Warning! May cause laughter
The funniest novels ever written
"Warning! May cause laughter" represents the very best in comic writing. Established classics such as "Lucky Jim" and "The Pickwick Papers" rub shoulders with the comedic cutting edge of "Jennifer Government" and "Sellevision". The collection also features some of the funniest novels from established comic authors such as Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Tom Sharpe and Robert Rankin. With nearly fifty different titles featured we're confident that you'll find something that will make you laugh out loud. We've highlighted a few titles below to give you a taste of what's on offer.
Catch 22
by Joseph Heller
A masterpiece of comic writing and an absolute must on any serious list of funny books. This has become such an established classic that it's possible to forget just how fresh, angry and relevant Joseph Heller's debut novel still is. Crammed full of insanely quote-worthy conversations and observations, this is the story of Captain John Yossarian's attempt to survive the madness of World War II while serving as a B-25 bombardier in the US Army Air Force. First published in 1961 the New York Times described it as: "Wildly original, brilliantly comic, brutally gruesome, it is a dazzling performance that will probably outrage nearly as many readers as it delights."
See availability of Catch 22 at your local library.
Lamb: the gospel according to Biff, Christ's childhood pal
by Christopher Moore
Christopher Moore's first novel "Practical Demonkeeping" published in 1992 was an impressively crazed debut and his ten subsequent books have established him as one of America's greatest absurdist writers. "Lamb" was Moore's sixth book and the story of Jesus' missing years told through the eyes of his friend Levi bar Alphaeus (aka "Biff") finds him in fine form. Locus magazine's glowing review concluded: "Like the best of comedies, Lamb is filled with tragedy, love, loss, beauty, anger, and, above all, an unfailing and intelligent sense of humour."
See availability of Lamb at your local library
Jennifer Government
by Max Barry
This corrosive satire takes on the excesses of marketing and consumerism in a near future Australia. A famous shoe manufacturer sets up a series of shootings at shops launching its new line of trainers. An executive explains: "We take out 10 customers, make it look like ghetto kids, and we've got street cred to spare...I bet we shift our inventory within 24 hours." Jennifer Government arrives to investigate. The New York Times said that "Barry is obviously up to more than letting an amusing thriller unfold against a heavily branded backdrop. At times, he even seems to be aiming for a kind of ad-world version of Dr. Strangelove...he unleashes enough wit and surprise to make his story a total blast."
See availability of Jennifer Government at your local library
Joy in the Morning
by P.G. Wodehouse
The absolute master of comic dialogue with one of his very best novels. Bertie Wooster is temporarily leaving Jeeves:
"'I shall miss you, Jeeves.'
'Thank you, sir.'
'Who was the chap who was always beefing about losing gazelles?'
'The poet Moore, sir. He complained that he had never nursed a dear gazelle, to glad him with its soft black eye, but when it came to know him well and love him, it was sure to die.''It's the same with me. I am a gazelle short. You don't mind me alluding to you as a gazelle, Jeeves?'
'Not at all, sir.'"
See availability of Joy in the Morning at your local library
Heartburn
by Nora Ephron
A writer of cookbooks tries to cope with her husband's infidelity. Subsequently famous for screenplays such as "When Harry met Sally" and "Sleepless in Seattle" Nora Ephron's autobiographical novel, published in 1983 is a superb example of comedic writing with a heart. Harper's Bazaar called it "...warm, witty and wise", and underneath all the zingy one-liners there's real pain here (and recipes for Key Lime Pie).
See availability of Heartburn at your local library
Lucky Jim
by Kingsley Amis
A stunning debut novel that still has the ability to reduce you to tears of laughter 55 years after it was first published. "Angry Young Man" Amis relates the struggles of Jim Dixon, a young university lecturer who endures the company of a wonderfully appalling range of characters (from both the conservative and bohemian ends of the spectrum) as well as a mortifying awareness of his own failings and pretensions. The Guardian called it "a brilliantly and preposterously funny book".
See availability of Lucky Jim at your local library
Straight Man
by Richard Russo
The fact that there are so many brilliant campus novels from the likes of Kingsley Amis, David Lodge and Zadie Smith (many of them in the "Danger! May cause laughter" collection), can sometimes overshadow just how accomplished American authors are when dealing with similar subject matter. Richard Russo's Straight Man is a devastatingly funny look at one week in the life of William Henry Devereaux Jr, the interim chair of a fractious English department at a small rural college. "(Russo) skewers academic pretensions and infighting with mad abandon...in a clear and muscular prose that is a pleasure to read....I had to stop often to guffaw, gasp, wheeze and wipe away my tears." Chicago Sun-Times
