The funniest books to read

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Every person has episodes in his life when melancholic sadness, melancholy or depression rolls in, and at such moments the best savior is an interesting book. Plunging into it, a person forgets about everything else, the problems of the real world fade into the background. A good book is a lifeline in the ocean of life's unrest, and an interesting and funny book is even more so, and if we paraphrase the words of Bernard Werber, we can say: "A book is like a sword, humor is like a shield." Let's hit with a good book on melancholy and bad mood and defend ourselves with humor from all life's vicissitudes!

A sense of humor is a very subjective concept, so all the tops of the best, ratings and other comparative actions are obviously doomed to condemnation, because 100% of the same opinions about one work do not exist, and even more so about a funny book. The most objective in this case is time-tested, so below is a list of works from this category.

A play in verse

This work is literally every secondcolumn stretched by readers into quotes. "The Tale of Fedot the Archer, a daring fellow" was written in 1985 by the Russian author Leonid Filatov based on the well-known children's fairy tale "Go there - I don't know where." The play in verse instantly won the hearts of readers with subtle sparkling humor, its inimitable style in the spirit of a parody of a folk tale with a classic plot and an old style in a modern manner makes it unique and relevant at all times. This is one of the few books that, even in audio format, does not lose its spark and zest.

In 2008, a cartoon for adults based on this work was filmed, which is very accurately intertwined with the idea and manner of presenting Filatov. The whole essence of interpersonal relations, politics and moral values is shown in "The Tale of Fedot the Sagittarius, the Daring Fellow", which will be just as modern, relevant, interesting and funny for decades to come.

The plot is quite simple and ordinary, as in all folk tales: an evil king, a good fellow and a beauty. The king, wanting to get his beloved Fedot, gives him difficult tasks in order to get him out of the world. But as you know, in fairy tales, good always triumphs over evil.

My Family and Other Animals by Darrell Gerald

This is an autobiographical story about several years of the author's residence on the island of Corfu. The story is told from the perspective of a ten-year-old boy who would later become an outstanding naturalist and biologist. His large family, each member of which has his own "cockroaches in his head", and theirliving together amid these differences is the main story.

Most members of large families will see themselves in this funny book: the most interesting thing is that the situations are ordinary, but the presentation of the plot, dialogues and small details by the author is such that you want to reread it again and again, realizing that somewhere there is the same crazy and reckless families, and because of this, yours no longer seems flawed and inadequate to itself. The author very simply, skillfully and unobtrusively immerses the reader into the colorful world of the plant and animal kingdom, intertwining all this with stories about his relatives, flavoring it with amazing gravy of humor and fun. And "My Family and Other Animals" is a book that teaches people to love animals and nature in general, it is very touching and sincere.

Kebab Cat's Notes

An unusual creation by Alex Exler, in which the story is told from the perspective of a cat with a strange name: his cynical view of what is happening is sometimes too harsh and subjective. After reading this book, many of your pet's actions become more understandable and obvious, despite all the comedy of the situation, and the mood will definitely increase a hundred times from the sarcastic tirades of Shashlik. From the very first lines it becomes clear that the cat is still a fruit, arrogant, ungrateful, but he is a Cat! Divine being of the highest order. And in the process of reading, a change in attitude towards him from indignation at frankly low actions to tenderness and touchingness will happen several times.

Although some readers commented on the bookExler otherwise: base tavern humor on the verge of vulgarity, propaganda of laziness and drunkenness in the form of a cat owner, absolutely not funny situations and lack of morality. But not all the works of writers need to be in the spirit of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky - sometimes light reading on a day off or during a vacation will give a person more than volumes of great classics. This is again a subjective thing, so it's better to read and draw your own conclusion than to be limited by the opinions of others.

Brilliant works by Ilf and Petrov

"The Twelve Chairs" is a unique book. It belongs to those works that are in the “eternal” column: each generation of readers finds in them a reflection of their time, despite the fact that the first book was written in 1927. The young charismatic adventurer Bender and his ward Kisa are looking for diamonds hidden in one of 12 chairs, their adventures on this wave are served under such an amazing sauce of humor and satire that even the most cynical critic will not resist.

Quotes from this creation wander among the people, while not everyone knows their origin and authors: “The ice has broken, gentlemen”, “Don’t teach me how to live”, “Famous”, “How much is opium for the people”, “Or maybe they’ll give you the key to the apartment where the money is,”and many other amazingly strong and capacious phrases that are used all the time. The book is a must-read for everyone, it is like a powerful cleanser that cleanses the mind, washing away narrowness and stereotypes from there.

"The Golden Calf" - a book by the same authors, iscontinuation of the adventures of Ostap Bender, who is now competing with two more "sons of Lieutenant Schmidt" and is trying to seize other people's we alth with cunning and tricks. This novel is also full of famous catchphrases: "An idiot's dream came true", "I will command the parade", "I would take parts, but I need it right away." The book "The Golden Calf" is just full of amazingly sharp words and remarks that are not immediately noticeable to an inexperienced reader.

All Red

Despite the fact that this work is most often referred to as detectives, it reads like an excellent ironic novel with elements of the grotesque. According to the plot, a young man is killed at a party, who is trying to warn the hostess of fun about something extremely important, naturally, he does not have time, and the main character herself becomes the object of persecution and murder attempts, most often unsuccessful. The whole canvas of the work is saturated with amazingly subtle humor, hilarious situations, interspersed with discoveries about the real essence of a person.

The author of the novel, Ioanna Khmelevskaya, does not consider her creation a masterpiece or worthy of standing on the same shelf with Gogol or Chekhov, it is rather homemade reading under a blanket on an autumn day - to cheer up, get rid of melancholy and laziness. The work belongs to the funniest books of our time, despite the tragic plot.

Mikhail Ouspensky Trilogy

"The Adventures of Zhihar" is a modern fantasy in the spirit of folklore with an admixture of humor, witticisms and modern slang. Red-haired Zhihar is friends with himselfKing Arthur (neither more nor less) and the Chinese Liu, with them he finds himself in various situations on which the book is based. A heap of extraordinary and frankly fabulous accents in the form of a sorcerer's vehicle, flights to the moon, pagan Baba Yaga, Leshy and Vodyany, mixed with the modern train of thought, words and actions of the protagonist, gives rise to a kind of mess, which only somehow calms down by the middle of the novel and shows main point.

At the same time, it is useless to wait for subtle "British" humor - here everything is our way, in a simple way, backhanded and backhanded. Therefore, lovers of subtleties consider this trilogy to be low-grade garbage on the level of Dontsova.

But after all, few people compare folk tales with the classics, but they occupy a place of honor in every family and are rightfully considered the first teachers. Therefore, perhaps it is not worth demanding much from modern fantasy tales, allowing them to simply spend the evenings with readers, because any smile and laughter prolong life, no matter from reading Gogol's "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" or Mikhail Uspensky's "The Adventures of Zhikhar"

The most popular work by a Czech author

The first mention of the name of the author of this work immediately gives rise to one association - the soldier Schweik. “The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik” by Yaroslav Hasek has long become a classic of modern literature: the adventures of an unsightly little man in a filthy overcoat and worn boots, walking along the military road from one incidental situation to another, but not losing his optimism and breadth of soul, will make even the most severe smileand seasoned reader. Sharp satire to tears, reminiscent of soldiers' tales around a campfire under a stack, and the call to stop all wars that runs through the whole novel make this novel worthy of respect and recognition. Great in its simplicity, accessible to any level of understanding, Hasek's novel has won millions of hearts around the world, and his chatty character has become a symbol of ingenuity and kind primitiveness.

The adventures of the good soldier Schweik begin with the fact that he was disqualified due to "the scarcity of the mind", but during the First World War he was again drafted into the army for extras, or as cannon fodder, as they now like to say. On the way to the front line, the good soldier is harassed by representatives of different strata of society, they are twisted as they want, but he inexorably continues to move forward towards obvious death.

Sarcasm seasoned with nostalgia and sadness

"Legends of Nevsky Prospekt" is a collection of stories about life in the city of Leningrad in the 20th century of ordinary, unremarkable people: doctors, speculators, military men and even women of easy virtue. In a sharp satirical form with a large share of sarcasm, the life and customs of the people of that time are depicted, the mentality of Russia shines through in every story, there is often a feeling that the characters are familiar people: a neighbor or work colleague, a friend’s uncle or brother’s wife. It is this realism of the characters that makes you live the moments described in the book in a special way, there is a feeling of bitter reality and truthfulness of what is happening in the spirit of "I was there too." After allall the stories told in the book seem impossibly real.

The book was first published in 1993 and since then Mikhail Veller has gained immense popularity among the Russian-speaking population. Laughter at the top of its voice is about the "Legends of Nevsky Prospekt", so it is ideal for long winter evenings and pleasant companies. For those who do not know how to laugh at themselves, the book is contraindicated: it will cause nothing but disgust for the world and people.

Adams Fantastic Novel

According to the BBC, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is ranked fourth in the list of the most popular, and creator Douglas Adams is considered one of the best contemporary science fiction writers. The book consists of several parts, the first of which was written in 1979. In the first three months, 250,000 copies were sold, followed by four more parts of the book, and in 2005 the novel was filmed. This is truly a sensation in the world of science fiction!

The plot of the novel "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is based on the intergalactic travels of the loser Arthur Dent, who suddenly learns that the planet Earth must be destroyed by hostile alien creatures, and his friend, whom he has known for many years, is also an alien. Moments before Earth's destruction, he and a friend find themselves on a starship.

If you start reading the novel, it will initially seem that absurdity is built on absurdity, gives rise to absurdity on the verge of madness and a complete lack of logic, the world in the novel seems so strange, but painfully real, and against the backdrop of general madness, deep philosophic althoughts about the Cosmos, about its habitability: other races and life forms. Many of the funny moments in the book are impossible to understand without some knowledge of physics, so it makes sense to keep a reference book handy. And all these factors are mixed with jokes and comic situations to stomach cramps and Homeric laughter.

Inimitable English humor

English writer Pelem Wodehouse created a whole series of comedy novels and stories "Jeeves and Wooster" about the adventures of an English aristocrat, a convinced bachelor, and his ubiquitous valet. The first story was written back in 1916, and the story was periodically updated with stories until 1974. The novels were the inspiration for a British series starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, which is still an example of a good comedy film.

The stories are based on funny and embarrassing situations, mostly with women trying to marry a young aristocrat: they are hit by a narrow-minded but brilliantly educated Wooster, from whom he is rescued by a resourceful valet Jeeves. For example, in the novel “That Inimitable Jeeves”, Wooster’s best friend, Bertie, is woven into the plot, who is too greedy for women: he decides to marry a waitress from a bar, bypassing the opinion of aristocratic relatives, against this background of Bertie Wooster’s attempt to get rid of annoying attempts to marry themselves on the next girl seem even more ridiculous. As always, the amazingly erudite Jeeves comes to the rescue, deftly resolving the situation one by one.

Exquisite subtle English humor, combined with unobtrusiveness and delicacy, without deep philosophical and rhetorical heaps, does credit to the author, whose books are rightfully considered one of the funniest books in British literature.

In conclusion

The above are not all the funniest books worth reading, but just the subjective opinion of the author. There is also a huge list of works worthy of the reader’s attention, but with more diverse taste preferences: since those who prefer Olga Gromyko’s novels are unlikely to be interested in the highlights of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol’s humor, and lovers of “How to Live with a Neurotic Dog” or the works of Slava Se will not always delve into into a delicate veil of exquisite irony in "Heart of a Dog" and the works of Viktor Pelevin (who is still a humorist!).

A sense of humor, like a sense of tact, each has its own, subjective, and therefore people will be confused by different things, sometimes completely opposite and incomprehensible to others. Therefore, we will not impose thoughts, but let the reader make a personal choice. And most importantly: smile, gentlemen, smile!