Nothing is easier to poke fun at than the life of a writer, with our overly lofty ambitions, fragile egos, and navel-gazing ways. For this reason, there is no shortage of comedic novels that pull back the curtain on this humiliating struggle, following writer main characters as they attempt to produce “important” works of literature in the face of their all too human shortcomings—fear of failure and of criticism, addictions of all kinds, jealousy of other writers, and of course, a debilitating sense of inadequacy paired with a desperate longing for external validation.
My debut novel, Bitter Texas Honey, follows Joan West, a privileged, pill-popping, Texan degenerate who yearns above all else to be seen and acknowledged as a writer. To that end, she is desperate to finish her long-abandoned coming-of-age novel, or at least get a short story published somewhere respectable. While the novel is about much more than writing, Joan dedicates much of her mental energy toward this pursuit. She carries a notebook everywhere, mining her life (and the lives of those around her) for compelling material. However, like many young writers, Joan is sorely misguided. While she dreams of book signings and prestigious awards, she lacks the discipline to actually sit still with the blank screen and face herself, to be present long enough with her thoughts to write anything approaching truth.
The following eight novels also satirize their main characters’ literary ambitions. Each of these books features a writer main character at varying career stages, battling against their own ego. What I enjoy most about books like this is their humor, stemming from the refusal to take themselves too seriously as authors. While not all these novels are autobiographical, one can’t help but pick up on a hint of self-deprecation in these stories. It feels that these authors are inviting readers to laugh at themselves alongside their main characters.
Perfume and Pain by Anna Dorn
In Dorn’s sharp, hilarious, and compulsively readable tale of lesbian chaos, 35-year-old novelist Astrid Dahl is struggling to write her fourth book. She longs for the naïve confidence she possessed in her twenties, and finds herself crippled in the wake of the criticism she’s received after being politically incorrect at a Barnes and Noble event. Dorn’s handling of Astrid’s authorly ego is delightfully ironic and embarrassingly relatable. People with healthy egos don’t become writers, Astrid muses early on. They become engineers.
Old School by Tobias Wolff
Short story great Tobias Wolff’s semi-autobiographical novel follows a young, bookish scholarship student at a prestigious boarding school in the 1960’s. Spanning one academic year, the novel’s structure is built around 3 successive writing competitions held by the school to win an hourlong audience with incredibly famous visiting authors (Robert Frost, Ayn Rand, and finally, Ernest Hemingway). Wolff’s protagonist—ambitious, competitive, and insecure—is desperate to win, and you can’t help but root for him, even as he makes questionable decisions to achieve his goal. Come for Wolff’s masterful storytelling and moral acuity; stay for the funniest takedown of Ayn Rand in contemporary fiction.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Fantasy writer R.F. Kuang brings her genre chops to this satirical literary thriller. She takes aim at the entire publishing industry while skewering her protagonist, white novelist June Hayward, whose desperation for outward success leads her to steal and publish her late friend’s manuscript under a vaguely Chinese-sounding surname. Every page of Yellowface is dripping with June’s jealousy, greed, and unhealthy ego. The result is a gripping page-turner that is by turns funny and terrifying.
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
In Greer’s charming novel, 49-year-old “minor” author Arthur Less accepts a stack of invitations he would usually decline. He jaunts around the globe, to New York, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Japan, and India, to avoid attending, or even being in the same time zone as, the wedding of his longtime ex-lover. Throughout his journey, we are reminded of poor Arthur’s career insecurities. His narrator describes Less early on as “an author too old to be fresh and too young to be rediscovered, one who never sits next to anyone on a plane who has heard of his books.” Despite his perceived worldly failures, it is hard not to fall in love with Arthur Less by the end of this tenderhearted novel.
My Struggle: Book 5 by Karl Ove Knausgaard
In the fifth installment of his poignant autobiographical epic, Knausgaard breathlessly catalogs in unbelievable detail the humiliations and humanity of an ambitious aspiring writer. The novel spans the decade leading up to his first book deal at age 28. Throughout, we watch young Karl Ove oscillate between overconfidence and crippling self-doubt. The result is both hilarious and poignant. You don’t have to read the preceding four My Struggle tomes to enjoy this engrossing and honest portrait of a budding novelist.
A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself by Peter Ho Davies
In Peter Ho Davies’ clever, at times heart-wrenching novel, a professor and writer confronts deep moral questions about marriage and fatherhood while grappling with the painful aftermath of an abortion, as well as his young son’s potential autism diagnosis. Despite the heavy subject matter, Davies brings his signature wit to the story, especially when poking fun at his protagonist’s descent into careerism in the face of his somber reality:
He takes her advice of so long ago, writes about their loss…. Maybe it’ll be his big break, his New Yorker moment. He still feels owed something.
A Novel Obsession by Caitlin Barasch
Caitlin Barasch’s addictive, thrilleresque debut follows New York City bookseller Naomi, a wannabe writer who goes to absolutely unhinged lengths to gather material for her first novel. Namely, by stalking her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend. The story is painful, but propulsive. You might cringe the whole time, but I found it impossible to look away from the mess Naomi makes in her determination to prove herself as a novelist.
Death Valley by Melissa Broder
Melissa Broder’s latest follows a novelist as she ventures into the California desert to escape her “anticipatory grief” and gather material for the “desert section” of her novel-in-progress. Here, she intends for her main character to have a pivotal epiphany. However, Broder’s funny and self-aware hero lets her flaws lead her astray, and she find herself into serious danger. This slim novel represents Broder at her best. This survival tale is surreal, meta, and poignant.
The post 8 Funny Novels That Make Light of the Writer’s Plight appeared first on Electric Literature.
Source : 8 Funny Novels That Make Light of the Writer’s Plight
