A Definitive List Of The Best Dark Comedy Novel

By Robert Peterson


During the thirties, the Surrealist movement rose in popularity and it was evident in numerous applications. A product of this movement was the creation of black comedy, which is considered a classical style of comedy that relied on dark subject matters. This includes making light on various topics that are otherwise, considered taboo or scandalous by nature. Due to this, entertainers and people who enjoyed this new brand of humor were considered unorthodox during this time.

At present times, this comical approach continues to be used by various comedians and has been interpreted in numerous formats. This includes the creation of literature that expands on various topics regarding it, as well as movies and songs created by artists across the world. Following this trail of thought, this article contains a list of top seven titles in the Dark Comedy Novel category in literature.

Haunted is a book by Chuck Palahniuk, an author known for his dark humor and the use of shock value to surprise readers with the content of this works. A vast majority of his works have been translated to movies, which went on to win awards. However, one of his most disturbing works yet is this one, which centers on a group of characters who willingly submit themselves to staying in one house to write something worth publishing, but are unaware of the dangers that each member brings.

Daniel Handler is another author to use this format, evident in his book titled The Basic Eight. The reader becomes engrossed reading the musings and thoughts of a high school kid named Flannery, who writes all these in a diary format. The diary contains clever quips and musings on the educational system, topics on Satanism, and the prominence of talk shows portrayed by the media. At the last few pages, Flannery becomes involved in a school interpretation of Othello, during which she compares herself to characters included in it.

The Death of Bunny Munro was created by Nick Cave, who first rose to fame as a vocalist in an alternative rock band. The titular character is Bunny, a man who is an alcoholic and frequently involves himself with various strange women, following the suicide of his wife. As a means to support himself and his son, he takes up a job that requires him to sell beautification products as a door salesman. As he does this, he is unaware of a serial killer who is trailing him close behind.

Another Palahniuk title that makes this list is Choke, which has been converted into a major movie shown in theatres a few years ago. The story follows Victor, a man addicted to intercourse and becomes increasingly worried and stressed. This stress comes from the worry of where to find money to support his frail mother, who is admitted into a nursing home. By working in a colonial museum and tricking people into giving donations, he manages to so and also create his dream home in this process.

A popular comic that was first created in the40s is One Hundred and One Uses for a Dead Cat. This was conceptualized by Simon Bond, who draws and creates dialogue for this one panel comic and compiled everything into numerous books. The cats that are drawn often face horrors, often having a gory or macabre tone to it.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Is a famous classical writer that created novels in this category. A notable one is The Sirens of Titan, which was published during the 50s and is considered by scholars and enthusiasts as an innovative work of fiction. It also has underlying tones of science fiction where the protagonists ponder and discuss topics about free will, a god, and the purpose of human life. As they do this, the world is slowly being taken over by Martians, who intend to invade the planet.

Bret Easton Ellis wrote The Rules of Attraction, which is falls under the satire category. Its main focus is a group of college students who are influenced by their bohemian lifestyles to regularly engage in sexual activities and drugs. They attend an art college, where three main characters subsequently develop a love triangle between themselves. In early two thousands, it was turned into a full length film.




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