Withering wit

Yes, thats right. I had a very normal childhood like everyone else(I am sure quite a few sighs of relief can be heard upon reading this). My reading habits have followed the normal course of Enid Blytons to Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Agatha Christie. A lot of my teen years and further have revolved around the much acclaimed PGW, whose books I have read and re-read ad nauseum.

Therein resides an alternate universe of fiction- that of humor and wit. Quintessential PGW tales of the absent-minded Lord Emsworth or the shenanigans of Bertie Wooster upon the able advice of none other than his valet- Jeeves, the adorable Psmith and the one-off's like Lord Marshmorton(of Damsel in Distress fame). There are countless books, a never ending plethora of PGW fare, enough to cover the entire teenage years with mirth and gaiety. Of course, the extremely imaginative mind could romanticize on the life during the era of Sir Galahad, the over enthusiastic ones launch into PGW fan clubs, e-groups and the like and then there could be the obsessed ones that go as far as to create internet chatrooms to discuss pranks in the name of PGW! But I digress.

When I graduated from this self-induced obsession, I moved onto Frederick Forsyth, Sidney Sheldon, Jeffrey Archer and Dick Francis. For old times' sake I'd stray into the Georgette Heyer's and Victoria Holts. And of course I also indulged in "To kill a mockingbird" and "GOne with the wind" authors of the one-book-wonder hall of fame. While experimenting with new-age authors and their writings I'd always look for some successor for the PGW mantle. While James Thurber and Stephen Leacock were impressive, they couldnt deliver the consistent humor that PGW could unerringly produce each time, all the time.

At this point, honorable mention is due for Charles Schulz Peanuts, Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes, Gary Larson's Far Side Gallery and of course, the Asterix collection. These have always provided all-time anytime amusement much like an over-the-counter remedy for bad moods.

So back to humorous fiction. Yes, we are still in the quest of a successor. For a brief period of time, I was an avid reader of Erma Bombeck. I loved her style of writing and have quite a few of her works that come in my all-time favorites gallery. I have dabbled with the works of Garrison Keiller, Lewis Grizzard and oh, did I mention Mark Twain? While I liked Twain's characterization and his tongue-in-cheek style of humor, I find some of his works too lengthy and wordy.

So at this time, thanks to a friend of mine, I was introduced to the world of Bill Bryson. His profile mentions that humor and travel are his forte. Right after my heart- what a combo! Yes, I enjoy his writing, his simple verbiage and the ability to see humor in daily living. That, I believe, is his selling point. Whether he is talking about hiking the appalachian trail, or backpacking in Europe or the idiosyncracies of the autocratic English language- there is humor and yes- wit. I have religiously devoured all his past works. So when I heard that his latest- a memoir titled "The Life and Times of the thunderbolt kid" was out but in Large Print hardbound editions, I was not deterred. This has since been devoured and digested. Yes, Bill Bryson's humor is always welcome.

Also, again thanks to the same friend, I discovered Dave Barry and David Sedaris. I have to admit I am not a big fan of David Sedaris' works, Dave Barry is tolerable. Then there we have the Helen Fieldings, Lauren Weisbergers, Emma McLaughlins, Sophie Kinsellas....some impressive, some downright disappointments.

So to conclude(phew! yes, I can understand) I still havent been able to name that able successor to the PGW throne. Most likely, there might never be one. Amazon and Borders section of "humor" is a dwindling rack space that shrinks every time I am there and that in itself causes a dip in my enthusiasm. But as we know- hope springs eternal in the human breast. Ergo, the quest continues............

Footnote : This past weekend I managed to watch "The prestige". I later learnt that it was based on the novel by the same name by Christopher Priest. The movie has Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johannsen and directed by Christopher Nolan(of the Memento and Batman returns fame). A very well directed movie with an interesting theme based on two rival magicians in UK in the Victorian era.

A related post thats an interesting read.