5 Fiction Books that are Funny on Purpose
Writing a funny work of fiction is NOT easy. First, you have to learn to spell.
Due to this obstacle, finding a funny novel to read is not easy! They ought to be in the Rare Book section because there are so few. And so valuable. I am publishing a comedic novel this fall, so I’m sharing funny books that made me think, hey can I do that too? This is a list of the books I want to be when I grow up — fiction that is funny on purpose. These books remind me how often there can be jokes on a page. Did you know it could be often??
First, some quick opinions on what “funny” means in a book.
The word FUNNY gets thrown around in book marketing blurbs, blanketing a back cover like leaves on a sidewalk in the fall. But there is dog shit under these leaves! When you step on the leaf, hoping for an autumnal crunch, there is instead, a cruel squish under your shoe. “This is supposed to be funny?” you wonder.
Typically when the New York Times says things like “uproariously funny,” they mean conceptually funny — a quirky story or wacky premise confined to a serious tone. Or they mean, less dull and unbearable than our usual recs. Or they mean this is NOT a book where a person from an oppressed group dies slowly and inevitably without even leaving behind her special recipe, therefore she is not only life-dead but death-dead. These “uproariously funny” books contain zero punchlines! Line by line, there are no jokes. And, a lot of the time, I don’t even feel happy reading the book! Instead of “uproariously funny,” some of these books should just be called “not too sad.” Take note, New York Times.
And then there are hilarious memoirs written by comedians. And they are funny and special and I like them. But they’re not fiction, so it’s not what I’m looking for. And on my worst days I can only read a chapter or two of a “how I got SNL” book before I get angry at my dad for working at GM his whole life instead of NBC. I keep sending him the application to start as a Page…
but anyway.
Here are the books I turn to over and over again to remind me that fictional books can be funny. Actually funny. Written on purpose to be funny. Like if you’re reading via audiobook, you will look stupid for laughing out loud alone type of funny. If I show any bias on this list I do not apologize!
- One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by BJ Novak
I’m starting with this one because you’ve likely heard of BJ Novak (Ryan from the Office) so you trust me on this, right? He wrote episodes like “The Fire” and “Depression.” Your favorites! One More Thing is a short story collection that features characters who are absurd, yet believable (much like your buddies from the office). This book uses callbacks so surprisingly that it had me looking up from the pages shouting, “did anyone else catch that??” This is a book you can keep on your coffee table and reach for a short silly story instead of your phone. Some stories are that quick, some are more involved, each is a joy. That’s part of how I classify a funny book — it puts ya in a good mood.
2. What In God’s Name by Simon Rich
Actually, every book by Simon Rich is a lesson in brilliant comedy writing. The characters burrow into your heart whether you want them there or not. They keep you warm while you worry about them, like a baby sitting on your cold feet while she farts her diaper full. I think I can promise you a punchline on every page, woven with intention to move the story forward. That’s the thing with Simon Rich, he is a gifted storyteller. We’re just lucky he likes to do jokes, too. I added only this novel to the list rather than every single book of his because it was one of the first novels I read where I thought, “Ohhhh so there can be funny novels?” (I’ll share the first novel that made me have this thought later) (Is that tantalizing or what?). Also, you might be familiar with the show this book was adapted into — Miracle Workers — starring your skinnyboy crush, Daniel Radcliff. If you want a funny book, pick up anything by Simon Rich. He has novels, short story collections, and the delightful micro stories found in Ant Farm: And Other Desperate Situations or Free Range Chickens. At the risk of naming every book Simon Rich has ever written, Glory Days came out this year and I’m looking forward to reading it on a plane and annoying my seatmate with my giggles.
3. Big Time by Jen Spyra
This is a short story collection with equal parts humor and darkness, which reminded me that few characters are funnier to read than a woman who is absolutely deranged with self-assurance. These stories have actual jokes and also each concept is hilarious and absurd. These stories are what happens when a talented writer has a “quirky” idea and can take it to a place that’s actually funny rather than conceptually cutie-tootie. You start in a crazy place and then the wildness is heightened and then heightened and then takes a left turn into a cave or into old Hollywood and is heightened again. It’s just plain fun. “Just plain fun” might be one of those New York Times book review phrases but in this case, I’m saying it and the book is actually funny.
4. Less by Andrew Sean Greer (also Less is Lost)
Less is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. But isn’t it a greater honor that I would list it as funny on my list of funny books? I will ask Andrew Sean Greer someday if they ever let me near him. I have read and confirmed that the blurbs on the back of Less are true: It is “brilliantly funny,” “hilarious and wise,” and “piquantly funny.” This book introduced me to a different kind of comedy writing. I would be reading along happily, wincing occasionally at the protagonist’s self destructive life-avoidance, and then I would find that I’d spend two pages being set up for a one sentence punchline. The payoff was always worth it. And then I would go back and reread the joke again. The story is nonstop funny. There is nothing like following around a pathetic character and rooting for him for some reason. Humor can really endear a reader to a sad sap. I couldn’t get enough of Author Less so I was grateful for the sequel, Less is Lost, which was equally funny and charming.
5. Quietly From Afar by Lucas Gardner (Also Contemptble Blue)
Quietly From Afar was the book that made me go, what the hell? A book can be THIS?!!?? A book can be this FUNNY? More books should be like this! Luckily, after Quietly From Afar, we were graced with Contemptible Blue, so indeed more books were like that. These books read like watching a cartoon. It’s so visually funny. No, there are pictures, sorry if that’s your thing. I’m saying this was the first and only time I’ve ever been given the gift of slapstick in writing — in a novel! I can clearly see the protagonist, Mayor Pistolface, rolling violently down a hill head of boots, so that I can laugh at every individual stab of pain he endures. The protagonist’s voice in both books is so clear and consistent and will make you smack your forehead and go aye yi yi. You get to know the main character so well that you think you know what trouble he’s about to get into, but you’ll never actually be able to guess because Lucas Gardner is too funny and tricky. Both books are tied for the highest ratio of jokes per page that I have ever read, and I’ve read actual joke books.
After I read these books and laughed and had fun, I referred back to them like text books, running my highlighter along the punchlines while stroking my chin thinking, ah yes, a fiction book can be funny, yes of course. I have proof and here it is in this list: books can be funny. Each of these books made me want to write a funny novel. Did I, though? Eh, we’ll see. It’s too late for edits now.
I hope you’ll have fun reading my debut novel, Drinksgiving! It comes out on October 15, 2024 from Humorist Books.
