The Horrors: An A to Z of Funny Thoughts on Awful Things

by Charles Demers

Comedian-author Charlie Demers, whose brain-bending brand of black humor will be familiar to followers of CBC Radio’s The Debaters, offers his madcap perspective in a new collection of essays highlighting a wide range of topics under the heading of Bad Things. The Horrors is presented abecedarian-style, despoiling a beloved children’s book tradition in order to explore personal hangups that range from the slightly awkward to the down-right terrible.

Beginning with ‘A’ for ‘Adolescence,’ Demers recalls his sexless teenage years spent in a Trotskyist sect, and ‘B’ for ‘Bombing’ offers a first-person account of the agonies of stand-up comedy gone wrong. ‘E’ for ‘End of the World’ explores the wacky world of Preppers (YouTube how-to-prepare-for-the-apocalypse experts), while ‘F’ for ‘Fat’ explains what life is like for those with both testicles and breasts. Other essays creep toward the pain side of the hilarity/agony ‘D’ for ‘Depression’ and ‘M’ for ‘Motherlessness’ traverse topics that more balanced minds might hesitate to make light of.

Fortunately, Demers does not let tact or sensibility deter him from pushing humor to its hysterical limit in order to examine our deepest fears. With artful insight, he never minimizes the very real pain inherent in some topics and uses comedy as a catharsis rather than a numbing agent. Dark, smart and funny, in the sunny world of The Book of Awesome and The Happiness Project, The Horrors will be a shadow . . . or at least a shadow puppet.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Humor, Canada

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2016

About the author

Charles Demers (born 1980) is a Canadian writer, comedian and political activist. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is a lecturer at the University of British Columbia, where he teaches a Creative Writing course about writing comedy.

Demers has published three books: a novel and two collections of essays. His first essay collection, Vancouver Special, was nominated for a Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize. He also frequently performs comedy at live venues across Canada and on the CBC Radio One, where he often appears on the show The Debaters. Demers was one of the hosts of the CityNews show The List. He used to be the membership secretary for the Coalition of Progressive Electors.

He is the voice of Walter from Beat Bugs.


Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stand behind any tweets I've made about Charlie Demers being a Real Canadian Treasure, and I feel lucky that he lives in my city--any comments he makes on Vancouver feel as though they have been plucked from my own head and shaped into something gloriously accurate, with impressive lexical dexterity.

The introduction alone covers a massive question always at the forefront of my conscious thought process: "What can humour do?". He spends the book answering this in various ways and shades, but starts off succinct, quoting Simon Critchley: "Humour does not redeem us from this world but returns us to it ineluctably by showing that there is no alternative.[...[" Twenty six essays follow, proving the point admirably.

Charlie (or Charles, when he's publishing) has such a warmth in his authorial voice, and he speaks not with authority but with conviction, and it's difficult to not leap on board his particular boat. He deftly infuses a very readable style with bilingual wordplay that often had me cackling on a crowded bus.

It's wonderful to see another person with OCD (the real variety, not the fun-for-TV type) and anxiety lay bare their pernicious thought processes. I feel far less alone.

[Tej Swatch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Examining the intersection of pathos and comedy could find no better writer than Charles Demers, and he does not disappoint. Sadness and humour coil and intertwine as he extracts insight from despair, laughs from tears, comfort from weary struggle, all with brilliant, hilarious prose. I enjoyed the hell out of the book and was sorry when I found myself at the end.

Of course I would love this book, but I defy anyone who reads it to find issue wit my assessment. Nicely done, Mr. Demers.

[Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to start off by admitting that The Horrors didn't knock my socks off, but it's a thoroughly pleasant read that bridges the gap between comedic essay collections and autobiographies. The essay format is a lot less self-indulgent than the typical "I'm a comedian and here's my memoir" book, and it allows Demers to strike out on various topics. While the A-Z format is sort of arbitrary in a way, it's not really a gimmick - it does make the book very readable, although a lot of the most meaningful essays are probably weighted towards the beginning and middle of the book.

Generally, The Horrors is a pretty breezy read that makes some incisive points. Demers is unabashedly leftist and socially progressive, and he expresses his views with wit, charm, and self-awareness. I enjoy Demers' comedy, so it was very easy to read the book in his voice, but I think the tone may come off as being more preachy than intended if you're unfamiliar with his work.

The Prescription Errors didn't click with me at all, but I felt The Horrors played much, much more to Demers' strengths, and I look forward to reading more from him.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved seeing Charles Demers in person. He's very funny and I could listen to him for quite a long time. While there were some really good parts to this book, I also found that it was quite uneven. It felt like some of the entries could have been worked on better. That sounds pretty presumptuous, I know! But that's the only way I can think to put it. This was more like an autobiography with humour. I wanted to like it better.

[Arielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever, observant and full of heart.

[Jodie Ponto · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your favourite colour is black humour this book is for you. I'm a sucker for people who can make light of heavy shit so I didn't stand a chance with this one. This collection of essays by Vancouver comedian Charlie Demers is an ABC book exploring all kinds of fun things—D for Depression, M for Motherlessness, N for Nazis, etc. The letter that made me laugh the hardest was E for End of the World about the wacky world of YouTube apocalypse preppers.

[L Denis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, because I really enjoy Charles Demers on the radio. His use of the English language is exquisite, but the stories did not keep attention.

[Marni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew of the author as a comedian. Now I know he is more - satirist, talented writer and political activist. This was a delightful group of essays.

[Madeline Monaco · Rating 2 out of 5]

not that funny and not that awful

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, devastatingly relatable, and Canadian.

[Kristen Fowler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book didn't wow me as I had expected it to. Some of the essays really stood out, but for other sections I found myself simply skimming over. By the end, I wasn't really grabbed as thoroughly as I first was. That being said, for the most part, I did enjoy the writer's voice, and comedic sense that came off the page and caused me to chuckle to myself a couple of times. It's a book that I may pick up again in the future to re-read particular essays I enjoyed, but will otherwise quietly sit on my library bookshelf, unbothered.

[Ringo]

Went to the Writers Festival today and got a big stack of new books. This author is new to me, and I love the structure of the book - one horror for every letter of the alphabet.. Looking forward to starting it tonight.

[Alexander K · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't finish it. There was a few funny observations but nothing that made me want to finish the book.