The Peculiar Life of Thomas Penman

“It’s a coming-of-age novel set in coastal England, filled with wonderful scenes and wonderful characters. The main character is a little kid with a poop problem. The first pages are about him getting over his obsession with leaving excrement in public places. It couldn’t sound less appealing but it’s so well done. The rest of the novel is more standard fare. The kid’s got this great relationship with his grandfather, a World War II veteran whom he communicates with via morse code even though they’re a half-building apart. He tries to teach himself key-making for the sole purpose of breaking into his grandfather’s copious pornography collection. There are parents at war with each other, and a girl he’s trying to get to know. It’s a beautifully done exploration of what’s funny and what’s not about adolescence.” Read more...

The best books on Comic Writing

Larry Doyle, Comedians & Humorist