Author: Kristen Arnett
Kristen Arnett’s Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One is a darkly funny and surprisingly emotional journey of self-reinvention. The story follows Cherry Hendricks, a down-on-her-luck clown in Orlando who’s struggling to make ends meet. She’s a mess, caught between self-sabotage and a desperate need for change. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she meets Margot the Magnificent, a magician offering her a new opportunit...
Author: Elif Batuman
The Idiot by Elif Batuman is a wonderfully offbeat and darkly comic coming-of-age novel. It follows Selin, a Turkish-American student starting her first year at Harvard in the 1990s. As she navigates the awkwardness of college life, Batuman takes us inside her mind, where humor and confusion blend together seamlessly. The novel’s charm lies in its dry, intellectual humor and the quirky lens through which Selin view...
Author: Paul Beatty
The Sellout by Paul Beatty is a biting, darkly comedic satire that dives deep into issues of race, identity, and social justice in America. The novel centers on Me, the protagonist, who is taken to court for attempting to reinstate segregation in his hometown. This absurd premise sets the stage for Beatty's sharp and fearless commentary on racial inequality, political correctness, and the contradictions in contemporar...
Author: Douglas Adams
I really enjoyed The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy because it’s just so fun and different. The way Douglas Adams mixes absurdity with humor had me laughing out loud pretty much the entire time. The main character, Arthur Dent, is just a regular guy trying to deal with the weirdest situations, and I love how his reactions to the madness around him are so relatable. Then there’s Ford Prefect, the alien who seems to k...
Author: Bret Easton Ellis
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis is a chilling and satirical look at the emptiness of consumer-driven 1980s America. The novel follows Patrick Bateman, a wealthy, privileged Manhattanite with a double life as a ruthless serial killer. Ellis’s portrayal of Bateman’s descent into madness is unsettling, filled with graphic violence and a cold, detached narrative that mirrors the protagonist's inability to connect wit...
Author: Benjamin Stevenson
A refreshingly unique mystery novel, Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone combines dark comedy, crime fiction, and a classic whodunit in a way that’s both entertaining and clever. Ern’s family has a dark past—every single member has killed someone, including himself. As the narrator, he breaks the fourth wall, addressing readers directly and guiding them through a chaotic family reunion where, of course, the bod...