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Lädt ... Mirth of a Nation: The Best Contemporary Humorvon Michael J. Rosen (Herausgeber)
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A salvo of hilarity from that loose canon of American humor that Mirth of a Nation editor Michael J. Rosen has culled from some 1200 pages of brilliantly original works by our best contemporary humorists. This action-packed compilation of highlights includes Bobbie Ann Mason's stint at the La Bamba hotline, David Rakoff's insights on families, Andy Borowitz's memoir of Emily Dickinson (basically, she was a drunken jerk), and Michael Feldman's helpful (re)locating of the Midwest. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)817.5408Literature English (North America) American wit and humor 20th Century 1945-1999Klassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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This collection is not necessarily varied. That is not to say that there aren’t different writing styles, but it is a non-stop onslaught of humorous writing. And, with 140 different pieces (plus extras – not unlike the DVD version) and over 600 pages, it would be quite easy to find yourself staring at the pages blankly wondering, “When was the last time I laughed?”
All that as preface to the fact that this is a very nice collection that does not wear thin through the reading. I believe someone could sit, read it cover to cover, and not become inured to the effect. (An aside – I did not do that. About halfway through, I just had an urge to read something else to break up flow. As an interesting choice, I went to J. D. Salinger short stories, which probably had some weird effect on what I was seeing in those stories. But the fact that after 300 pages I was still enjoying the humor speaks to the editor’s ability to meet the challenge of being humorous and providing variety.)
And so, to the content. If you were reading closely in the prior paragraphs (and why wouldn’t you be [don’t answer that]) you may have noted that I continue to use the word humorous rather than funny. It may be telling that title of the book uses the word “Mirth”. There were a few laugh-out-loud moments in this collection, but the majority were just humorously (that word again) entertaining. On the other hand, there were probably only two or three that I began to read, began skimming, realized there was nothing worth reading, and I moved on. Not bad out of 140. The only other caveat is that humor does not always age well. The references to Clinton, etc. are humorous, but are definitely loosing their punch over time. An entertaining collection that brings together a number of the country’s premier comedic writers (amazing how many Late Night writers show up), you can make your own decision whether you want to plow through the entire thing or sample it with Chablis in the evening. But you should probably make the decision to try it out. ( )