What do you think?
The Funny Man
The funny man is a middling comic in an unnamed city. By day he takes care of his infant son, by night he performs in small clubs, sandwiched between other aspiring comics. His wife waits tables to support the family. It doesn’t sound like much, but they’re happy, more or less. Until the day he comes up with it. His thing. His gimmick. And everything changes. He’s a headliner, and the venues get bigger fast. Pretty soon it’s Hollywood and a starring role in a blockbuster, all thanks to the gimmick.
Which He performs with his fist in his mouth to the wrist. Jokes, impressions, commercials—all with his fist in his mouth to the wrist. The people want him—are crazy for him—but only with his fist in his mouth.
And the funny man, he is tired of having his fist in his mouth.
Thus, as the novel begins, his career’s in tatters, his family’s left him, and he’s on trial for shooting an unarmed man six times. But for the second time in his life, against all odds, he’s found love. This time with another celebrity, who may or may not be sending him coded messages, and may or may not be equally in love—or even know he exists. A coruscating satire of our culture of celebrity, this debut novel documents one individual’s slide from everyman to monster, even as it reveals the potential for grace—and mercy—in his life.
Which He performs with his fist in his mouth to the wrist. Jokes, impressions, commercials—all with his fist in his mouth to the wrist. The people want him—are crazy for him—but only with his fist in his mouth.
And the funny man, he is tired of having his fist in his mouth.
Thus, as the novel begins, his career’s in tatters, his family’s left him, and he’s on trial for shooting an unarmed man six times. But for the second time in his life, against all odds, he’s found love. This time with another celebrity, who may or may not be sending him coded messages, and may or may not be equally in love—or even know he exists. A coruscating satire of our culture of celebrity, this debut novel documents one individual’s slide from everyman to monster, even as it reveals the potential for grace—and mercy—in his life.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
July 19, 2013
The Funny Man is a pretty good book, although it's actually not all that funny. That's okay, though. Parts of this novel are well worth a chuckle or two, but in reality the business of being funny isn't a funny business. Far from it, in fact. Many comedians have come through significant pain in order to appreciate and harness the humor they use to entertain us, and I think The Funny Man does a fairly good job of showing us that end of the business.
However, the Funny Man in this book (he's never named) is not really one of those traumatized figures, adept at creating comedy from the depths of personal tragedy. True, he has been poor, and he has struggled, but he hasn't been abused or neglected in any significant way. In fact, at the start of the novel's chronology (not the start of the novel itself, by the way—our viewpoint skips back and forth in time, though never confusingly, which is a tribute to John Warner's skill as a writer), the Funny Man has a supportive wife and charming young son, and a modestly successful career as a standup comic. Many aspiring comedians would envy him even that much—but it may also explain why he hasn't risen beyond the level of a modest success.
That all changes, though, when the Funny Man discovers the thing—the schtick that only he can do the way he does, the magic routine that propels him to celebrity despite the odds stacked against him, and against his own self-defeating behavior. It's a stupid thing for him to do, really, but through performing this characteristic act (which I will not detail—although it's betrayed on the jacket flap, the description of what the Funny Man does is a thing I would have preferred to discover in the course of reading the novel), the Funny Man achieves the fame and fortune he's always thought he wanted, and (as you might expect) in the process loses the people and things that used to matter to him.
As the novel opens, in fact, the Funny Man is already on trial—he's committed a crime that the book takes its time explaining in full, but he may well evade punishment for that crime anyway, simply because of his celebrity.
That much alone would make a solid novel. The Funny Man contains some analytic depth, it should be noted, amid all the quips about and quirks of celebrity behavior. However, this book also wanders awkwardly into some science-fictional territory that, frankly, it probably didn't need to invade. You'll know what I mean when you get to it...
As many books seem to, this one contains a brief passage—just a sentence or two—which could be taken as its central thesis or problem statement. In The Funny Man, the key sentences I found come fairly late in the book:
All in all, I thought The Funny Man was a surprisingly compelling little gem—not the best thing I've read recently, to be sure, but certainly worthwhile.
However, the Funny Man in this book (he's never named) is not really one of those traumatized figures, adept at creating comedy from the depths of personal tragedy. True, he has been poor, and he has struggled, but he hasn't been abused or neglected in any significant way. In fact, at the start of the novel's chronology (not the start of the novel itself, by the way—our viewpoint skips back and forth in time, though never confusingly, which is a tribute to John Warner's skill as a writer), the Funny Man has a supportive wife and charming young son, and a modestly successful career as a standup comic. Many aspiring comedians would envy him even that much—but it may also explain why he hasn't risen beyond the level of a modest success.
That all changes, though, when the Funny Man discovers the thing—the schtick that only he can do the way he does, the magic routine that propels him to celebrity despite the odds stacked against him, and against his own self-defeating behavior. It's a stupid thing for him to do, really, but through performing this characteristic act (which I will not detail—although it's betrayed on the jacket flap, the description of what the Funny Man does is a thing I would have preferred to discover in the course of reading the novel), the Funny Man achieves the fame and fortune he's always thought he wanted, and (as you might expect) in the process loses the people and things that used to matter to him.
As the novel opens, in fact, the Funny Man is already on trial—he's committed a crime that the book takes its time explaining in full, but he may well evade punishment for that crime anyway, simply because of his celebrity.
That much alone would make a solid novel. The Funny Man contains some analytic depth, it should be noted, amid all the quips about and quirks of celebrity behavior. However, this book also wanders awkwardly into some science-fictional territory that, frankly, it probably didn't need to invade. You'll know what I mean when you get to it...
As many books seem to, this one contains a brief passage—just a sentence or two—which could be taken as its central thesis or problem statement. In The Funny Man, the key sentences I found come fairly late in the book:
Sure, he's had his setbacks, but they would kill for the opportunity to rise high enough to fail so spectacularly as him {sic}. No one notices if you fall out a first-story window.And above all, the Funny Man wanted to be noticed for what he did.
—p.233
All in all, I thought The Funny Man was a surprisingly compelling little gem—not the best thing I've read recently, to be sure, but certainly worthwhile.
August 3, 2018
This book started much stronger than it ended. I'm not sure if that's because the book actually was longer than it needed to be or because the endpoint seemed so much less plausible and interesting than where I imagined it might have been going at the start. Warner is one of my favorite writers on higher education and has a foundational role in The Morning News' Tournament of Books. The intelligence and humor he brings to both endeavors is evident here, but not in the abundance I'd hoped for.
August 1, 2011
awesome cover art.
May 29, 2013
Not what I expected. If you know me based only on the reviews I've written then you can be forgiven for not knowing that I'm a big admirer of comedy generally and stand up comedians specifically. Carlin, Hicks, Hedberg, Kinison, Seinfeld, Rock, Dangerfield, CK, Williams, they are all, to me, and when they're at their best, a close approximation to true modern philosophers. They make it all bearable by making it ridiculous. And I'm reminded as I write this of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose and its use of Aristotle's Book on Comedy, that stolid truth and the human capacity for levity need not always be mutually exclusive.
But unfortunately, the profession of comedian isn't something that's gone into in any real depth in this novel. A few vague statements here and there about 'the hierarchy' and a few generally popular names thrown around that anyone with an internet connection or half an ear to pop culture will know about. Hardly a 'from the trenches' account.
However (and this took me most of the book's length to realize) this book is a parable, even an allegory, though sadly a somewhat failed one. It's a cultural indictment of the modern American moment. Of the crassness and vulgarity that has replaced true wit and sharp writing with excess and pathetic pandering to the lowest common denominator, gleefully smirking and bandying about the title of 'satire' as if it's means something. Think the high priest of this movement, think Seth MacFarlane and most of his output in the last few years and you'll understand. The book is a calling out of the kind of immature nihilism that says nothing, attempts nothing, and wonders why the culture is at its tipping point. On that score, the book is well executed. Modern American culture, as depicted here, really seems as though it's on its last legs, and maybe, just maybe, that's not necessarily a bad thing, if we can elevate ourselves from the detritus.
But as for the story itself and not just the statement it's trying to make, it is, I'm sorry to say, clunky, and not that conducive to the message it's trying to convey. There were a handful of moments here and there where I almost wanted to call the book 'Kafkaesque' but the book lacked Kafka's grace and subtlety, not to mention his descriptive powers regarding the highs and lows of humanity. Yes, Warner gives us a shallow media and image obsessed culture with hints of 'true love' scattered throughout with the main character's first wife and (spoiler) later love interest. But none of it is done convincingly.
And that is the major failing of the novel. Warner goes to great pains to detail his protagonist's fall and, concurrently, the state of modern American culture and it's gradual descent into moral and qualitative decrepitude. But when it comes to his character's ascent and his, we're told, eventual redemption or even potential for said redemption, the book comes off trite and frankly a bit rushed. Maybe had Warner devoted more pages to his protagonist's struggle to evolve it would've made this a true Sisyphean struggle in the vein of Camus, Absurdist even.
But he doesn't. And what we the readers are left with is a sinking culture and an unlikable protagonist that's difficult to even empathize with. This book is not mindless though, it's not even heartless. There's more than meets the eye here and it's certainly deserving of a read if only to know that underneath the waste of modern culture there is still something worth knowing and even worth saving.
But unfortunately, the profession of comedian isn't something that's gone into in any real depth in this novel. A few vague statements here and there about 'the hierarchy' and a few generally popular names thrown around that anyone with an internet connection or half an ear to pop culture will know about. Hardly a 'from the trenches' account.
However (and this took me most of the book's length to realize) this book is a parable, even an allegory, though sadly a somewhat failed one. It's a cultural indictment of the modern American moment. Of the crassness and vulgarity that has replaced true wit and sharp writing with excess and pathetic pandering to the lowest common denominator, gleefully smirking and bandying about the title of 'satire' as if it's means something. Think the high priest of this movement, think Seth MacFarlane and most of his output in the last few years and you'll understand. The book is a calling out of the kind of immature nihilism that says nothing, attempts nothing, and wonders why the culture is at its tipping point. On that score, the book is well executed. Modern American culture, as depicted here, really seems as though it's on its last legs, and maybe, just maybe, that's not necessarily a bad thing, if we can elevate ourselves from the detritus.
But as for the story itself and not just the statement it's trying to make, it is, I'm sorry to say, clunky, and not that conducive to the message it's trying to convey. There were a handful of moments here and there where I almost wanted to call the book 'Kafkaesque' but the book lacked Kafka's grace and subtlety, not to mention his descriptive powers regarding the highs and lows of humanity. Yes, Warner gives us a shallow media and image obsessed culture with hints of 'true love' scattered throughout with the main character's first wife and (spoiler) later love interest. But none of it is done convincingly.
And that is the major failing of the novel. Warner goes to great pains to detail his protagonist's fall and, concurrently, the state of modern American culture and it's gradual descent into moral and qualitative decrepitude. But when it comes to his character's ascent and his, we're told, eventual redemption or even potential for said redemption, the book comes off trite and frankly a bit rushed. Maybe had Warner devoted more pages to his protagonist's struggle to evolve it would've made this a true Sisyphean struggle in the vein of Camus, Absurdist even.
But he doesn't. And what we the readers are left with is a sinking culture and an unlikable protagonist that's difficult to even empathize with. This book is not mindless though, it's not even heartless. There's more than meets the eye here and it's certainly deserving of a read if only to know that underneath the waste of modern culture there is still something worth knowing and even worth saving.
January 28, 2012
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.
August 2, 2011
John Warner's debut novel begins with the title character (only ever known as the Funny Man) on trial for manslaughter. This is a celebrity trail, the trial of the year, maybe even the decade! Did this famous comedian who used to do that funny thing with his hand really shoot that guy dead in that alley? Why? And was he ever that funny, anyway?
Seamlessly moving back and forth between first person and third person narration, Warner does a good job of spoofing celebrity, and all its pitfalls, obsessiveness, loneliness, and general accepted eccentricities. We love 'em until we hate 'em. But how does the celebrity feel about it all? How does he rationalize his actions? Won't someone see his side of things? Is there a way out? Surely there is a way out.
People are disgusted by the funny man's actions—not just the manslaughter charge, but his slow public meltdown (sound familiar?). He knows he can't get a fair trial, since his lawyer's research has shown potential jurists see him as "untalented, successful, and a bad husband and father." Being successful is not a good thing (in the public's view) when coupled with "untalented." So his lawyer's initial defense is to put the funny man's life in context, elicit empathy from the jury (if not sympathy), put them in his shoes so they know why he did what he did. Tell them the whole story of his life, the how and why he got to this low point. Intimate that they would do the same thing under the same circumstances. And that's exactly what the author does—puts the reader into the funny man's shoes, cutting back and forth between the current trial and the past, showing how the comedian became so famous after struggling with his act in small clubs. His marriage, his fatherhood, his over-the-top lifestyle after fame and fortune were attained. Then the inevitable crash and burn. And manslaughter.
But the funny man may yet have an ace up his sleeve. Maybe there IS a way out, after all. Warner's writing is funny and sharp, and he keeps you turning the pages to see how it all turns out. The lead character is not always a sympathetic one, but you're along for the ride, through the good and bad, high points and low points until you reach the satisfying (for me) conclusion.
Seamlessly moving back and forth between first person and third person narration, Warner does a good job of spoofing celebrity, and all its pitfalls, obsessiveness, loneliness, and general accepted eccentricities. We love 'em until we hate 'em. But how does the celebrity feel about it all? How does he rationalize his actions? Won't someone see his side of things? Is there a way out? Surely there is a way out.
People are disgusted by the funny man's actions—not just the manslaughter charge, but his slow public meltdown (sound familiar?). He knows he can't get a fair trial, since his lawyer's research has shown potential jurists see him as "untalented, successful, and a bad husband and father." Being successful is not a good thing (in the public's view) when coupled with "untalented." So his lawyer's initial defense is to put the funny man's life in context, elicit empathy from the jury (if not sympathy), put them in his shoes so they know why he did what he did. Tell them the whole story of his life, the how and why he got to this low point. Intimate that they would do the same thing under the same circumstances. And that's exactly what the author does—puts the reader into the funny man's shoes, cutting back and forth between the current trial and the past, showing how the comedian became so famous after struggling with his act in small clubs. His marriage, his fatherhood, his over-the-top lifestyle after fame and fortune were attained. Then the inevitable crash and burn. And manslaughter.
But the funny man may yet have an ace up his sleeve. Maybe there IS a way out, after all. Warner's writing is funny and sharp, and he keeps you turning the pages to see how it all turns out. The lead character is not always a sympathetic one, but you're along for the ride, through the good and bad, high points and low points until you reach the satisfying (for me) conclusion.
January 16, 2012
There’s a lot of craft I admire in The Funny Man. Initially, chapters alternate between the titular character’s first-person narration of his manslaughter trial in the present, and third-person narration of the funny man’s career arc. (For a while I was mildly irritated by the funny man’s namelessness, but it’s eventually justified; the novel is really about the nature of celebrity and the main character’s lack of a specific identity is significant.) It’s perhaps a third of the way through the novel that it pulls what for me was its best trick: at first it’s grittily naturalistic. The opening depictions of how a person richer and more famous than anyone I’ve ever met lives correlate so well with my limited experience of richer and more prominent people that they were almost too credible. But at a certain point it becomes clear that the funny man is an unreliable narrator (the nature and extent of the narrator’s unreliability is perhaps the novel’s second major concern). But the narrator’s transition into unreliability — and the novel’s shift from naturalistic fiction to satire — are both slippery and hard to pin down.
As a whole, though, the book didn’t work for me. Which could be almost as much about me as about the book.
I generally think it’s lame when a review of fiction or film criticizes the unlikeability or lack of empathy with characters, but the funny man was both contemptible and dull in a way I found hard to get past and impossible to root for. Partly this is because the novel’s theme requires both the standard rags/riches/rehab plotline and that the character be largely a cipher, a stand-in for the concept of celebrity with minimal individuality. But I’m also just not very interested in the phenomenon of celebrity. I’ve thought that at a certain level celebrities stop being human by most useful definitions of the word since Warren Zevon’s song “Splendid Isolation” pointed it out to me. I’m often weirded out when real people express opinions about the moral choices of the mysterious people in magazines with only first names in the headlines. So maybe I’m just fundamentally not the right audience for this book.
I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about it, both while reading it and afterwards, so it had that going for it.
As a whole, though, the book didn’t work for me. Which could be almost as much about me as about the book.
I generally think it’s lame when a review of fiction or film criticizes the unlikeability or lack of empathy with characters, but the funny man was both contemptible and dull in a way I found hard to get past and impossible to root for. Partly this is because the novel’s theme requires both the standard rags/riches/rehab plotline and that the character be largely a cipher, a stand-in for the concept of celebrity with minimal individuality. But I’m also just not very interested in the phenomenon of celebrity. I’ve thought that at a certain level celebrities stop being human by most useful definitions of the word since Warren Zevon’s song “Splendid Isolation” pointed it out to me. I’m often weirded out when real people express opinions about the moral choices of the mysterious people in magazines with only first names in the headlines. So maybe I’m just fundamentally not the right audience for this book.
I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about it, both while reading it and afterwards, so it had that going for it.
November 15, 2011
I won this book from Soho Press. <3
I found The Funny Man hard to finish. I pretty much had to repeatedly tell myself that I would read every day. Now I am going through withdrawal, because as soon as it was gone I missed it. I will probably read it again in a few months.
Why? I've no idea.
I want to go to a magical island.
I'm pretty sure that with the circumstances surrounding the murder he committed... he was justified. If he just told the whole unbelievable story in court or to his lawyer, well, they wouldn't have believed him. I say things daily that people do not believe and mistake me for crazy because of... Couldn't he have just told the truth and hoped, then gotten off with an insanity plea if they didn't believe it? I want that to happen, then him to be with Bunny. I know was the only way they could and that it's only in theory.
In my head the unfinished ending goes a bit like...
I found The Funny Man hard to finish. I pretty much had to repeatedly tell myself that I would read every day. Now I am going through withdrawal, because as soon as it was gone I missed it. I will probably read it again in a few months.
Why? I've no idea.
I want to go to a magical island.
I'm pretty sure that with the circumstances surrounding the murder he committed... he was justified. If he just told the whole unbelievable story in court or to his lawyer, well, they wouldn't have believed him. I say things daily that people do not believe and mistake me for crazy because of... Couldn't he have just told the truth and hoped, then gotten off with an insanity plea if they didn't believe it? I want that to happen, then him to be with Bunny. I know was the only way they could and that it's only in theory.
In my head the unfinished ending goes a bit like...
January 23, 2016
John Warner 19s debut novel THE FUNNY MAN is an interesting tale about an average comic in an average city who hits the big time with a gimmick that suddenly the public can 19t live without. Unfortunately, he can 19t really live WITH it, and as his fame skyrockets his life completely unravels. He is poor and in love and grounded before fame, and rich and alone and possibly insane after.
If this were just another 1Cfall from grace 1D story it would be totally unremarkable. However, the author employs two completely different styles in the story, using both third person and first person to tell the story. The third person portions are more narrative, describing what is actually happening. The first person parts are describing what the hero THINKS is happening, which as the story moves on separates more and more from reality. But the genius in the story telling is that the two stories dovetail in a way that the reader can never be sure that what 19s happening in the 1Cfunny man 19s 1D head (we never learn his name) ISN 19T reality. It 19s reality to him, to be sure, and Warner 19s style is convincing enough that the reader is wondering, 1CAm I reading tragedy, fantasy, comedy, or something in between? 1D
I will admit that the book caught my eye because I was looking for something light and funny. This didn 19t really fit that bill, but there were definitely some (darkly) funny moments. It was definitely entertaining, just not humorous.
Plenty of profanity, so for those who don 19t like their curse words spelled out, this may not be for you.
Side Note: If you DON 19T like find this review helpful, would appreciate a comment as to why, so I can improve.
If this were just another 1Cfall from grace 1D story it would be totally unremarkable. However, the author employs two completely different styles in the story, using both third person and first person to tell the story. The third person portions are more narrative, describing what is actually happening. The first person parts are describing what the hero THINKS is happening, which as the story moves on separates more and more from reality. But the genius in the story telling is that the two stories dovetail in a way that the reader can never be sure that what 19s happening in the 1Cfunny man 19s 1D head (we never learn his name) ISN 19T reality. It 19s reality to him, to be sure, and Warner 19s style is convincing enough that the reader is wondering, 1CAm I reading tragedy, fantasy, comedy, or something in between? 1D
I will admit that the book caught my eye because I was looking for something light and funny. This didn 19t really fit that bill, but there were definitely some (darkly) funny moments. It was definitely entertaining, just not humorous.
Plenty of profanity, so for those who don 19t like their curse words spelled out, this may not be for you.
Side Note: If you DON 19T like find this review helpful, would appreciate a comment as to why, so I can improve.
November 11, 2011
This was a goodreads.com first read contest win.
While so many people think this book is funny, I actually think it is a sad. The funny man (unknown name and I wonder why that is all he is known by) has everything before he made it big. He has a wife, child, home but to me that still was not enough for him. He had to have more. He had to come up with the next big thing to get noticed.
To me this book shows what can and possibly will happen when any of us think that what we have is not enough and want more. While this book was interesting I did not really like it. Maybe it has something to do with an ex-husband that had an addiction problem who knows.
This is my opinion and in no way reflects the book or the author. For your own opinion of the book please take the time to read this author's work. Who knows you might like it.
The bunnies and I give this book 3-Carrots.
As of December 2nd I have not received the copy I won in the goodreads.com first read
Up-date As of December 16, I still have not received my copy to this book. No reply from the person that listed it as a giveaway.
I received this book but date is unknown. I will write a review of this book before the new year.
While so many people think this book is funny, I actually think it is a sad. The funny man (unknown name and I wonder why that is all he is known by) has everything before he made it big. He has a wife, child, home but to me that still was not enough for him. He had to have more. He had to come up with the next big thing to get noticed.
To me this book shows what can and possibly will happen when any of us think that what we have is not enough and want more. While this book was interesting I did not really like it. Maybe it has something to do with an ex-husband that had an addiction problem who knows.
This is my opinion and in no way reflects the book or the author. For your own opinion of the book please take the time to read this author's work. Who knows you might like it.
The bunnies and I give this book 3-Carrots.
As of December 2nd I have not received the copy I won in the goodreads.com first read
Up-date As of December 16, I still have not received my copy to this book. No reply from the person that listed it as a giveaway.
I received this book but date is unknown. I will write a review of this book before the new year.
April 10, 2012
i liked funny man by john warner. it was a good and fun read to red during some down time. i liked how the author wrote it in first person of the funny man during the trial to show what he does and thinks during it. then he switches to third person so you can view the funny mans career as a comedian. this book gives a good insight on the life of a comedian and the trial precess. the book is a good read for people interested in comedians and the criminal process. i really enjoyed reading this book. i always laughed at the funny mans jokes and his smart alec comments. this book did have some explicit words and references but still a good read.
June 17, 2014
Well-done, but I didn't enjoy it. A struggling comedian has a fast and lucrative rise to mega-fame that becomes his undoing. The uniqueness of the book is the writer's turn of phrase and his thorough exploration of the many permutations of delusion, entitlement, selfishness, and tensions between self-awareness and self-serving in the hyper-realistic circumstances of extreme fame and fortune. The writer also does well to illustrate the title character's partial responsibility in his fall, eschewing a simple "victim of fame" treatment. This is well-written but unsettling in its frank look at fame.
June 30, 2014
"The Funny Man" is a very entertaining novel about a comedian who stumbles on the "next big thing" and becomes insanely famous. John Warner piles on ridiculous event after ridiculous event, but before you can say, "That's ridiculous," you realize that not only is it quite plausible in today's world but it likely has already happened exactly like that. That's satire, and Mr. Warner serves it up funny and biting. Good stuff. I discovered Mr. Warner through his well-done weekly column in the Chicago Tribune's book supplement Printers Row Journal. I hope he's working on another novel.
September 26, 2011
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.
October 13, 2011
I won this book through the Goodreads First Reads Program
A well-written satire on becoming famous and what happens afterwards. The main character goes from struggling comic and devoted husband and dad to self-centered superstar - and then beyond. The book is spot on and snarky about the path upwards to fame, but becomes even more interesting after it all starts to inevitably fall apart. If you like some sarcasm and social commentary with your humor, you should enjoy this book.
A well-written satire on becoming famous and what happens afterwards. The main character goes from struggling comic and devoted husband and dad to self-centered superstar - and then beyond. The book is spot on and snarky about the path upwards to fame, but becomes even more interesting after it all starts to inevitably fall apart. If you like some sarcasm and social commentary with your humor, you should enjoy this book.
October 22, 2012
Satirical, often absurd, often funny, and sometimes poignant evocation of the nature and effects of the celebrity culture. A seemingly light-weight story, engagingly told. The talented narrator of the audiobook renders perfectly the voice of the Funny Man (who is never named) and assorted other characters---handlers, fans, phantasms---and pulls the reader into the unreal reality of sudden fame. Perhaps not a great book, but clever, insightful, enjoyable, and, in many ways, eye-opening.
October 12, 2011
The Funny Man by John Warner is at the same time a very funny novel and also a very sad novel. The Funny Man is the story of a comedian who becomes very famous and successful because of a stupid gimmick But the suddenstardom is not all smooth.Warner is a very gifted writer. He shows that this story can be everyone's story.
November 1, 2011
A satirical novel about celebrity culture. The title character is an unnamed comedian who, more or less accidentally, becomes a huge success before becoming a spectacular failure (divorce, addiction, manslaughter). The book is funny, sometimes very, but also sometimes strained in its humor. Celebrity culture is a fat target for satire, and this book does it well.
August 30, 2012
A little strange, the main character had some honest/revealing moments but it was frequently difficult to understand his perspective. He was not very likeable for the most part. The existential parts of the book are more interesting as well though not totally original. I like the fact that I don't really know what's true or real or supposed to be real in the book due to his confused perspective.
February 23, 2014
A comedian is on trial for murder, but his real issues go deeper. A mind-bending satire on celebrity and its discontents. Favorite quote: “What most people don’t understand about dreams is that they can look a lot like reality.”
Also, I wonder which comedian different readers have in mind when they read this novel. I kept picturing Louis CK.
Also, I wonder which comedian different readers have in mind when they read this novel. I kept picturing Louis CK.
November 24, 2011
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.
Want to Read
October 14, 2011I do not miss the chance to read a book about stand-up comedy....
November 17, 2011
Funny! A cautionary tale, featuring mystery, romance, and auspiciously malleable anatomy.
May 6, 2012
Funny read, good thing since it's in the title. I'll be writing a real, realer review soon. I probably would give it 3.5 stars if I could.
September 1, 2012
For my review please visit my blog: Martin's View: The Funny Man.
November 11, 2013
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.
November 26, 2016
Hilarious! Similar to a Christopher Buckley and or Martin Amis
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