# Please recommend some comedic novels **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883 "2008-01-17T17:14:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/81 "2008-02-01T12:28:17Z")
Also, David Sedaris’ books are very funny. ---
**Author:** ![chocolatefrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/41988e/32.png) [@chocolatefrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chocolatefrog)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/82 "2008-02-01T13:10:11Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] Did you know that Franz Kafka wrote his creepy, claustrophobic stories mainly to make his sister laugh? Give 'em another look. [/QUOTE] I’ve got to look at _In the Penal Colony_ again then. I’ll second (or third) _Catch-22_, even if there are deaths in it. It’s worth a read. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/83 "2008-02-01T13:41:22Z")
Kind of disappointed that Augusten Borroughs hasn’t been mentioned yet. He wrote a very funny novel called Sellevision. Another one of my favorite authors is Steve Martin, yes, the one of SNL fame. Very talented writer. [The Pleasure of My Company](http://www.amazon.com/Pleasure-My-Company-Novel/dp/0786869216) was a very clever and funny novella. I got many laughs out of it. [QUOTE=Amazon review] Readers expecting something zany, something crudely humorous from Steve Martin’s second novel, The Pleasure of My Company, will discover much greater riches. While the book has a sense of humor, Martin moves everywhere with a gentler, lighter touch in this elegant little fiction that verges on the profound and poetic. Daniel Pecan Cambridge is the narrator and central consciousness of the novel (actually a novella). Daniel, an ex-Hewlett-Packard communiqué encoder, is a savant whose closely proscribed world is bounded on every side by neuroses and obsessions. He cannot cross the street except at driveways symmetrically opposed to each, and he cannot sleep unless the wattage of the active light bulbs in his apartment sums to 1,125. Daniel’s starved social life is punctuated by twice-weekly visits from a young therapist in training, Clarissa; by his prescription pick-ups from a Rite Aid pharmacist, Zandy; and by his “casual” meetings with the bleach-blond real estate agent, Elizabeth, who is struggling to sell apartments across the street. But Daniel’s dysfunctional routines are shattered one day when he becomes entangled in the chaos of Clarissa’s life as a single mother. Taking care of Clarissa’s tiny son, Teddy, Daniel begins to emerge from the safety of logic, magic squares, and obsessive counting. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/84 "2008-02-01T18:59:29Z")
No one has mentioned any Chick Lit! Has your wife read **Bridget Jones’s Diary**? It doesn’t matter if she saw the movie. The diary format of the book, which the movie couldn’t imitate, is what makes the book so funny. The sequel, **Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason** , is possibly even funnier (I mean what could be funnier than doing a Madonna impression in a Wonderbra in a Thai prison?) Once done with those she can move on to the vast progeny the success of Bridget Jones spawned, but she must start with **Confessions of a Shopaholic** by Sophie Kinsella. Off to check out everyone else’s suggestions! (oh and **NAF1138** , could you make a few more suggestions? Because we obviously have the exact same taste, but I already read everything you said!) ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/85 "2008-02-10T05:34:38Z")
[QUOTE=Sitnam] [My Old Man and the Sea](http://www.amazon.com/Old-Man-Sea-David-Hays/dp/0060976969)- A mid 30 something man, his father and a cat build a small sailboat and sail it around ‘The Horn’. [/QUOTE] OK, I ordered this book used from Amazon Marketplace for $.01 (plus $3.99 shipping). It’s a terrific quick read and terribly inspirational. I actually started looking at ads for sailboats and saw a sweet 27 foot Catalina for $5000, which is two feet longer than the Sparrow. That said, I find it strange that you would consider it comedic. It’s written with a wry wit, but other than a chuckle or two, I didn’t find particularly funny, just a fascinating travelogue with great insights about human relationships. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/86 "2008-02-10T09:06:13Z")
I don’t know if this would be too dated and too English but I have to recommend [\*The Art of Coarse Acting \*](http://www.amazon.com/Coarse-Acting-Michael-Frederick-Green/dp/0879101113) by Michael Green. Probably the funniest book I’ve read - the type to make your family hate you as you laugh out loud every five minutes. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/87 "2008-02-10T12:36:36Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] Did you know that Franz Kafka wrote his creepy, claustrophobic stories mainly to make his sister laugh? Give 'em another look. [/QUOTE] His sister? Are you sure about that? I think it was to make himself laugh. When he read _The Trial_ to Max Brod he laughed, and his sister wasn’t present. And if you think his works are creepy and claustrophobic, read _America_. He never even went there, and it’s a directly humorous novel about wide-open spaces and whimsy. Anyway, your suggestion is good, **Krokodil**. People always use the term “Kafkaesque” to refer to bureaucratic nightmares, but bureaucracy was just a metaphor for him. Instead, he was obsessed by the overbearing influence of his father, more than anything like bureaucracy, which was for him just something funny, because he had to deal with it in his job. Anyway, you know, **Meltdown** , when you ask a message board with thousands of people for a recommendation like this, you’re going to get so many different suggestions that you’ll never know what to start with, because humor is so subjective, and most of the posters don’t know your personality. So just to add to the difficulty of your decision, I’ll throw in **The Pickwick Papers** , by Dickens. Dickens was one of the firsts to use types for comedic effect, and in this case, it’s a small group of men who form a kind of positivist club to roam around England and end up meeting and getting embroiled with all kinds of 19th century English types. And on a more modern note, I’ll second Buckley, only to add **No Way to Treat a First Lady**. The president’s wife throws a silver spittoon (made by Paul Revere) at him when he comes back from a tryst in the Lincoln bedroom, hitting him in the head, and he dies. She gets put on trial for murder. ETA: Sorry, Pickwick already mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/88 "2008-02-10T19:33:38Z")
I’ll second a recommendation for the original **M_A_S\*H** novel by Richard Hooker. Also, the first sequel, **M_A_S\*H Goes to Maine** , was very funny. Almost as good as the original novel. Later sequels, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Grey\_area](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Grey\_area](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey_area)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/89 "2008-02-10T22:09:53Z")
**Forrest Gump** by Winston Groom is a really funny straight up comedy/satire. There is far less of the heartfelt melodrama as in the movie, but a lot more wacky adventures. He does all the things he does in the movie plus; become a chess savant, go to space with a chimp (or orang), pro wrestle and so on. ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/90 "2008-02-11T01:39:25Z")
\*One Hundred Dollar Misunderstanding Here Goes Kitten JC Saves \* Robert Gover wrote these in the early-to-mid 1960s. They’re told from the alternating POVs of an upright, uptight, upscale and terminally clueless rich white fratboy and an illiterate but smart, canny and sympathetic black hooker with an attitude, and they’re a freakin’ riot {the third one comes off as somewhat dated buit the frst two more than make up for it}. \*Tales Of Beatnik Glory \*by Ed Sanders-hysterical! And historical too! A novel written as a series of interconnected stories about the amazing, amusing goings-on of a huge crew of poets, thrillseekers, artists, criminals, radicals, dancers, dopefiends, lovers, fools, and rogues as they bop around New York City and elsewhere, having a blast and making cultural history in the early 1960s.Makes me wish I’d been there, and I ain’t anybody’s nostalgia queen. And the third…damn, I can’t remember the title! Anyway it’s by **Sherman Alexie** and it’s all about the creation, rise to fame and ultimate fate of the first major world-famous all-American Indian rock’n’roll band, and the title will probably pop back into my head a second and a half after the edit window slams shut. ---
**Author:** ![petew83](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@petew83](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/petew83)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/91 "2008-02-11T06:02:08Z")
‘Spooks’ by Mary Roach was a very funny read. It’s nonfiction though. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2008, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/92 "2008-02-11T06:19:34Z")
Two words. _Martin Chuzzlewit_ (Dickens). Funniest novel ever written. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/93 "2008-02-17T05:39:35Z")
“Harry the Rat With Women” by Jules Feiffer. Too bad about the no fantasy rule or I’d mention “Venus on the Half-Shell” by Kilgore Trout. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/94 "2008-02-17T17:44:13Z")
Merrill Markoe – any of her essay books or all three of her novels. I particularly liked the latest one, _Walking in Circles before Lying Down_. About a single girl whose dog suddenly begins to speak to her. Very funny. Anything by Florence King Anything by Fannie Flagg – my favorite is her first, rereleased a few years back as _Daisy Fay & the Miracle Man_. The original title (in case you get it from the library) was _Coming Attractions_. Semi-autobiographical, I believe, and really, really funny – especially the bit towrds the end when Daisy Fay competes in the Miss Mississippi contest. Sarah Bird’s first two – I haven’t liked her latest books as well. _Alamo House_ about a graduate school residence hall for women. So funny I don’t know why it was never made into a movie. Also, _The Boyfriend School_, which was made into a pretty shitty movie starring Steve Guttenburg & Jamie Gertz. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883/95 "2008-02-18T03:04:34Z")
Patrick McManus has a number of books out. I enjoy almost all of them. The only one I didn’t like is the one he did with his sister. They include: **They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They A Fine and Pleasant Misery Never Sniff a Gift Fish The Grasshopper Trap Real Ponies Don’t Go Oink! The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw** The only recommendation is to not let her read them in bed. My wife would end up slapping the bed beside her so hard while laughing that it kept waking me up. I too am a big fan of Jeeves and Wooster. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-comedic-novels/433883.md?page=4)