Tuesday, September 09, 2008

For laughs, may I recommend... (another book I read a few years ago)

Everyone's posting the shortlist for the Man Booker Prize, and Bookslut posted a quote about why funny books don't win these "major" literary awards. So in an effort to lighten things up, I'm going to recommend that everyone (yes, everyone) read Will Ferguson's Happiness.

Will Ferguson is a funny and popular Canadian writer; his books even have a consistent presence on the BC Ferries gift shop bookshelves. I was introduced to Ferguson's work by the man I love, who urged me to read it because "everyone who works in publishing should." He even sent me the book, and I polished it off in a few days and, excited, passed it on to a friend working with me at the university press. She also loved it, and read it even faster than I did. (I knew she would.)

So, the book's premise is this: Someone writes a self-help book that actually works. Everyone buys it. Everyone becomes happy. The world collapses. The editor (who initially rejected the manuscript) hunts down the writer. There's some gunfire somewhere in the book. There are daisy stickers. There's a man who's ended up with his own harem. There's a trailer. A desert. New York City. People in robes. A janitor in a limo.

And it's all funny.

6 comments:

Amanda said...

Hahaha...not normally my type of book genre but this sounds hilarious! I'm putting it on my TBR pile. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Wow, the premise of this book sounds fantastic. I'll have to hunt a copy down!

Ana S. said...

It does sound hilarious! I don't think I'd heard of it before, so thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Cathy said...

Thanks for bringing this book to my attention. I immediately headed over to Paperback Swap and ordered it, so it's on its way!

Cathy said...

Okay, I've started reading it and I've laughed so much that I know my husband is going to want to read it next! Thanks for the recommendation!

Lenore Appelhans said...

Cool - I like a good absurd book!