JB yells about YA books: Joke. Joke. Bit of story. Joke. Joke. Joke on bit of story. Joke. Sto-Joke.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Joke. Joke. Bit of story. Joke. Joke. Joke on bit of story. Joke. Sto-Joke.

Thanksgiving with my family is always a a diverse, terrifying affair.

Since leaving the writing staff of The Simpsons, John Swartzwelder has spent the last decade writing nine short novels, eight of which center on the adventures of dimwit detective Frank Burly. In one of his latest books, Burly gets himself involved with boring-turned-mad scientists who conduct experiments based on what they see in old Hollywood movies. Burly bumbles his way through solving the case in standard Swarzweldian fashion, meaning it's packed with non sequitur and throwaway jokes that often reveal something ludicrous or break the fourth wall.

Like all of the Burly novels, it gets goofy. This isn't standard YA literature by any means, but students with broad pop culture knowledge will be able to recognize most of the material he uses for jokes in this one, and Swartzwelder's writing style has transferred well from television to prose, although I have been imagining scenes from this book in cartoon form, with lots of quick smash cuts and reveals when something sudden happens. Think of it as an episode of classic Simpsons, completely unfiltered for TV. Now you're getting it. Now give it back, it's mine.

What this book lacks in revelation/empowerment/strong emotional pull for YA readers, it makes up for it in complete insanity. I realize Swartzwelder isn't a YA author, nor does he write for a specific audience other than people who find humor in his demented cartoon universe. This is strictly for those with an advanced sense of comedy and crave something warped. This might serve as a stepping stone to thicker works of wackiness, such as those of Terry Pratchett.

READ THIS BOOK

If you require absurd humor in your life, or know a YA reader who enjoys pop culture references and completely bizarre plots. So, you know, everyone.

You may also read this book. Disclaimer: You probably will not get rich.

DON'T READ THIS BOOK

If you want something serious, or need your literature to do more than give you some laughs. This reminds me of John Green's statement that he prefers to write about smart people, which might be a reaction to sitcom TV in which most characters are fairly dumb and the emotional currency rendered counterfeit. In the case of Swartzwelder, the characters are overly stupid, which does limit the depth of thought, but does open the opportunity for some incredible jokes.

NEXT TIME, I YELL ABOUT

A book I read as a kid, and revisit 20+ years later to analyze how old that makes me. Let's just say this sign might stop traffic in the state of Oregon!