6 Hilarious Novels that Will Improve Your Comedy Writing

A Reading List for Mastering Humor in Fiction

Last week, at the Poets & Writers Get the Word Out Reading, I read from my forthcoming debut novel, Good People. Good People follows the story of a white girl who was raised by a Black family and must come to terms with her identity as she applies for a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford. At its core, Good People is a satirical novel, and as I wait for the next round of edits from my editor, I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of comedy within the context of novel writing.

Over the summer, we launched a two-part series about comedy writing. Most of our examples came from film and television, and one of our readers asked for humor writing examples from novels. So, today, I’m sharing six hilarious books I love that might help you develop humor in your own work.

Open Throat by Henry Hoke

Open Throat¹ follows the story of a gay mountain lion who’s never killed a human before, but today he might.

Not only is this novel one of the funniest books I’ve ever read, it’s also one of my all-time favorite novels. From its social commentary to the ways Hoke captures the idiosyncrasies of Los Angeles with side characters and dialogue, Open Throat is a perfect example of how writers can use humor to augment theme and further explore what it means to be human.

Erasure by Percival Everett

Tired of being pigeonholed by the publishing industry as a Black writer, Thelonious “Monk” Ellison writes the most stereotypical and offensive portrayal of the Black experience under a pseudonym. To his surprise, this troll novel is met with astonishing blockbuster success.

Erasure is the novel that the movie, American Fiction, is based on. As a Black writer from a highly educated, upper middle class family, I’ve never seen my life experience or a family so similar to my own depicted in literary fiction like this. Personally, I love this book for all the ways I can deeply relate to Monk’s experiences. As a comedy writer, this book was one of the most influential reads of my career because it is a master class in satire. The best part of Erasure is that Everett wrote 100 pages of My Pafology/F*ck and actually included it in the book. This nesting doll of novels is a brilliant example of how a novel can use the kind of “visual” comedy and delivery-dependent humor that we discussed in our first comedy craft lesson.

Re Jane by Patricia Park

A Jane Eyre retelling, Re Jane follows the story of a half-Korean orphan in Queens who attempts to escape her life by becoming an au pair for a wealthy family.

While this novel isn’t a humor novel per se—I’d call it more of a family drama—Park experiments with charts and other visual elements to serve as set ups and punch lines for various jokes. I read this book almost ten years ago, and Park’s experimental visual humor is one of the main things I still remember to this day. I recommend Re Jane to any writers looking to approach humor writing in a new way.

Dream State by Eric Puchner

In the weeks before her wedding, Cece is caught in a love triangle and must decide between living the perfect-on-paper life she’s spent the last decade building and abandoning everything to find happiness with her husband-to-be’s best friend.

We first talked about Dream State in our post, “How to Make Bad Writing Advice Your Secret Weapon.” Puchner was my professor in undergrad, and I actually started Good People in his class. As a student, I’ve learned so much about punching up comedy from him, and over the years, I’ve learned even more about craft as a reader of his work. Dream State is a laugh-out-loud funny book with poignant insights into grief, addiction, and what it means to live a good life. If you’re looking to punch up your dialogue and explore joke structure in narration, check out Dream State for fantastic examples of how comedy can be used to develop characters and their relationships with each other.

A River of Stars by Vanessa Hua

After getting knocked up by her boss in China, Scarlett hides out in San Francisco and must find a way to secure her stay in the US before her baby’s father finds her.

A River of Stars has excellent examples of how narration and character blocking can create physical comedy in a novel. Without spoiling too much, at the beginning of the book, there’s a “chase scene” between two very pregnant women that’s a riot. Similarly to Puchner and Park’s books, Hua’s novel is another example of a family drama that flawlessly integrates comedic relief.

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

This book is so hilariously unhinged that I literally cannot write a sufficient logline to tell you what it’s about. You just have to trust me and read it.

The Sellout is probably the funniest book I’ve ever read, and Paul Beatty’s work in general has had a huge impact on how I approach comedy in my own novel writing. This book has brilliant examples of joke structure in both dialogue and narration. The narration also demonstrates ways to use imagery and character blocking to create visual comedy. If you want to learn how to be funny while writing a novel, look no further than The Sellout.

Have you read any of the books on this list? What are some of the funniest books you’ve ever read? Let’s talk all things comedy in the comments:

Until next time,

Kat

1. This post includes affiliate links. I may receive a commission if you make a purchase through these links. Purchasing books through the Craft with Kat Bookshop supports the free writing resources I share here on Substack.