Is satire dead in the age of Trump? Christopher Buckley returns to the genre to find out.
Continue readingPosts Tagged → satire
The Captain and the Glory by Dave Eggers
I get that it is hard to make satire of our current situation but isn’t that what talented writers are supposed to offer?
Continue readingThe Failure of Satire – The Cockroach by Ian McEwan
The satire comes off not as comic genius but as another example of the mindset that leads to populist revolts.
Continue readingThe Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck by Sarah Knight
The concept of balancing honesty and politeness in order to focus on things that matter to you is sound but not sure how much depth is here after you get over the style and language. If you have trouble saying no and enjoy liberal use of the F bomb this may be just the book for you.
Continue readingThe Jesus Cow by Michael Perry
If you enjoy light-handed satire and humor and don’t need a lot of narrative drive or suspense you will enjoy The Jesus Cow. If you have lived in small town middle America you will chuckle at the accurate portrayal of the characters one finds there. But like the Midwest, it can meander a bit and take its time getting to where it’s going.
Continue readingThe Happiest People in the World by Brock Clarke
Like so much of Clarke’s work it is full of brutally honest appraisals of human nature and tendencies but also absurd events and dark humor. But Clarke’s characters seem remarkably realistic despite the absurdity. He has a way of shining a light on the absurd nature of much of “everyday life.”
Continue readingWilliam Shakespeare's STAR WARS
Reimagined in glorious iambic pentameter—and complete with twenty gorgeous Elizabethan illustrations–William Shakespeare’s Star Wars will astound and edify Rebels and Imperials alike. Zounds! This is the book you’re looking for.
Continue readingThe Messiah Formerly Known as Jesus by Tom Breen
I won The Messiah Formerly Known as Jesus: Dispatches from the Intersection of Christianity and Pop Culture by Tom Breen in a Facebook or Twitter giveaway from the good folks at Baylor Press. I wasn’t sure exactly what to make of it but is sounded interesting and it was a quick read. So I bumped it up the TBR pile.
I am afraid I am going to offer one of my truisms again. What you think of it will have a lot to do with what you expect and the attitudes you bring to it.
Here is Publishers Weekly:
In this entertaining gem of religious satire, Breen, an AP journalist, skewers American Christianity from every imaginable angle. Calling himself the ‘Internet Theologian,’ Breen romps through the Bible, religious history, denominational differences. Halloween, contemporary Christian music and spectator sports, among other topics. Some of the book is pure silliness, but other sections achieve that elusive ‘perfect storm’ where humor is sharpened by raw intelligence and a keen knowledge of history and theology. Even Breen’s glossary of terms is hilarious. Heck, even his endnotes are funny and not to be missed. (One says merely, ‘Seriously. Wasn’t Calvin a nut?’) Readers seeking irreverent, laugh-out-loud musings on the sometimes ludicrous intersections between faith and pop culture will want to read this insouciant guide.
If you want satire, there is plenty of satire. And there is lot of humor that I found quite funny – from laugh out loud to quiet chuckle. But the larger question is whether the satire and humor adds up to something more than entertaining reading.
My take after the jump …