Groucho Marx once said, “From the moment I picked up your book until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it.” As an avid reader, I think Groucho got cause-and-effect wrong. Even so, he has inspired me to propose the creation of a book list in his honor. What follows is my nomination of three books. My criterion for selection? The content and the rhythm of the words made me laugh out loud more than once. To me, the combination of literature and laughter seems like an antidote for our times.
A comic novel: The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh
The women of the Du'o'ng Family were cursed generations ago: they were never to experience love or happiness, and they would give birth only to daughters. (Yes, it's a sexist curse.) The current generation of 60-year-old Du'o'ng women — all sisters — live in Orange County, CA and are known throughout Little Saigon for their imitation Louis Vuitton handbags, as well as bickering, yelling, and screaming at each other. (I could hear the din while reading the book!) Their daughters live in Vietnam, Seattle, New York, and Orange County. They range from a high-tech millionaire to nail salon workers. Are they doomed like their mothers to endure lives of dissatisfaction, anger, estrangement, and jealousy? Unless you can consult Auntie Hú'a, the famous psychic of Kauai, you'll need to read the book to find out!
A hilarious Edgar Award-winning mystery: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
60-year-old Vera Wong finds a dead man in her San Francisco tea house. She not only solves the murder but unravels it with singular ingenuity. Vera is not what she seems; her tea house is not “world famous” as she advertises; nor is she “Vera Wang,” the (real life) fashion designer whom the tea house sign names as the proprietor. As Vera identifies first one and then another suspect, we learn that her superpower is comedic intelligence. Plus, she is endearing. What’s not to love about an amateur detective who observes: “People always say your wedding is the happiest day of your life but honestly people should try solving murders more often.”
A spirited coming-of-age story: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Winner of the 2007 National Book Award, The Absolutely True Diary is not all that. It falls short of the truth and nothing but the truth by 22% confesses Sherman Alexie. That said, 78% of the honest, funny, and heartbreaking story of his life growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation is unequivocally a gift from the author to the reader. I would love to see the algorithm Alexie used for a hint of what he chose to omit. Fortunately, what we can and do see are Ellen Forney’s illustrations, as brilliantly expressive as the author’s words, drawn in the imagined style of the 14-year-old protagonist Arnold, who draws cartoons all the time “because I want to talk to the world. And I want the world to pay attention to me.”
Arnold attracts the world’s attention at birth, before cartooning, because he suffers from “water on the brain.” Like the book’s title, that’s not exactly true, but it’s a true enough description of hydrocephalus. Arnold requires surgery. Only six months old, he’s not likely to survive the operation without brain damage. But improbably he does; and while Arnold’s life going forward continues to be marked by many near and actual catastrophes, he is attuned to every moment, always learning, forever fighting (literally and figuratively) to find his place in the world. Told from Arnold’s perspective, in a voice that is fresh and original, the story is profoundly sad, but incredibly comic as well.
A last few words about The Absolutely True Diary are necessary. The book has been banned by one or more school districts every year since it was published in 2007 purportedly due to its “vulgar” language and “sexual references.” At the same time, many young people, typically boys, report to the author, their teachers, or other trusted adults that The Absolutely True Diary is “the first book I ever finished” or “the only book I’ve ever read.” Why? Because it’s the one book they encountered that “felt real.”
If you would like to add to the Groucho Marx List of Books, you are welcome to email your recommendation to me at lindacwing@gmail.com. The title and a minimum rating of two instances of laughing out loud are all that is needed.
Linda Wing, Ph.D., is an OLLI @Berkeley member and volunteer who spent more than 45 years working to transform public schools in order to enable students in the nation’s cities to learn and achieve at high levels.
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