Preface: I originally tried to post this in r/books but it got removed, I think cos I ask for recommendations towards the end, so I’m posting it here instead.
I recently started reading Antkind by Charlie Kaufman (highly recommend!), and it has inspired me to try to write my own comedic, metafictional, absurdist novel. I remember reading Catch-22 years ago and being surprised at how funny I found it. To this day, Antkind and Catch-22 are the only books I’ve ever read to actually make me laugh out loud.
This has made me realise that the “comedy novel” is kind of a thing of the past. As far as I am aware, the closest thing we have to it nowadays (with the exception of Antkind) are coffee table books written by TV comedians. A far cry from the likes of Don Quixote, often considered the first modern novel, and from what I have heard, quite funny as well.
So, to get to the point, I have two main questions. Firstly, why do you think comedic novels do not seem to be as common as they once were? Or to be more precise, why do modern novels hardly ever seem to have a sense of humour. To me, it feels like the authors of novels pride themselves as being more artistically sophisticated than the writers of coffee table books, and in turn see comedy as being a lesser form of artistic expression, that it is somewhat beneath them. I could also be accused of falling into this trap myself, as despite trying to write stories my whole life, this is the first time I’ve ever tried to write a comedy novel.
Secondly, I would appreciate any recommendations for comedy/comedic/humorous novels (or books that have absurdist and/or metafictional elements). I am considering reading Don Quixote and The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, as from what I have heard, they both seem to be quite humorous. However, I’m sure they would also be quite challenging books, given that they are from hundreds of years ago, and the humour might be a bit stale for a 21st century reader. Thus, any comedic novels that were written more recently would be especially appreciated.
by MordisF