Jane Is Trying, by Isy Suttie
12/08/2021 … Vladimir Nabokov famously said: ‘The writer's job is to get the main character up a tree, and then once they are up there, throw rocks at them.
Latest Books
Reviews of books about comedy, including biographies of comedians old and new, and (occasionally) books by comedians. To have a book considered for review, send a copy to Chortle, 112 Norman Road, London, E11 4RL.
Thu 12 August 2021
Thu 29 July 2021
Cack-Handed, by Gina Yashere
Review of the comedian's memoir
29/07/2021 … I’m not sure Cack-Handed is the perfect title for Gina Yashere’s memoirs.
Thu 08 July 2021
Sunshine And Laughter: The Story of Morecambe & Wise
Review of Louis Barfe's new biography
08/07/2021 … It’s testament to the enduring appeal of Morecambe and Wise that I already have nine books about them on my shelf.
Thu 24 June 2021
Stand Up, Barry Goldman by David J Cohen
24/06/2021 … There’s no need to ask where Have I Got News For You and Horrible Histories writer Dave Cohen (or rather, ‘David J Cohen’, now he’s…
Mon 24 May 2021
© MarkWSutton, CC BY 2.0 The History of Stand-Up by Wayne Federman
24/05/2021 … In 2015, showbiz historian Kilph Nesteroff wrote The Comedians, a near-definitive and thoroughly entertaining account of the evolution of American comedy, from…
Tue 11 May 2021
Delicacy, by Katy Wix
Review of her 'memoir about cake and death'
11/05/2021 … A comedian writing about cake might sound twee, or evoke the sort of defiant hedonism that defines much of Jo Brand’s work.
Mon 15 March 2021
One Night Stand by Simon Taylor
Review of novel about a comedian facing a paternity crisis
15/03/2021 … Simon Taylor was a young, jobbing comedian on the Melbourne stand-up scene when a one-night stand led to a paternity scare that forced him to confront a different…
Wed 17 February 2021
He Used Thought As A Wife by Tim Key
17/02/2021 … You never forget your first lockdown.