Comedic Literature

[karo]

I'd like to read more humorous stuff. I'm having trouble finding much, though. I enjoy Tom Robbins, Sandi Toksvig and Mark Beaumont. Can anyone recommend other authors/titles?

[wessexgirl]

I see you're from the UK, so you would probably know both of these and might like the spoof autobiography of Paul Merton, or the ramblings of Keith Barrett, aka Rob Brydon. I read them both a few years ago and they made me chuckle, but then I'm a fan of both. If you would like "real" writers however, as opposed to comedians who are parodying celebrity autobiographies and self-help books so brilliantly, why not try Evelyn Waugh, or PG Wodehouse?

[prendrelemick]

Clive James' "Unreliable Memoirs" is really funny.

Spike Milligan's "Hitler and My Part in His Downfall" is also good.

There is also Tom Sharpe and Terry Pratchett.

[Babbalanja]

Lucy Ellmann writes for the Guardian, and her novels are very smart, sharp, and funny. My favorite is Man or Mango?

Regards,

Istvan

[Red-Headed]

I'm sure I will be vociferously attacked for saying something like this (as per usual) but one of the funniest books I have read over the past few years is David Icke's The Biggest Secret. I met Icke once & I think he is a decent enough bloke who has been taken in a bit too much by the conspiracy theorists. The Bacon Legacy (about Shakespeare) in chapter eight is priceless! He obviously spent a long time researching this book & it reminds me a little bit of some of Jim Marrs' work, particularly Alien Agenda. However, Marrs is genuinely interesting & David Icke's book seems to veer towards parody. I must admit that when I am a little depressed I enjoy reading it & it cheers me up no end. Somehow I don't think that was the effect Mr Icke intended. :eek:

[Paulclem]

I really enjoyed David Nobbs' The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. I als laughed out loud at The Barber of Seville.

Peter Ustinov's autobiography - Dear Me - was really funny.

If you want some classic laughs try Gargantua and Pantagruel which is earthy, but surprisingly good.

[Fen]

Douglas Adams not just The Hitchhiker's Guide but his other works as well.

[Dinkleberry2010]

Two very funny books by Allan Sherman are The Gift Of Laughter and The Rape of the A*P*E* (A*P*E*=American Puritan Ethic)

[Scheherazade]

I still think Three Men in a Boat one of the funniest books I have ever read.

[Idril]

I would second the Adams and Pratchett mentions and add A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.

[karo]

Thank you all for your suggestions. Much appreciated.

[AuntShecky]

Novels and collections by Eliot Baker, Jean Shepherd, Peter DeVries, Kingsley Amis, Frank Sullivan,S. J. Perleman, and don't forget James Thurber. I'm assuming you've already read everything by the author from whom-- as Leslie Fielder famously said--"all American literature begins."

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

Let's not forget some classics:
Chaucer - "The Canterbury Tales"
Cervantes - "El Ingenioso Hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha" (many humourous parts within)
Poes - "The Unparelleled Adventures of One Hans Pfall" and "King Pest: A Tale Containing an Allegory"
Goldsmith's - "She Stoops to Conquer"

[stlukesguild]

John Kennedy Toole- A Confederacy of Dunces
Philip Roth- Portnoy's Complaint
Gore Vidal- Myra Breckenridge
Lawrence Sterne- Tristam Shandy
Jonathan Swift- A Modest Proposal
Gunter Grass- The Tin Drum

[billl]

karo, one book that jumped into my mind is Et Tu, Babe, by Mark Leyner. It is pretty wild, and sometimes has fun with scientific/futuristic topics--but was written in 1993, so some of that might come off odd in light of subsequent science and jokes about science, I don't know. Nothing about the internet in there. But they were pretty cutting edge laughs at the time.

But mostly it is an outrageous celebration of ego, and the first few pages can be read on the Amazon.com website (click on the book's image). The book's best parts are later, but I think the first few pages give a pretty good idea.
http://www.amazon.com/Tu-Babe-Mark-Leyner/dp/0679745068/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_5

[DisPater]

Ilya Ilf and Evgeny or Yevgeni Petrov known as Ilf and Petrov, very funny.

Jaroslav Hašek --- all his books, especially The Good Soldier Švejk and His Fortunes in the World War --- probably the funniest book ever written.

[Idril]

Ilya Ilf and Evgeny or Yevgeni Petrov known as Ilf and Petrov, very funny.

Jaroslav Hašek --- all his books, especially The Good Soldier Švejk and His Fortunes in the World War --- probably the funniest book ever written.

Yes, Ilf and Petrov were brilliant and your mention of The Good Soldier Švejk reminds me of The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin by Vladimir Voinovich which is definitely worth the effort to find.

[sixsmith]

The OP might want to take a look at this thread:

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4435

[keilj]

Mark Twain's autobiography is filled with humor

so is his Connecticut Yankee

[Modest Proposal]

I just bought a edition containing 4 novellas by Muriel Spark whom I heard is very funny. Catch-22 is great and I am surprised no one mentioned it.

[dfloyd]

are tremendously funny. Start with Black Mischief and Scoop. Read all the Jeeves and Wooster short novels by Pelham Grenville Wodehouse. The Dickens' classic Pickwick Papers will keep you laughing over its 800 or so pages.