Dying is Easy, Comedy is Hard

There is nothing better than a truly funny book. I am not talking about the snarky, ultra-hip observations of Chelsea Handler or the suburban travails of Erma Bombeck. What I love is when a writer brings the funny in the context of a novel (with plot, character development, dialogue, etc). I love the Wooster and Jeeves stories by P.G. Wodehouse. Wooster is a young man of upper class Brittan living in the 1920s. Jeeves is his valet (manservant). Wooster doesn't work and spends his days and nights socializing with other idlers of the British ruling class. He gets into all kinds of tight situations and relies on Jeeves to rescue him. The series is a scathing indictment of the British class structure and is very, very funny.

I think my favorite comedic novel is A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. The sad truth about this book is that the author committed suicide. His mother found the novel manuscript after his death and hounded the writer Walker Percy to read the manuscript. Percy was blown away with the story and through his efforts the book was published in 1980. The story takes place in New Orleans and revolves around the central character, Ignatius J. Reilly, an overfed 30-year-old still living with his mother in the city's Uptown neighborhood. This is one of those timelessly funny novels that will make you howl with laughter. It is pee in your pants funny. Before you die, read this book.