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kjboldon's review
3.0
Bought this at an indie bookstore, because it's by John Warner, a writer at the site Morning News and the one who does the fun event Biblioracle there, then passed it on. More dark than funny, and with a complex, thought-provoking ending.
drewsof's review
4.0
I really had fun with this book. It goes quickly and gets a bit odd - but it's a wonderful debut from an author who I've been waiting see a debut from since I first encountered his work some years ago. And I've been hearing about this book since I started following the Tournament of Books, so I'm thrilled to've finally had it in hand. It's a good read - and I can't wait to see what comes next.
thepickygirl's review
4.0
The funny man has always been funny enough. As a kid, he didn't know the word for someone who makes people laugh, but he asked. Comic. At first the laughs come in small clubs late at night while his wife and baby wait for him at home, his wife exhausted from her waitressing job.
One day, his stay-at-home-dad routine pays off. The kid sticks his hand in his mouth and makes a noise, laughing, and the funny guy repeats the gag, complete with impressions of celebrities, for an agent, and then to bigger audiences for larger amounts of money and then on the film screen for obscene amounts of money, until the funny man is no longer amused by sticking his fist in his own mouth. Yet sticking his fist in his mouth and talking is the only way people pay him. The funny man begins breaking under the pressure, using different arrays of pills to numb his physical and psychological pain, until he loses his wife and child, his adoring fans, and eventually his freedom, after he shoots a man who tries to mug him.
I just - not ten minutes ago - finished this book, and though I usually like to sit with my thoughts after I finish a book, this was the sort that made me realize I had to write off the cuff, getting my initial impressions down immediately. When I saw this book offered on NetGalley, I was expecting a graphic novel. Why? Apparently because I can be a real dumbass when I judge books only by their covers. What I found was a true American novel - one that has its pulse on our sometimes-ridiculous, oft-ludicrous, more-often-than-not sad culture (am I allowed to use that many hyphens?).
Told from the funny man's unreliable perspective (dude is on all sorts of drugs), his mind drifts in jail and during his trial to the sets of circumstances leading up to his incarceration, all while planning an escape to be with a young tennis player he watches obsessively on DVR.
In turns funny, brutally honest, and downright depressing, The Funny Man holds a mirror up to celebrity and comes away with a bleak reflection tinged with a dark humor. Though not unkind, Warner also criticizes the masses who so willingly seek out and drive the insanity of the rich and famous. (If you doubt me, turn on the TV or walk past a newsstand and try NOT to learn about Kim Kardashian's wedding.)
This is the kind of book that will:
-make you stay up all night reading and blinking rapidly in disbelief at the lives of the rich and famous.
-make you wish you were independently wealthy so you can stay home and read.
-make you wonder what's for dinner.
-make you wonder what's on TV.
-make you want to smack someone, usually the characters.
One day, his stay-at-home-dad routine pays off. The kid sticks his hand in his mouth and makes a noise, laughing, and the funny guy repeats the gag, complete with impressions of celebrities, for an agent, and then to bigger audiences for larger amounts of money and then on the film screen for obscene amounts of money, until the funny man is no longer amused by sticking his fist in his own mouth. Yet sticking his fist in his mouth and talking is the only way people pay him. The funny man begins breaking under the pressure, using different arrays of pills to numb his physical and psychological pain, until he loses his wife and child, his adoring fans, and eventually his freedom, after he shoots a man who tries to mug him.
I just - not ten minutes ago - finished this book, and though I usually like to sit with my thoughts after I finish a book, this was the sort that made me realize I had to write off the cuff, getting my initial impressions down immediately. When I saw this book offered on NetGalley, I was expecting a graphic novel. Why? Apparently because I can be a real dumbass when I judge books only by their covers. What I found was a true American novel - one that has its pulse on our sometimes-ridiculous, oft-ludicrous, more-often-than-not sad culture (am I allowed to use that many hyphens?).
Told from the funny man's unreliable perspective (dude is on all sorts of drugs), his mind drifts in jail and during his trial to the sets of circumstances leading up to his incarceration, all while planning an escape to be with a young tennis player he watches obsessively on DVR.
In turns funny, brutally honest, and downright depressing, The Funny Man holds a mirror up to celebrity and comes away with a bleak reflection tinged with a dark humor. Though not unkind, Warner also criticizes the masses who so willingly seek out and drive the insanity of the rich and famous. (If you doubt me, turn on the TV or walk past a newsstand and try NOT to learn about Kim Kardashian's wedding.)
This is the kind of book that will:
-make you stay up all night reading and blinking rapidly in disbelief at the lives of the rich and famous.
-make you wish you were independently wealthy so you can stay home and read.
-make you wonder what's for dinner.
-make you wonder what's on TV.
-make you want to smack someone, usually the characters.
rgreenberg's review
3.0
Not entirely sure what I just read. This novel is often funny and totally satirical but goes just a bit too far and I wasn't expecting it and I didn't exactly like it.
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