I was talking with Rachel one day about serious funny books. I don’t mean seriously funny, I mean humorous but also not afraid to go there. Books that touch on the painful realities of life tend to be dramas, while books that are funny tend to steer clear of topics like miscarraige, suicide, body dysmorphia, etc. Which is odd because it is so common in film and TV these days, and being a visual medium the dark stuff is so much more visceral. Moreover, some of the greatest novels rely on dark humor, like Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse Five.
Why are there whole magazines dedicated to romance, sci-fi, short fiction, mysteries, etc., but not for literary humor? Surely people don’t love The Hitchhhikers Guide to the Galaxy because it is science fiction. They love it because it’s a funny book about the meaning of life that destroys planet earth in chapter one. When it seems like the world is falling apart, sometimes you just need to laugh… while being subtly reminded that crap the world is falling apart.
When will readers give authors like Rachel Callaghan, Carl Hiassen and Karma Bennett the respect they deserve? (But especially that last one?). These authors have the audacity to write things that balance darkly serious humor with our seriously dark world. I demand they have more time in the limelight, especially because I’m one of them. Or at the very least, their very own interview series.
So we’re starting this: The Dark Humor Books Interview Series to feature authors who write dark humor, black comedy, or that which somehow is both outrageous and painfully true.
Wait, who the heck is “we”?
No, evil bots haven’t cloned Rachel, despite her impressive literary proliferation.
Since this is Rachel’s website, you can probably figure out who Rachel is. She is one of those authors who just can’t seem to pick a lane, writing historical fiction, parody, and most recently a crime procedural. Her next book is going to be an epistolary—the nerve! How dare she master yet another genre, and one I can’t even spell or pronounce? But one thing I’ve noticed about Rachel’s books is they all make me laugh out loud at some point, even as they are digging into tough topics.
Me? I’m Karma. Here’s me giving a cocktail the stink eye —>
I am surly, outspoken, and savvy that lists should always come in threes. I’ve had poetry, articles and an essay published, but have yet to complete a full manuscript in any genre, not even one I can spell or pronounce. I am currently writing a memoir about growing up with a hippie mom who had dissociative identity disorder. It’s funnier than it sounds; I swear!
Enough about us…
What you can expect from the dark humor interview series
Dark Humor Influences (Not “influencers!”)
One thing that I’m interested in is how people find their path to this kind of writing. You’ll see my influences at the top of this post. I’m captivated by how Joseph Heller can make the reader laugh at a scene, and then later make the reader cry by describing that very same scene.
Jonathon Safran Foer’s Everything is Illuminated does a similar thing by presenting a character through the lens of a stereotype. We laugh along at this shtick, even as the Holocaust serves as the backdrop for the story. Later in the novel the stereotype falls away. What first appeared to be silly foibles are ultimately shown to be survival mechanisms. It’s not so funny when those foibles reflect the generational trauma of small towns destroyed by a war decades ago. It’s so impactful and striking.
By making the audience laugh, both of these books implicate the reader. It is one thing for the author to make a joke in poor taste, it’s an entirely different magic to trick the reader into laughing along. I have a pivotal scene in my manuscript that jokes about growing up in a second amendment house, “We don’t call 911.” Let’s just say that the end of that scene aims to achieve a similar reversal.
Since mingling humor with fiction is a special talent, I’m interested in finding out about dark comedy authors’ influences. Who taught them to write humor? What books gave them permission to be irreverent? What other mediums inspired them? And how does this show up in their own works? Most critically, what should I add to my Netflix watchlist?
Besides, questions about influences are fun. Fun to read, and easy for the authors to respond to. Because everyone loves to talk about what they love, don’t they?
To get the ball rolling I’ll be interviewing our very own Rachel Callaghan. I also have interviews lined up with LM Chilton (Don’t Swipe Right), and A. Lee Martinez (Too Many Curses) and Heather Haven (The Alvarez Murder Mysteries series).
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