Know any books with dark humor?

I really like dark comedy/humor, but I haven't found any books like that. None of my friends are into that sort of humor and my family doesn't read so I can't ask any of them for suggestions. Although I seem to be really good at finding movies and music in that style. I watched the movie Wristcutters, and that was based off of the short story Kneller's Happy Campers, which is now in my 'to get list.'

If anyone knows any books or authors that contains some good dark humor, please send me in their direction.

Top 'o my head:

The Wasp Factory by Ian Banks.
The Pilo Family Circus by Will Elliot (although that is more on the dark side and less on the humour side).

Trainspotting.

I'd give pretty much anything by Palahnuik a try, maybe something like Fight Club for starters.

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson, The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger and the Post Office series of novels by Charles Bukowski are all classics.

Pretty much anything by Edward Gorey.

You might try The restraint of beasts by Magnus Mills.

The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh is one of my favorites.

All of Kurt Vonnegut.

Thanks for the quick postings. I've actually read a couple of those, but it's definitely been awhile so I kind of went space cadet. But this buffs up my tbr list. Thanks again.

Looking at your library, I see you have some of Christopher Moore's books. I don't know that I'd call them dark humor, but they are pretty humorous.

Check out Joe R. Lansdale's High Cotton. Many of the stories have an undercurrent of humor in a sense of progressively bad things happening to bad characters in a horrifically comic fashion.

10: I don't think I'd call them dark humor either, but I do enjoy his style as well.

The progressively bad in comic fashion is a good place.... I've found a couple dark and humorous comics by Jhonnen Vasquez. He kind of goes along those lines.

I have to agree with #4's suggestion of Catch-22. Ice Harvest by Scott Phillips is a distant second.

Perhaps P.S. Your Cat Is Dead by James Kirkwood?

If you find something positive in the humor of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, you are a sick puppy. Funny but hellishly dark.

13: I love that title, definitely need to check that out.

14: I do love Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

And I have to agree about the Master and Margarita. It is one of my favorites. And, you get to learn a bit about Stalinist Russia while you enjoy!

I would consider the humor of A Confederacy of Dunces rather dark also.

For "progressively bad things happening to bad characters" consider Carl Hiaasen (edit) Hmm Touchstone not working

Christopher Brookmyre for Scottish crime thrillers that are funny and dark, start with Quite Ugly One Morning. I also think a lot of Reginald Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe book have dark humor. Quick Change by Jay Cronley.

#17 - I second that thought as well. Carl Hiaasen can be wickedly funny in that regard.

The White Tiger can be considered humorous at times. If you take Crime and Punishment and squeeze it into The Vendor of Sweets you kind of get the tone of this book.

Kings of Infinite Space by James Hynes
The Lecturer's Tale by James Hynes
White Noise by Don DeLillo

All dark, creepy and laugh-out-loud funny

The Roaches Have No King

The Contortionist's Handbook

Kockroach

Anything by Palahniuk.

Dispatches (Not so funny, ha-ha, as just wickedly pointed and poignant.)

Being There

The Rainbow Stories

Pretty much anything by Philip K. Dick.

Running With Scissors

Me Talk Pretty One Day

The Long Goodbye A very dry sort of humor.

How to Talk Dirty and Influence People

If you do check out Carl Hiaasen and like his work then I would also suggest Colin Bateman.

How about the Dexter series? Jeff Lindsay has created a very interesting likeable -by me at least - serial killer. He only kills in interesting ways, people who need the experience.

Speaking of Hiaasen, have you tried Tim Dorsey?
He writes about a history buff manic serial killer in Florida. Very funny and fastpaced, but not for the faint at heart.
Kind of like Hiaasen on speed.

How about Tom Sharpe? Riotous Assembly is a classic subversive novel and very funny. I like Blott on the Landscape myself, but you can't go wrong with any of his stuff.

Thanks for the suggestions. I haven't tried any of those.

I love how this thread keeps being randomly resurrected :)

As an update:
I loved Pilo Family Circus. Started, but didn't finish PS Your Cat is Dead--couldn't really get into it with all of the unknown theater references. Picked up an Iain Banks book and Running With Scissors, and found some of my grandfather's Vonneguts to read. Others are still on the list to grab when I come across them and have cash to spend.

#25- I've seen the first season of Dexter on TV and really enjoyed it, however, someone said the books weren't as good as the show, so I'm a bit hesitant to get them.

I just remembered: Camp Concentration by Thomas Disch - also known for writing the brave little toaster:-) is a very dark and absurd dystopia.

I love the Brave Little Toaster!!! The movie anyway, I watched it so many times when I was little :)

Kill Your Friends and The Second Coming, both by John Niven are both deliciously darkly funny. Both feature Stephen Stellfox, the most evil man ever to grace an A&R company, and his efforts to get to the top. After reading so many books in which the 'hero' is good but flawed or bad but sympathetic it's actually like a breath of fresh air to read about one who is simply bad through and through.

I second the Christopher Brookmyre recommendation - also try Donald Westlake and his Dortmunder novels - fabulous!

This may seem like reaching, but I seriously believe Kafka's The Metamorphosis has some humour in it.

Memento Mori - Muriel Spark

Many of the short stories of Ambrose Bierce. "Oil of Dog" or "An Imperfect Conflagration" are good introductions.

Early one June morning in 1872 I murdered my father-an act which made a deep impression on me at the time.

The books I have read by Jerzy Kozinski have some dark humor. The humor in Being There was biting satire not fun and jokes.

Scott, self-promotion is frowned upon here.

Just about anything by Kurt Vonnegut or Christopher Moore.
One of my all-time favourites is THE PECULIAR MEMORIES OF THOMAS PENMAN by Bruce Robinson.
Then there's Colin Bateman's (MYSTERY MAN)
BARNACLE BRAT (a dark comedy for grown-ups) by Adrian Baldwin
or Robert Rankin (THE HOLLOW CHOCOLATE BUNNIES OF THE APOCALYPSE)
Why don't Amazon have a Dark Comedy category within Humour? So annoying!

Sorry.

It's not simply "frowned upon," it's against the ToS. Please read: http://www.librarything.com/about/authors

I was trying my hand at some diplomatic finesse, there... oh, you have changed your nick!

Me? Haha yes, I changed it upon my return. :P

Personally I think it's better to let them know it's actually not allowed, otherwise many will simply not care that users may dislike it. Also, linking to what they can & can't do lets them know in no uncertain terms what's allowed, and lets them choose to become actual members of the community, if they so desire. :)

I know Goodreads does have those categories, such as dark humor, and a lot more.

For that matter, LT has a tag page 'dark humor'. https://www.librarything.com/tag/dark+humor Categories here are created by the members through their tags.

Here are the list of 10 best dark comedy books: https://digbooks.net/comedy/dark-comedy-novels/