Pretty Funny by Rebecca Elliott
25/05/2020 … A tale about the transformative power of comedy, at least for the social misfits who perform it, Pretty Funny is the first young adult novel from kids’ author…
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.
Mon 25 May 2020
Tue 19 May 2020
Alternative Comedy, by Oliver Double
19/05/2020 … This fascinating, well-written and meticulously researched guide to Britain’s alternative comedy revolution is probably the most accurate single retrospective…
Tue 03 March 2020
Jeremy Hardy Speaks Volumes
03/03/2020 … It surely goes without saying that Jeremy Hardy’s death last year at the age of 57 was a loss to comedy.
Wed 15 January 2020
Son Of A Silverback by Russell Kane
15/01/2020 … For his first memoirs, Russell Kane has returned to the subject that has most won him acclaim in his stand-up: the relationship with his overbearing, alpha-male…
Mon 06 January 2020
Ken Dodd: Happiness and Tears by Louis Barfe
06/01/2020 … When Ashtar Al Khirshan was making a serious-minded profile of Ken Dodd for the BBC’s Arena arts strand in 2007, the director kept pushing to find out what…
Thu 14 November 2019
I Carried A Watermelon by Katy Brand
Comedian's Dirty Dancing tribute reviewed
14/11/2019 … I may be the wrong person to review this book since I’ve never seen Dirty Dancing.
Tue 29 October 2019
© BBC More Than Likely by Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais
29/10/2019 … Comedy fans know Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais as the creators of The Likely Lads, Porridge and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.
Thu 03 October 2019
© Steve Ullathorne March of the Lemmings by Stewart Lee
03/10/2019 … Can you bear to read another word on Brexit? Sometimes it sees as if Stewart Lee can barely write one, even though he has been obsessed by covering every…