Bernadine Everisto

[Atheist]

Does anyone here find her book "Manifesto", currently being read out loud by her on BBC radio, rather earnest and humourless? I do.
(I haven't read her novels, so I can't comment on her ability as a story-teller).

[Buenchico]

>>> rather earnest and humourless

I don't think that even the publishers would consider humour to be one of the books merits; it's meant to be a serious read:
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/444/444233/manifesto/9780241534991.html

I doubt that I'd enjoy it though. (Indeed, I'm almost certain that I wouldn't). However it seems to have gone down well enough with its target audience:
https://tinyurl.com/fhrrx34s

[Atheist]

Buen, when I say 'humourless' it's not that I am expecting a comic novel (god preserve us from that genre!) just a hint of a human being with a bit of self-deprecation and an ability not to take oneself too seriously.

[douglas9401]

Hmmm, quite.

[Buenchico]

>>> it's not that I am expecting a comic novel (god preserve us from that genre!)

So you're not a fan of Wodehouuse then? You've got no soul ;-)

(Actually, if I was going to recommend a comic novel to anyone, it would neither be Wodehouse or Sharpe that I'd turn to but either Jerome K Jerome or J B Priestley. 'Three Men in a Boat' and 'Let The People Sing' are two of my favourite reads).

[ladybirder]

Love Tom Sharpe. Hilarious.

[ladybirder]

Especially when his character gets a thorn stuck in his willy while having a pee on a rose bush on his way home from the pub LOL. Sorry.

[Atheist]

I do like a good humorous writer - Wodehouse, Pym, Elisabeth Arnem, but some humorous writing can be a bit laboured for my taste. Sharpe I don't know, nor Priestley in humorous mode - I'm not well read as you can see.
I like humour which is understated.

[Atheist]

ladybirder; I'd better give Tom Sharpe a go! Thank you.

[Atheist]

One that I do love is Diary of a Nobody.

[Buenchico]

'Let The People Sing' is a wonderful read, Atheist. (It takes a chapter or two to get into but it'll have you rolling on the floor with laughter from there on. Priestley's fine command of the English language is a joy to read). At £6.20, inc p&p, I reckon that it's well worth buying:
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/let-the-people-sing/author/priestley-j-b/

[Buenchico]

If you loved 'Diary of a Nobody' then you'll almost certainly feel the same way about 'Augustus Carp, Esq, by Himself'. It's written as the autobiography of a man who genuinely believes that he's a "really good man" (as he constantly describes himself), despite a tendency to use ploys such as blackmail in the pursuit of his "righteousness" ;-)

Robert Robinson described it as "the funniest unknown book in the world".

£5.89 here:
Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[Atheist]

Buen; thanks for the lead to Augustus Carp, whose name I have heard, but whose delights I have not yet sampled. I shall seek it out forthwith.

[wolf63]

https://onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/augustus-carp-esq-henry-bashford-penguin-paperback/product/HD_300175066

[middlemarch]

I enjoyed the answers here, I too love Three Men in a Boat and Diary of a Nobody. Will follow up on Augustus Carp.
My husband loved Wodehouse but I never managed to enjoy it - maybe I was starting in the wrong place. Could anyone suggest which Wodehouse to start with and I'll give it another go.