh! There must be dozens, but for starters:

The Truth by Terry Pratchett (I’m told–and believe–the rest of Pratchett’s Discworld yarns are prime hilarious, too)

The Poor Mouth by Flann O’Brien (funniest book of the twentieth century, I say)

The Search Party by George A. Birmingham (more ridiculousness from Ireland–with anarchists!)

The Hard Life by Flann O’Brien (seeing a trend here, are we?)

Everybody’s Favorite Duck by Gahan Wilson (parody mystery, one of my favorite sub-sub-genres)

WLT by Garrison Keillor (still his funniest)

The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore (another guy whose every book is a riot–often literally)

The Fifth Policeman by Flann O’Brien

By: Chris Anderson

Chris Anderson — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:55:28 +0000

A couple that come to mind are P.S. YOUR CAT IS DEAD by James Kirkwood, BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS by Kurt Vonnegut.