“Laugh, and the world laughs | with you;

Weep, and you weep alone...

THIS OBSERVATION of human nature by American poet
Ella Wheeler is an appropriate introduction to BOOKS
NOW this week as we delve into the light-hearted realm of
the chuckle,.the chortle and the old-fashioned guffaw.

What do publishers fervently
. hope will appeal to our collective
funny-bone and leave us wiping
our eyes in glee all the way to the
_ cash register?

Just about anything, it seems:
there’s no dearth of-mirth on the
nation’s bookshelves this year.
Covering the full range of human
humor, from the farcical to the

MIKE
STEELE

book reviewer

droll and the ludicrous to the fac-
’- etious, here are six side-splitting ~
._ Offerings from this fall's comedy
lines.
. The Essential Calvin and Hob-
> bes (Andrews & McMeel; 255 pp.)
is this year’s antidcte for society’s
ills. Fresh from the pages of the
daily newspaper, The Essential
_ Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Wat-
terson is filled to the brim with the
antics of one of comicdom’s
favorite duos. Whether full-color
- or. black and white, the illustra-
tions and accompanying dialogue
_ are-hilarious although not recom-
‘ . mended for anyone with cracked
ribs‘or a severe asthmatic condi-
_tion. The price-tag of $18.95 may

~~

‘ seem a bit steep but surely no” -

other annual could give you more
‘chucks’ for the buck.

Then there’s the Twilight Zone
entry, the latest visit from the outer
limits of the funny fringe, Too
Bizarro (Chronicle Books; 106 pp.;
$6.95). It’s fairly obvious why the
writer prefers to hide behind the
relative anonymity of the simple
‘Piraro’ that serves as a signature
on these strips — any obstacle
thrown in the path of the butterfly
brigade is no > doubt deliberate and

* very necessary.

Without a doubt, Gene Shalit’s
lovable buffoon, Herman,
slouches head-and-shoulders
below all other targets of the slings
and arrows of outrageous humor.
This doormat of the comics page is
back again in Herman’s Sixth
Treasury (Andrews & McMeel; 207
pp.; $12.95), a large-format vol-
ume overflowing with the best of
Herman from the past year.

Montreal author Diane Steinberg
has taken-a novel approach to !ev-
ity with, naturally enough, a
novel. Fat Chance is liberaily laced
with black humor in this delightful
little romp from Eden Press (217
pp.; $5.95) :

Fat Chance takes us behind the
scenes of a health club and into
the chaotic life of heroine Fraidye
Katz (gee, that name sounds famil-

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25 - Friday, October 21, 1988 - North Shore News

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IN THIS SLOT AND PUSH
DOWN THIS LEVER...

iar when you think about it),
who's gained 32 pounds in less
than 12 months and lost her
boyfriend to a doomsday com-
puter cult. Now cult members are
out to kidnap the hapless Fraidye,
forcing her to hire a gun-totin’ fe-
male bodyguard with a passion for
junkfood and violence. This book

will have as much of an impact on °

how fitness buffs regard their
favorite spas as Jaws did on
saltwater garglers.

According to Canadian writer
Robert Shelley, ‘‘A simple joke,
sometimes only a single line, can
tell more about a country’s gov-
ernment than volumes.” In The
Leaders Speak, we have an entire

volume on jokes and one-liners
dedicated to those marvelous folks
who perennially prove that truth is
indeed stranger than fiction:
heerre’s ...Brian, Ed and Johnny.

The Leaders Speak (Penguin
Books; 192 pp.; $4.95) gives us a
paperback perspective on the
unwitting humor of our three ma-
jor political leaders and the parties
they hilariously misrepresent.

And last, but far from least, a
book for Canadians who find
nothing droll in sharing this true
North strong and unfunny: The
Cynic’s Guide To Coping With
Life (Eden Press; 128 pp.; $9.95).
The Cynic’s Guide holds hothing
sacred, from its own version of the

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war between the sexes to sports
and work. Chapters include:
Mother Grouse, Coping With Love
Goddesses of the Eighties, The Ten
Commandments of The Trendy,
Ten Reasons to Stay Alive and Dr.
Rut Rules For Coping With Mod-
ern Sexuality, just toname a few.

Readers acquiring alt six of these
books do so at their own risk.

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