Friday, May 12, 2006
Comedy?
Several things I've read about this book said it was "very funny" or "often blackly funny" or "full of tender humor." And the author said it was "very funny" to describe the slain dog in Christopher's flat, emotionless narrative. Am I missing something? The only thing I found funny was the strange British cursing. "Fucking Nora."
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6 comments:
I wouldn't describe it as funny. I found it amusing in places, like where the reader strongly identifies with the narrator because the narrator has so aptly laid bare the absurdity or wonder of an everyday event - through diagrams and simple explanations and whatnot. It's like the same experience you have when a kid unwittingly makes a witty observation or when you're watching "Third Rock from the Sun."
I thought it was weird how all the adults (well, most) freely bandy about the f-word in front of kids. Is that common in Britain, or just among a certain socio-economic class?
I think I'd call it witty rather than funny. Two parts of the book that I thought were particularly wry were the chapter when he explained there would be no jokes in the book, and when he listed his "behavior Problems" (P. Hating France).
I think it's hard not to find some of it funny, like how he steps back "2 meters" from the dead dog and his routine for Good and Super Good Days. Some of the sadness and empathy I feel about Christopher gets mixed with amusement from seeing things from his perspective. He has qualities that make him lovable and unique, and those are parts I sometimes found funny.
Me too.
OK, you've convinced me. I guess I also found his Behavioral Problems somewhat amusing, such as Doing Stupid Things like emptying a jar of peanut butter onto the table and spreading it around till it's even. This is definitely micro humor, though. The tragedy of autism keeps me from thinking of the book as humorous on the whole, which I think is what threw me in those book reviews I read.
Oh! I loved the peanut butter deal. I can see the temptation of doing that. It's one of the places where I really identified with the narrator.
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