Apathy and Other Small Victories is the funniest book I've ever read. There's never a dull moment and the wit is contagious. Has anyone here read it? I'd like to see what you think. I'm hoping Paul Neilan comes out with his next book already, it's been too long.
Are there any funny books you could recommend?
the Wimbledon Poisoner by Nigel Williams
Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King
although, it really depends on your sense of humour.
Terry Pratchett has his moments with his Discworld series.
Max Barry is pretty humorous, too. Company is my favorite. I'm on an in and out relationship with Jennifer Government. But Apathy is just nonstop laughter.
I'm a fan of Max Barry. My favorite humorist is Christopher Moore. Not only does he have the best titles for books (The Lust Lizard of Meloncholy Cove, Practical Demonkeeping), he also wrote a damn fine book about Jesus learning Kung-fu.
Then, of course, there's Tom Robbins (my favorite is Still Life with Woodpecker).
I don't know why I didn't find the book funny at all, and recently a lot of people have been comparing my last book to it. I second the recommendation for Christopher Moore's Lamb. I keep reading his books and keep being dissapointed because none of them are as funny as that one. In my opinion, the funniest author who I'm familiar with is Steve Aylett, but he's an acquired taste and his books are really dense (but short). Although unlike most of his other books, his debut book (The Crime Studio) is a pretty light read. His writing is similar to Mark Leyner's (if you've ever heard of him), but Leyner's books are more on the post-modern-y side while Aylett's books are very enmeshed in various genres that fall under the blanket term of "genre fiction," although his books are unlike any genre fiction that you may have read.
I've read Apathy and Other Small Victories. It was hilarious, but I did find the plot lacking a bit. As for recommendations, I'd suggest Robert Sedlack's The African Safari Papers. It's quite the tragic comedy.
hahahahaha yess i love that book haha i put the opening line about salt shakers in the 'opening lines' thread haha
Haven't read it yet, but it's on its way now thanks to the power of shopping on the Interwebz - wwweeeeeeeeeeee!
Ridiculously light reading, but pretty much anything by Tom Robbins (@bryan - Woodpecker is so good, but Cowgirls will always be my favorite) or Kinky Friedman (The Love Song of J Edgar Hoover is hilarious) is sure to be enjoyed for wit and wordplay.
I loved Apathy. I recommend that book to people all the time. Problem is, nobody takes my recommendation and reads it!
The Subject Steve by Sam Lipsyte is pretty funny. And it's a pretty good story.
I second Company by Max Barry. His other books are good, but not as funny as Company.
If you really want to laugh, get Bradley Sands' Rico Slade Will Fucking Kill You.
I liked Apathy but I read it more as a comic tragedy than a comedy, though there were some quite funny bits throughout which leavened it. I did feel that the story was essentially "A bunch of stuff happens, the end" and lacked real energia.
Yeah, as for story, there wasn't much, but it matched the apathetic vibe of the character. I'll check out some of the recommended books. Speaking of, someone said if I want a laugh I should read Douglas Coupland's Hey Nostradamus! Let me tell you: that was not a funny book. It was good, it was heartbreaking, it was not funny.
Thanks, Pete.
I need to reread The Subject Steve. I really liked it at first but got tired of it and didn't finish, but I loved Lipsyte's novel, Home Land. I read (and finished) his other two books too and they were pretty decent.
@iBronco: Hey Nostradamus! isn't funny at all. Why would somebody say that?
@Bradley: No problem! And is Home Land the one about the high school reunion?
