5 Darkly Humorous Reading Recommendations
This week’s post is devoted to five dark humour books. Click on the links to discover more.
Checking Out by Nick Spalding
Checking Out is a black comedy sprinkled with hope. Many will be drawn to its protagonist due to his wry wit and likeable personality.
My Review: Nathan is a young, well-off musician with a gorgeous girlfriend, a sportscar and some exceedingly expensive bi-fold doors. He is also successful, thanks to his …(more)
Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock
Knockemstiff is a transgressive compilation of short stories. Topics include drugs, drinking, disease and sexual degeneracy.
My Review: These interlinked short stories are set in ‘The Holler’; an impoverished part of Knockemstiff, a real-life Ohioan backwater. ‘The Holler’s’ air is permanently imbued with the stench of …(more)
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
Mother Night is a concise, ambiguous morality tale brimming with satirical observations and darkly humorous details.
My Review: During WWII, Howard W. Campbell was a prominent Nazi propagandist. Now he is languishing in an Israeli prison awaiting trial for war crimes …(more)
Damned by Chuck Palahniuk
Damned is a a light-hearted satire of hell, punctuated with comical details, pop-culture references and Theological irony.
My Review: The protagonist is thirteen-year-old Madison, the daughter of wealthy alternative parents. The privileged Madison studies at an exclusive Swiss boarding school and spends her holidays alternating …(more)
Spencer’s Risk by Andy Greenhalgh
Spencer’s Risk is a third person, thespian-themed work that offers an authentic insight into the mind of a compulsive gambler.
My Review: Spencer Leyton’s life is spiralling downhill. He has split from his wife, is virtually estranged from his kids, his career is in tatters, and he has a serious …(more)
