Jack Handey

No matter what else you want to say about it, this is one damned funny book. I was caught at the first sentence: "When my friend Don suggested we go on a trip to the South Seas together and offered to pay for the whole thing, I thought, Fine, but what's in it for me." The second paragraph is nearly as funny, as is the third. It's the story of the narrator and Don going to Hawaii, which is inflicted with something called Stench Wood and smells awful, and their adventures there. In a lot of show more ways, it's just a plot on which Handey can hang a lot of jokes, and the narrate rhythm is set up that way. Still, the story does move (even if the narrator learns nothing). And every time you feel a tad worn down by the structure, Handey gives you a joke that makes you laugh out loud. Very highly recommended; I'd give it 5 stars just for quality of the laughs, but I do have some standards. show less

Did you just tackle "Ulysses" or finally finish "War and Peace?" Good god, pick up this book right now.

George Saunders provides a cover blurb for "The Stench of Honolulu" which reads, "Jack Handey is the funniest writer in America." If that statement by arguably the funniest, best short fiction writer on the planet doesn't convince you to read this book, my review probably won't do much to help, but I'll give it a try anyway.

If you're not already familiar with Handey's "Deep Thoughts" from show more watching Saturday Night Live, you can Google them for a good preview of the author's style of humor. However, you feel about "Deep Thoughts," so you will probably feel about "The Stench of Honolulu." Fans of "Deep Thoughts" should be forewarned that this book isn't quite as punchy, but as a novel requires at least some exposition, the humor naturally had to be spread out a bit more.

With that being said, "The Stench of Honolulu" has almost no plot. The narrator flies to Hawaii and journeys upriver in search of the Golden Monkey, all the while trying not to be killed by the many things in the Hawaiian jungle that are trying to kill him. None of this is important.

The whole thing is a string of jokes, and Handey is the rare humorist who manages to be stupid, witty, absurd, and clever all at the same time. He is a true master of subtly manipulating the English language in the funniest way possible. A brief sampling from the book:

“I had dreams once. Once I wanted to build the world’s longest suspension bridge. But then I found out someone else had already done it.”

(Brainstorming ways to kill Don): "Steal a baby gorilla from a gorilla family while wearing a Don mask."

“The chief dragged me back inside. He began pounding my head against the radiator. I know what you’re thinking: a radiator in Honolulu? Look, don’t worry about that right now. The main thing is, I was getting killed.”

If that type of stuff is your sense of humor, pick up this book and prepare to laugh out loud on a regular basis. You will fly through this book (partly because it clocks in at just over two hundred pages of very large font) and be in a fantastic mood when you finish it. You may not want visit Hawaii, though. show less

As someone who has never watched “Saturday Night Live”, I’m not au fait on the career of Jack Handey. He seems to be an expert on the pithy short humorous content and “What I’d say to the Martians …” is that plus some short essays, most of which have some choice comedic elements, although there are a number of essays that don’t quite hit the mark, but that may be more an indication of my sense of humour (or lack thereof) than of Handey’s writing skills.

A ludicrous little book. If you wondered how Jack Handey might handle the transition from the one-liners of Deep Thoughts to the long form of a novel, the answer is that he doesn't even try. This is a pile of loosely connected jokes and quips, and as such, it's old-timey comedy-writing few people bother with anymore.

But what jokes and quips they are. The opening line alone would be a stage classic, and while not all that follows is A material, there's just so much of it, it adds up to a show more nonstop chucklefest.

At a time when the dominant forms of comedy are situational, character-based, or just "awkward", it's good to see someone writing plain old unexpected punchlines. show less