ITT: Writers who are surprisingly funny

[Anonymous No.19250262]

Getting into Jung, you're going through ultra dense paragraphs of theory then once in a while he just hits you with a total zinger out of nowhere

[Anonymous No.19250271]

Stephen Kotkin in his Stalin biography. It's a deeply researched and carefully contructed biography but every now and then he will say something hilarious.

[Anonymous No.19250285]

marx

[Anonymous No.19250325]

>>19250271
I've always wanted to read a book focused on Stalin but never knew which one to pick. I'll check this one out, thanks.

[Anonymous No.19250334]

>>19250262
what did Jung say when he couldn't find his glasses?

'where are my glasses'?

[Anonymous No.19250342]

Ernst Junger, very dry humor.

[Anonymous No.19250365]

>>19250262
>To revive my old figure of speech, that in the marriage to beget the grand United Artwork the poet's work is the masculine principle, and music the feminine, I might compare the outcome of this penetration of the Euryanthe text by Weber's genius with the fruit of the union of a "Tschandaha" with a "Brahminess"; for according to Hindu belief and experience a Brahmin might beget from a Tschandala woman a quite goodly child, though not one fitted for the rank of Brahmin, whereas the offspring of a Tschandala male from the superbly truth-bearing womb of a Brahmin female revealed the outcast type in plainest, and consequently in most revolting imprint. Moreover in the conception of this unlucky "Euryanthe," you must remember, the poet-father was a lady, the music in the fullest sense a Man! When Goethe thought that Rossini could have written quite passable music for his "Helena," it was the Brahmin casting his eye on a buxom Tschandala maiden; only in this case it is scarcely to be supposed that the Tschandala girl would have stood the test.—

[Anonymous No.19252256]

>>19250262
Goethe: when Faust is having terrifying visions of a hellhound - it turns out to be a poodle.

[Anonymous No.19252280]

Seneca had me laughing uncontrollably on a few occassions

[Anonymous No.19252293]

>>19250262
Michitsuna's mother.
I wasn't expecting to find a heian noblewoman that had been dead for a thousand years to be quite so funny in between her fits of intense depression.

[Anonymous No.19252348]

Charlotte Brontë could be very sardonic. Some of the juvenilia is great.

>'Oh, it's you, is it!' I ejaculated, for his face was now obvious enough. 'How the devil did you know that I was here?'
>'What the devil brought you here?' he asked.
>'Why the devil do you wish to know?' I rejoined
>'How the devil can I tell?' he replied.
>Here, our wits being mutually exhausted by these brilliant sallies, I took a momentary reprieve in laughter. Then my friend began again.
>'In God's name, take a chair.'
>'In Christ's name, I will.'
>'For the love of heaven, let me fill you a bumper.'
>'For the fear of hell, leave no heel-tap'
>'I adjure you by the gospels, tell me if it's good wine.'
>'I swear upon the Koran, I've tasted better.'
>'By the miracle of Cana, you lie.'
>'By the moracle of Moses, I do not.'
>'According to your oaths, sir, I should take you to be circumcised.'
>'According to yours, I should scarce think you were baptized.'
>'The Christian ordinance came not upon me.'
>The Mahometan rite I have eschewed.'
>'Thou then art an unchristened heathen.'
>'And thou an infidel Giaour.'
>'Pass the bottle, lad,' said my friend, resuming his seat and grasping the decanter with emphasis.

[Anonymous No.19252377]

Forbidden Colors made me genuinely laugh quite a few times.

[Anonymous No.19252388]

He shits on Kautsky a lot.

[Anonymous No.19252408]

>>19252348
Very cute dialogue, reminds me of some of the most memorable and down right idiotic, yet always funny, convos that I've had with friends and family. Where is this from?

[Anonymous No.19252497]

>>19252408
Stancliffe's Hotel, it's in Penguin's Tales of Angria, and also published stand alone.

[Anonymous No.19252523]

>>19252377
Yeah there's some pretty funny bits.
The party scenes seem to stick in my memory as comical.

[Anonymous No.19252536]

>>19250262
Thomas Mann is known for being a chilly ironic writer, he does not get enough credit for how funny he can be. Buddenbrooks and The Magic Mountain are both filled with hysterical characters and funny little events. ”I’m actually a humourist”.

[Anonymous No.19252558]

>>19250262
Huysmans

[Anonymous No.19252686]

>>19250325
Kotkin is doing a trilogy (currently writing the third book). If you want someone just as good and single volume you can go with Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore, which covers his time as leader. It's highly acclaimed and won many awards.
Montefiore later wrote a book called Young Stalin that covers Stalin's youth but if you're down for an entire series go with what the other anon said and read Kotkin.

[Anonymous No.19252710]

>>19252686
As a caveat to what this anon said, Court of the Red Tsar is about his personal and professional relationships with his top brass, it doesn't get too deep into policy or international developments. Read it if you want to know about the inner workings of Stalin's circle, but it doesn't give a national picture of his rule.

[Anonymous No.19252734]

Dosto is pretty absurdly funny sometimes

[Anonymous No.19252742]

>>19252710
Not really an entirely fair characterization. It still gives a narrative of important political developments and policies even though and goes down to the granular level of key actors. It isn't just about personal/professional relationships. Kotkin's series is probably going to clock in at 3500 pages; 2/3 of that will be dedicated to the same period as Court of the Red Czar. Montefiore's book is around 900 pages and the minutiae isn't there due to the space and focus...it's still highly detailed where it counts and provides a decent summary of everything. It does talk about the impact of his policies on the nation and how he perceived things as well. It's perfect for someone who wants to learn a lot about Stalin (maybe Kotkin will release an abridged single-volume edition when all is said and done).

[Anonymous No.19252747]

>>19250262
Norm MacDonald "revealing" the terrible melancholic "secret" of Rodney Dangerfield getting no respect as if it were the man's guarded cross and then framing an entire chapter of Dangerield's best known material like they were intimate details of the man's life only revealed to Norm in despairing moments was gut busting.

[Anonymous No.19252952]

>>19250262
Freud also does this, but half the time its unintentional.

[Anonymous No.19253346]

>>19250262
Ligotti has a pretty good sense of humor if you can handle the dark themes.