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Looking for some quality comedy entertainment to check out?
Who better to turn to for under-the-radar comedy recommendations than comedians?
But Gondelman has not seen this movie.
One of them wasThe Sisters Brothers, and the other wasThe Selloutby Paul Beatty.
Her recommendations could not have been more dead-on.
Both of them are absolutely what I want when someone tells me a book is funny.
I think I know what you mean about heartbreaking.
I do think its an incredibly visceral, uncomfortable experience reading this book.
But I didnt laugh.
Does that kind of narrative speak to you?I really like the dryness of it.
I like a subtle comedy.
I think Patrick deWitt does a great job at giving us more with less.
Honestly, it reminds me of the dry humor ofTrue Grit.
Theres the little subtle hints of Eli being kind of a dumbass as a narrator.
I do think thatTrue Gritand this book feel like they capture similar ideas.
Its all very violent, but also really quirky and wry in a way that plays really well.
The tone could easily have gone too bleak or too twee in this book.
… and I think the narration through Eli makes everything so simple and plain.
Theres so much violence!
It almost feels likeOf Mice and Menbut narrated by Lennie.
He doesnt have this acuity that his brother has.
And there is poignancy to it like, I dont think were laughing at Eli, right?
Were laughing at his view:This violence is inevitable.
And I guess I just roam the prairie doing violence with my brother.
Then it kind of turns intoOh, you could just quit.
I think its really elegantly done so that you feel the horror of it.
Its not saying, Violence is cool and fun.
Its saying, Violence is horrible, and isnt it weird that we just keep doing this?
Its just meeting a bunch of weird guys on the road.
Ill tell you how I failed at it.
It didnt have to be funny.
The scene could have just as easily been that he meets this dentist; its painful.
Its not likeSeinfeldorFriendsorCheers,where characters are sitting around saying funny things to each other.
