Each of us has had a book in our lives that, throughout the entire reading, made us smile, giggle into a fist, choke on laughter or, spitting on decency, laugh out loud right in public places!
Narine Abgaryan "Manyunya"
Anna, 23 years old, bookstore clerk:
“Actually, I warmly advise the whole trilogy about the girl Manyunya! And I’m just about to re-read it myself. This is a pure, uncomplicated adult nonsense like politics, psychology and some expectations from life, a rich childhood! from which then grow such beautiful adults as the author - Narine Abgaryan. This book is an excellent inoculation against everything superficial and a reminder that life is nothing like that if you treat it correctly!"
Favorite quotes:
"Who would dare to refuse Ba's help? No one! Everyone wanted to live."
"How can I explain to you what stewed vegetables give? Take a school apron, cut it into strips, fill it with chalk and treble clef. Add twos in algebra and geometry. Simmer for a day in milk with foam. That's what stewed vegetables smell and look like."
"To enhance the aroma, Manka sprinkled us with an air freshener" wild berry". The amber that we exuded could hoard a fully combat-ready company of infantrymen."
Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov "The Golden Calf"
Tatyana, 29 years old, teacher:
"A wonderful book: sparkling, radiant and comprehensive! In many ways superior to the first part of the stories about the "great strategist." I read it with great pleasure and laughed to tears! The authors' sense of humor is subtle, without vulgarity, so sincere, kind that you want to re-read the book repeatedly and advise everyone around!"
Favorite quotes:
"Do not knock your bald head on the parquet!"
"In Rio de Janeiro, for example, stolen cars are repainted in a different color. This is done from purely humane motives - so that the former owner does not get upset when he sees a stranger driving around in his car."
"You are an interesting person! Everything is in order with you. Surprisingly, with such happiness - and at large."
Douglas Adams "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
Ekaterina, 24 years old, engineer:
"This is my personal No. 1 in humorous literature. An absolutely brilliant work, quotes from which I often talk with friends. It is impossible to retell the content, because these are not just cosmic adventures of reckless heroes - in his book, Douglas Adams reflects on the Meaning of Life, the Universe and Everything Else !Thin and smart book, pretending to be an entertaining humorous bestseller, but having many deep layers. An example of that same legendary English humor (and one of its best incarnations, in my opinion)."
Favorite quotes:
"A man who has traveled the length and breadth of the galaxy, gone through hunger, want and deprivation, and yet has a towel with him - this is a man with whom you can deal."
"The main difference between an item that can be damaged and an object that cannot be damaged is that an object that cannot be damaged cannot be repaired if it does become damaged."
"The technology that makes something invisible is so infinitely complex that 999,999,999 times out of a billion it's much easier and more efficient to just grab it and run off with it in an unknown direction."
And, of course, the signature quotes (for those in the know): "Don't Panic!!!" and "42".
Helen Fielding "Bridget Jones's Diary"
Alexandra, 26, technical writer:
“In general, I rarely read books that make me smile and cheer up, I prefer all sorts of adventures and gothic fantasy, and there’s no time for smiles ... But at one time I was sooo amused by the book Bridget Jones’s Diary: in places I just laughed and read about a not-too-lucky girl in her thirties, a lonely woman whose head and life are full of problems and awkward situations with men, parents, overweight, etc., who one day decides to start a diary in order to somehow put her life in order. Well, it does!"
Favorite quotes:
"I realized: the secret to losing weight is not to weigh yourself."
"Being a woman is even worse than being a farmer. There is so much to fertilize and clean up: wax leg hair; shave underarm hair; pluck eyebrows; scrub heels with pumice stone; tint regrown hair roots; cleanse skin with scrub and moisturize with cream; acne disinfect with lotion, file nails, paint eyelashes, massage cellulite, strengthen abdominal muscles with exercises. labor process should be perfectly tuned - if you take your mind off it for just a few days, and all efforts will be nullified.
"The need to open your mouth while applying mascara to your eyelashes is a great and inexplicable mystery of nature."
Sergey Dovlatov "Compromise"
Tatyana, 28 years old, sound engineer:
“From my rather extensive reading experience, almost all the works of Sergei Dovlatov were and remain the most “smiling”. And above all, precisely because this smile is not toothy: such, you know, not turning into laughter, but no less pleasant for that. Like him he said himself, among his characters there are no bad or good, each one has a little bit of everything mixed in. And with each of them, like with each of us, such ordinary, everyday funny and sad joys happen. "Compromise" (a series of short stories from the most different times), I can say without exaggeration, I know it almost by heart and reread it whenever I feel a lack of such immediacy with which the heroes of these books look at life.
Favorite quotes:
"A decent person is one who does nasty things without pleasure."
"By Leningrad television a boxing match was shown. A negro, black as a wax, fought with a blond Pole. The announcer explained: "You can tell a Negro boxer by the light blue trim on his shorts."
- At least you wouldn't lie! Who is this red-haired, fidgety dylda? I saw you from the bus this morning...
- This is not a red-haired, fidgety dylda. This is the metaphysical poet Vladimir Erl. He has this hairstyle...
Irina and Leonid Tyukhtyaev "Zoki and Bada: a guide for children on parenting"
Tatyana, 35 years old, health worker:
"This wonderful book" for all who have ever been children "I first read in in electronic format 10 years ago, and recently bought paper, with beautiful illustrations. It is very funny (based on a play on words), kind, easy to read and not only like me, but also my husband and 12-year-old daughter, who generally does not like to read at all. The idea of the book is for adults to learn to better understand children, and children to understand adults. This book always cheers me up, so I will re-read it more than once!"
Favorite quotes:
- I'm tired of you, - bada groaned, - it would be better if you weren't there.
- And there is no better than us, - Mu-odov objected.
- So we have you, bada, were, are and will be, - confirmed Mu-odov.
"Good zoks are not lying on the road, they are lying on the couch."
- Here are those, - said the bada, - he treated, he treated ... What, didn’t your head go away?
- It seems not, - Mu-odov hesitated, - I, in fact, wanted to know: here
did the head go?
Slava Se "Plumber, his cat, wife and other details"
Elena, 27 years old, journalist:
“Very, well, just very funny reading! Moreover, the words “very funny” should be understood not as “hee-hee” and “ha-ha”, but a wild cackle that erupts uncontrollably at all! Therefore, at work, like me, read all the same not worth it ... Slava Se - like Dovlatov (I'm not afraid of this surname), only closer, not so brilliantly unattainable, and also a little sad, but very lively and understandable. Besides, I don’t remember my father’s notes at all in our literature, moreover, about daughters , about small ones, and even written so warmly and with such love. universal remedy from the blues! And you can read from anywhere.
Favorite quotes:
"Whoever throws away the Christmas tree in January is paranoid. And a pitiful slave of order. A determined owner dries the fir tree until it becomes crispy."
“It’s easy to raise two girls. I can bark “Come on!” and “Come on sleep!” I’m doing well. Lyalya is already sleeping at the thirteenth chapter. Masha - I don’t know, after the hundredth I fall asleep myself.
I know how to cook sausages, I know where the tights are (I don’t know where whose). That's just the hair ... In the morning, from them and elastic bands, you need to beat the compositions "under the princess." I only know how to "a woman from Mars."
"Found a kitten. Color - leopard metallic. Affectionate, behind small velvet eggs of a child's size. Responds to the names of Kuzya, Tobik, Lena, Petya and Where did the remote control. Funny, bites everyone on the toes at night. Eats well, went to the potty three times , out of necessity and just like that, out of interest.Smart as Feuchtwanger.
If this is your kitten and you care about his fate, write a comment here, and I will post interesting stories about his personal growth once a week."
Tibor Fischer "Philosophers from the High Road"
Olga, 26 years old, editor:
"The most witty, kind and very funny story about a fat and lazy philosopher-loser and his disabled partner, robbing banks. And it turns out for them completely by accident, and often - unexpectedly for themselves. Luxurious style of narration - in the spirit of a philosophical treatise with subtitles like "Row common places"and" The train as a way to cover their tracks. "About love, friendship, sex, philosophy, logic and bandits:" This is a robbery! Everyone read!"
Favorite quotes:
"Themistocles, driving around the agora in a chariot drawn by prostitutes ... This picture has nothing to do with philosophy. But what an idea!"
"Other details of the orphanage upbringing are omitted: a priori it was assumed that if it was not hell itself, then one of its branches."
"And then there's always morning when you have to get up disgustingly early and go rob five banks in Montpellier."
Georgiy Daneliya "The toasted one drinks to the bottom"
Irina, 36 years old, economist:
"These are the director's memories - about childhood, about his films (in particular, "Afonya", "Mimino", etc.), about actors, about oddities on the set, the history of creating scripts for our favorite comedies. The book cannot be called funny in literally this word is rather ironic. But it definitely lifts the mood!"
Favorite quotes:
"It's not music, it's clap." - "Why gonorrhea?" - "Because it clings quickly and is difficult to get off."
“Once in Tashkent, I watched Tatyana Lioznova’s film Seventeen Moments of Spring, dubbed into Uzbek, on TV. When Bormann entered the Fuhrer’s office, he threw out his hand and exclaimed: “Salam alaikum, Hitler-aga!”
"Meet my mom," I said to my new friends. I got up and offered to drink to her health. Mom said that if I drank less to her health, there would be more of it.
Igor Guberman "Gariki for every day"
Inna, 29 years old, dentist:
“A collection of short, very well-aimed and vital quatrains. Humor, of course, is more masculine, and this is confirmed by the profanity encountered, but most of the “gariks” are so truthful that, noticing the imperfection of being, ourselves and the world around us, they make us smile invariably - they say, Yes, everything is exactly like that! The book is as funny as it is sad - but I highly recommend reading it!"
Favorite quotes:
Yesterday I ran to fill a tooth
and laughter took me on the run:
all my life I carry my future corpse
and zealously its shore.
There is an era in the yard,
and there is a bed in the corner,
and when I feel bad with a woman,
I don't care about the era.
Sometimes you wake up like a bird
winged spring cocked,
and want to live and work;
but it goes away by breakfast.
What books would you add to this list?
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Every person has episodes in his life when melancholic sadness, melancholy or depression rolls in, and at such moments the best savior is interesting book. Plunging into it, a person forgets about everything else, problems real world recede into the background. Good book- this is a lifeline in the ocean of life's unrest, and an interesting and funny book even more so, and if we paraphrase the words of Bernard Werber, we can say: "A book is like a sword, humor is like a shield." Let's strike with a good book on longing and bad mood and defend ourselves with humor from all life's vicissitudes!
A sense of humor is a very subjective concept, so all the tops of the best, ratings and others comparative actions obviously doomed to condemnation, because 100% of the same opinions about one work do not exist, and even more so about a funny book. The most objective in this case is time-tested, so below is a list of works from this category.
A play in verse
This work is literally every second column stretched by readers into quotations. "The Tale of Fedot the Archer, a daring fellow" was written in 1985 by a Russian author based on the well-known children's fairy tale "Go there - I don't know where." The play in verse instantly won the hearts of readers with its subtle inimitable style in the spirit of a parody of a folk tale with classic plot and ancient style in a modern manner makes it unique and relevant at all times. This is one of the few books that, even in audio format, does not lose its spark and zest.
In 2008, a cartoon for adults based on this work was filmed, which is very accurately intertwined with the idea and manner of presenting Filatov. The whole essence of interpersonal relations, politics and moral values is shown in "The Tale of Fedot the Sagittarius, a daring fellow", which will be just as modern, relevant, interesting and funny for more than a dozen years.
The plot is quite simple and ordinary, as in all folk tales: an evil king, good fellow and beauty. The king, wanting to get his beloved Fedot, gives him difficult tasks in order to get him out of the world. But as you know, in fairy tales, good always triumphs over evil.
"My Family and Other Beasts" by Darrell Gerald
This is an autobiographical story that tells about several years of the author's residence on the island of Corfu. The story is told from the perspective of a ten-year-old boy who would later become an outstanding naturalist and biologist. His large family, each member of which has his own "cockroaches in his head", and their life together against the backdrop of these differences - this is the main plot.
Most members of large families will see themselves in this funny book: the most interesting thing is that the situations are ordinary, but the author's presentation of the plot, dialogues and small parts is such that you want to re-read it again and again, realizing that somewhere there are the same crazy and reckless families, and from this yours no longer seems to be flawed and inadequate. The author very simply, skillfully and unobtrusively immerses the reader in colorful world plant and animal kingdoms, weaving it all with stories about their relatives, spicing it up with an amazing gravy of humor and fun. And also "My family and other animals" - people love animals and nature in general, it is very touching and sincere.
"Notes of the Shashlik Cat"
An unusual creation by Alex Exler, in which the story is told from the perspective of a cat with strange name: his cynical view of what is happening is sometimes too harsh and subjective. After reading this book, many of your pet's actions become more understandable and obvious, despite all the comedy of the situation, and the mood will definitely increase a hundred times from the sarcastic tirades of Shashlik. From the very first lines it becomes clear that the cat is still a fruit, arrogant, ungrateful, but he is a Cat! Divine being of the highest order. And in the process of reading, there will be a change in attitude towards him from indignation at frankly low actions to tenderness and touchingness several times.
Although some readers responded differently about Exler's book: base tavern humor bordering on vulgarity, propaganda of laziness and drunkenness in the form of a cat owner, absolutely not funny situations and lack of morality. But not all the works of writers need to be in the spirit of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky - sometimes light reading on a day off or during a vacation will give a person more than volumes of great classics. This is again a subjective thing, so it is better to read and draw your own conclusion than to be limited to the opinions of others.
Brilliant works of Ilf and Petrov
"The Twelve Chairs" is a unique book. It belongs to those works that are in the “eternal” column: each generation of readers finds in them a reflection of their time, despite the fact that the first book was written in 1927. The young charismatic adventurer Bender and his ward Kisa are looking for diamonds hidden in one of 12 chairs, their adventures on this wave are served under such an amazing sauce of humor and satire that even the most cynical critic will not resist.
Quotes from this creation wander among the people, while not everyone knows their origin and authors: “The ice has broken, gentlemen”, “Don’t teach me how to live”, “Famous”, “How much is opium for the people”, “Or maybe you still give the key to the apartment where the money is, ”and many other amazingly strong and capacious phrases that are used all the time. The book is a must-read for everyone, as a powerful cleaning agent it cleanses the mind, washing out limitations and stereotypes from there.
"The Golden Calf" - a book by the same authors, is a continuation of the adventures of Ostap Bender, who now competes with two more "sons of Lieutenant Schmidt" and is trying to steal other people's wealth with cunning and tricks. This novel is also full of famous catchphrases: "An idiot's dream came true", "I will command the parade", "I would take parts, but I need it right away." The book "The Golden Calf" is simply filled with amazingly sharp words and remarks that are not immediately noticeable to an inexperienced reader.
"All Red"
Despite the fact that this work is most often referred to as detectives, it reads like an excellent ironic novel with elements of the grotesque. According to the plot, they kill at the party young man, who is trying to warn the hostess of fun about something extremely important, of course, does not have time, but she herself main character becomes the object of persecution and assassination attempts, most often unsuccessful. The whole canvas of the work is saturated with amazingly subtle humor, hilarious situations, interspersed with discoveries about the real essence of a person.
The author of the novel does not consider his creation to be a masterpiece or worthy of standing on the same shelf with Gogol or Chekhov, it is rather home reading under a blanket on an autumn day - to cheer up, get rid of melancholy and laziness. The work belongs to the funniest books of our time, despite the tragic plot.
Trilogy by Mikhail Uspensky
"The Adventures of Zhikhar" is a modern fantasy in the spirit of folklore with an admixture of humor, witticisms and modern slang. The red-haired Zhihar is friends with King Arthur himself (neither more nor less) and the Chinese Liu, with them he finds himself in various situations on which the book is based. A heap of extraordinary and frankly fabulous accents in the form vehicle sorcerer, flights to the moon, pagan Baba Yaga, Leshy and Vodyany, mixed with the modern train of thought, words and actions of the protagonist, gives rise to a kind of mess, which only somehow calms down by the middle of the novel and shows the main essence.
At the same time, it is useless to wait for subtle "British" humor - here everything is in our own way, in a simple way, backhanded and backhanded. Therefore, lovers of subtleties consider this trilogy to be low-grade garbage at the level of Dontsova.
But after all, few people compare folk tales with the classics, but they occupy a place of honor in every family and are rightfully considered the first teachers. Therefore, perhaps one should not demand much from modern fantasy tales, allowing them to simply spend the evenings with readers, because any smile and laughter prolong life, no matter from reading Gogol's "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" or Mikhail Uspensky's "The Adventures of Zhikhar".
The most popular work of the Czech author
The first mention of the name of the author of this work immediately gives rise to one association - the soldier Schweik. "The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik" by Yaroslav Hasek has long become a classic modern literature: the adventures of an unsightly little man in a filthy overcoat and worn out boots, walking along the military road from one incidental situation to another, but not losing his optimism and breadth of soul, will make even the most severe and experienced reader smile. Sharp satire to tears, reminiscent of soldiers' tales around a campfire under a pile, and the call to stop all wars that runs through the whole novel make this novel worthy of respect and recognition. Great in its simplicity, accessible to any level of understanding, Hasek's novel has won millions of hearts around the world, and his talkative character has become a symbol of ingenuity and kind primitiveness.
The adventures of the good soldier Schweik begin with the fact that he was disqualified due to "the poverty of the mind", but during the First World War he was again drafted into the army for extras, or as they like to say now. On the way to the front line, the brave soldier is bothered by representatives different layers society, they twist it as they want, but it inexorably continues to move forward, towards obvious death.
Sarcasm seasoned with nostalgia and sadness
"Legends of Nevsky Prospekt" is a collection of stories that tells about the life in the city of Leningrad in the 20th century of ordinary, unremarkable people: doctors, speculators, military men, and even women lung behavior. In a sharp satirical form with a large share of sarcasm, the life and customs of the people of that time are depicted, the mentality of Russia shines through in every story, there is often a feeling that the characters are familiar people: a neighbor or work colleague, a friend's uncle or brother's wife. It is this realism of the characters that makes you live the moments described in the book in a special way, there is a feeling of bitter reality and truthfulness of what is happening in the spirit of "I was there too." After all, all the stories described in the book seem to be impossibly real.
The book was first published in 1993 and since then Mikhail Veller has gained immense popularity among the Russian-speaking population. Laughter at the top of its voice is about the "Legends of Nevsky Prospekt", so it is ideal for long winter evenings and pleasant companies. For those who do not know how to laugh at themselves, the book is contraindicated: it will cause nothing but disgust for the world and people.
Fantasy novel by Adams
According to the BBC, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is ranked fourth in the list of the most popular, and the creator is considered one of the best contemporary science fiction writers. The book consists of several parts, the first of which was written in 1979. In the first three months, 250 thousand copies were sold, followed by four more parts of the book, and in 2005 the novel was filmed. This is truly a sensation in the world of science fiction!
The plot of the novel "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is based on the intergalactic travels of the loser Arthur Dent, who suddenly learns that the planet Earth must be destroyed by hostile alien creatures, and his friend, whom he has known for many years, is also an alien. Moments before Earth's destruction, he and a friend find themselves on a starship.
If you start reading the novel, it will initially seem that absurdity is built on absurdity, gives rise to absurdity on the verge of madness and a complete lack of logic, the world in the novel seems so strange, but painfully real, and against the background of general madness, deep philosophical thoughts about the Cosmos, about its habitability: other races and life forms. Many of the funny moments in the book are impossible to understand without some knowledge of physics, so it makes sense to keep a reference book handy. And all these factors are mixed with jokes and comic situations to colic in the stomach and Homeric laughter.
Inimitable English humor
The English writer Pelem Wodehouse created a whole series of comedy novels and stories "Jeeves and Wooster" about the adventures of an English aristocrat, a confirmed bachelor, and his ubiquitous valet. The first story was written back in 1916, and the story was periodically updated with stories until 1974. The novels were the inspiration for a British TV series starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry that still serves as an example of a good comedy film to this day.
The stories are based on funny and embarrassing situations, mostly with women trying to marry a young aristocrat: they get narrow-minded, but brilliantly educated Wooster, from whom he is saved by the resourceful valet Jeeves. For example, in the novel "That Inimitable Jeeves", Wooster's best friend, Bertie, is woven into the plot, who is too greedy for women: he decides to marry a waitress from a bar, bypassing the opinion of aristocratic relatives, against this background of Bertie Wooster's attempt to get rid of importunate attempts to marry themselves on the next girl seem even more ridiculous. As always, the amazingly erudite Jeeves comes to the rescue, deftly resolving the situation one by one.
Refined subtle English humor, combined with unobtrusiveness and delicacy, without deep philosophical and rhetorical heaps, does credit to the author, whose books are rightfully considered one of the funniest books in British literature.
Finally
The ones listed above are not all the funniest books worth reading, but just the subjective opinion of the author. There is also a huge list of works worthy of the reader’s attention, but with more varied taste preferences: since those who prefer Olga Gromyko’s novels are unlikely to be interested in the highlights of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol’s humor, and lovers of “How to Live with a Neurotic Dog” or the works of Slava Se will not always delve into into a subtle veil of refined irony in " dog heart"And the works of Viktor Pelevin (who is still a comedian!).
A sense of humor, like a sense of tact, is subjective for everyone, and therefore people will be confused by different things, sometimes completely opposite and incomprehensible to others. Therefore, we will not impose thoughts, but let the reader make a personal choice. And most importantly: smile, gentlemen, smile!
Do we wonder how the author of a satirical story manages to humorous story or a feuilleton to make the reader laugh, or at least an ironic smile? “Well,” we say, “that’s why he is a writer, this is the secret of his talent.” But after all, every person must own the secret of a clever joke, laughter. Let's remember what an awkward feeling a person who does not understand jokes or jokes rudely, vulgarly, causes in a company. And how good it is sometimes to amuse comrades with wit, how necessary it is sometimes to ridicule with a caustic word an idler, a liar, a sycophant!
It is possible and necessary to learn to joke, to make fun of what interferes with our lives. Of course, for this, first of all, it is necessary to have a sense of humor, observation, the ability to see shortcomings.
Here's how he interprets the meaning of funny Dictionary Ozhegov:
Humor - 1. Understanding the comic, the ability to see and show the funny, condescendingly - a mocking attitude towards something. Sense of humor. Talk about something with humor. 2. In art: a depiction of something in a funny, comic way. Humor and satire. Newspaper humor section. 3. Mocking and playful speech. Subtle humor.
Satire - 1. Piece of art sharply and mercilessly denouncing negative phenomena. 2. Convicting, scourging ridicule.
Laughter - 1. Short characteristic voice sounds expressing fun, joy, pleasure, as well as mockery, gloating and other feelings. Laughter through tears (sad laughter). Roll with laughter (laugh). 2. Something funny, worthy of ridicule.
Joke - 1. What is said or done in earnest, for the sake of entertainment, fun; words that are not trustworthy. 2. A small comic play. 3. Expression of disapproval, doubt, surprise.
Irony is a subtle, hidden mockery.
So, laughter is cheerful, kind, and then we call it humorous. The well-known poems by S. V. Mikhalkov about Uncle Styopa can be attributed to humorous works. We laugh at how Uncle Styopa "looked for the greatest shoes on the market", "looked for pants of the greatest width." We find it funny, for example, when N.V. Gogol’s Taras Bulba begins to “fistfight” with his sons who have just returned home after a long separation, that is, at a moment that, according to our ideas, should be solemn and touching.
And sometimes laughter is angry, angry - satirical. He calls people to protest, awakens contempt for a character or phenomenon. A satirical work in a thoughtful reader always causes not only laughter, but also a sad feeling, because the satirist writer exposes phenomena that interfere with people's happiness. Such are the fables of Krylov, the tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin, the stories of Zoshchenko.
Share of joke - share of truth
Every joke, like the truth, has a hard fate. Although they respect the truth, many do not like it. And everyone loves a joke, although they don’t have much respect for it. This is where love and respect come together, which has long been used by humorous and satirical literature. A joke is a favorite of society and is kept in it easily and naturally, but the truth is that an elephant is in china shop: wherever you turn, something flies everywhere. That's why she often appears accompanied by a joke.
It would seem that a fairy tale, a joke, but what is the truth behind it! For example, in the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin, the truth and the joke exist, as it were, separately from each other: the truth recedes into the background, into the subtext, and the joke remains the rightful mistress in the text.
Such is mathematics: we write a joke, the truth is in the mind.
And in the stories of the mature Chekhov, the joke dissolves into the truth and becomes almost invisible. Let's try to laugh at the stories "Vanka" or "Tosca". If we succeed, it's bad!
“Brevity is the sister of talent” (A.P. Chekhov.)
A feature of a humorous story is that it is a small work that tells about one event with a small number of characters.
So, a humorous story should be, first of all, short, concise. Such are the works-sketches of A.P. Chekhov. Let's try to find out what are the features of the style of early Chekhov - Antosha Chekhonte, the Man without a spleen?
At the time of Chekhov's creative debut, according to the conditions of humorous magazines, the story should not exceed one hundred lines. In fulfilling these requirements, Chekhov learned to write concisely. “Brevity is the sister of talent” is one of the writer’s favorite phrases. The short stories were very capacious in content. This was achieved by a striking title; meaningful names and surnames; a plot that was built on an unusual situation or event; dynamic development of action; expressive detail; scenic dialogue; simple, clear speech of the author.
Recall the story "Horse name". Why do we find it funny every time we listen to it, read it? What makes a work funny?
Firstly, the plot is ridiculous: the whole family is busy searching for the “horse name” of an official who knows how to speak a toothache. Second, it's funny because educated person so superstitious that he is ready to believe in conspiracies, in the fact that a tooth can be cured by telegraph. Thirdly, the ways in which the retired general is trying to calm the pain are ridiculous: vodka, cognac, tobacco soot, turpentine, iodine Fourthly, ambiguous phrases: “Now he only feeds on his teeth”, “He lives not with his wife, but a German woman” and others - make you smile. Fifthly, the “horse” names themselves are funny: Zherebtsov, Zherebchikov, Loshadkin, Kobylin, Kobylitsyn, Kobylyatnikov, Kobylkin, Loshadevich simple surname Ovsov. It is also funny that efforts to find a surname were in vain: "a doctor came and pulled out a bad tooth." Chekhov's laughter is good-natured, cheerful, he achieved a good laugh by brevity, conciseness of presentation.
Artistic detail carrying a huge semantic load
Chekhov is rightfully considered the master of the short humorous work. IN little story extensive, impossible detailed descriptions, long monologues. That is why in the works of Chekhov, the artistic detail. Artistic detail is one of the means of creating artistic image, which helps to present the picture, object or character depicted by the author in a unique individuality. A detail can reproduce the features of appearance, features of clothing, furnishings, nuances of experiences or actions of the hero.
Consider the role of the artistic detail in Chekhov's story "Chameleon". It's about about how a police officer, considering the case of a puppy that bit a jeweler, changes his mind several times about the outcome of the case. Moreover, his opinion directly depends on who owns the dog - a rich general or a poor person. Only by hearing the names of the characters, we can imagine the heroes of the story. Policeman Ochumelov, master Khryukin, policeman Eldyrin - the names correspond to the characters, the appearance of the heroes. The name "Chameleon" also conveys the main idea of the story. Ochumelov's opinion changes as quickly and often, depending on the circumstances, as a chameleon lizard changes skin color, corresponding natural conditions. It is thanks to Chekhov's masterful use of artistic details in his works that the writer's work is understandable and accessible to every person.
Chekhov's skill lies in the fact that he was able to select material, to saturate small work capacious content, highlight an essential detail that is important for characterizing a character or object. Accurate and capacious artistic detail, created by the author's creative imagination, guides the reader's imagination. Chekhov gave details great importance, believed that it "excites the reader's independent critical thought", therefore we still read short and witty stories of this brilliant writer today.
A.P. Chekhov greatly appreciated the sense of humor and those who quickly caught the joke. “Yes, sir, this is the surest sign: a person does not understand a joke - write it down! - said the comedian. From the memoirs of K. I. Chukovsky about Chekhov, we know that the comedian loved to work with people, but most of all he loved to have fun, play pranks, laugh with them. “The laughter was not at all unreasonable, because Chekhov was its cause.”
Pig under the oak
I. A. Krylov in his fables also talks about comic situations and comic characters, but the nature of laughter is different. Krylov's fables are allegorical: people and their actions are hidden under the masks of animals. The fable is written in free verse, it contains a moral - a brief and clear conclusion from the lesson contained in it. Krylov's fables reflected the experience, consciousness and moral ideals of our people, features national character. This was expressed not only in the original interpretation of traditional plots, but above all in the language in which the fables are written. In the language of Krylov's fables, live folk speech was clearly manifested. Each class in his works has its own language: the Wolf’s rude language, the Lamb’s obedient (“The Wolf and the Lamb”), the Hare’s boastful speech (“The Hare is catching”), the thoughtful reasoning of the stupid Rooster (“The Rooster and the Pearly Seed”), the snobby Geese's speech about their ancestors ("Geese"), stupidly self-satisfied with the Pig ("Pig under the oak").
Krylov broadly and freely introduced folk vocabulary into his fables: snout, peasant, dung, fool, cattle, booby. By what means does the fabulist achieve the rejection of the Pig, for example, in this passage?
Pig under the ancient oak
I ate acorns to the full, to satiety,
Having eaten, slept under it,
Then, tearing her eyes, she got up
And she began to undermine the roots of the oak with her snout.
Of course, you will say that no good feelings the pig does not cause - it is gluttonous, nasty, stupid. The author achieved a similar effect by drawing the image of the Pig with the help of rude, colloquial words and expressions: she ate to satiety, her eyes were pierced, her snout. The pig is shown in actions, the last of which is not only absurd, meaningless, but also harmful - "and began to undermine the roots of the oak."
Let us recall another Krylov's fable "The Donkey and the Nightingale". By what means does the fabulist create the image of a stupid, narcissistic judge? Let's answer this question with an example passage:
The donkey saw the Nightingale
And he says to him: “Listen, my friend!
You, they say, sing a great master:
I would very much like
Judge for yourself, hearing your singing,
How great is your skill?
The choice of a donkey as a judge, and not another animal, is in itself absurd: the donkey is a symbol of stupidity, stubbornness, ignorance. In addition, the cry of this animal is the most anti-musical in nature, so you can immediately guess that it is beyond the power of a donkey to appreciate the singing of a nightingale. The arrogance, narcissism of this character is shown in the manner of speaking: the familiar appeal "buddy", the combination of incompatible words "great master" - give the whole combination a dismissive coloring. Colloquial fable contributes to the fact that it can be presented as a small comedy. The comic of the situation is often complemented by the comic of the language.
Let's talk about some of the features of Krylov's fables. An indispensable condition of a fable is that the action is emphasized by frequent verbal rhymes. Rhyme in Krylov carries a semantic load. Consider in this connection the fable "Two Barrels". The beginning is already ridiculous: "Two barrels were driving, one with wine, the other Empty." Here the rhyme connects precisely those words that determine the subject of consideration in the fable. The story presents us fantastic picture: two barrels drive around the city on their own, one - smoothly, the other - rushes and rattles. If we accept the conditionality of the situation, then everything looks quite natural: a column of dust, a passer-by huddles to the side. But in the second part of the fable it is directly spoken about people who "shout about their deeds." Then morality is clearly formulated: "Whoever is truly deeds is often quiet in words." And further: " great person. he thinks his strong thought ∕ No noise. Returning to the beginning of the story, we comprehend it on a different level. Barrels turn out to be conditional objects denoting human qualities. But this allegorical statement contains an additional metaphorical element, which we become aware of after reading the entire fable. The metaphorical meaning of an empty barrel in this context is comprehended in relation to empty man, talker. The whole fable is built on similar comparisons.
So, the images of animals, which are sometimes depicted in Russian costumes in the illustrations, carry a satirical typification of the features of the Russian national character. Krylov accurately expressed the people's faith in good and evil. And the people willingly accepted as their dozens of Krylov's humorous and satirical poems and "moralizing", including them in proverbs during the life of the fabulist: "Ay, Pug! She is strong to know That she barks at the elephant”, “They even laugh at the braggarts, and often they get shares in the division”, “They bark and leave behind”, “And Vaska listens and eats”, “I didn’t even notice the elephant”, “ A helpful fool is more dangerous than an enemy "Even the names of fables have become proverbs, for example: "Trishkin's caftan",
Demyanov's Ear, Elephant and Pug.
Comic speech means
In addition to an interesting humorous plot, a bright speech of a character, the writer needs to remember about the speech means of the comic. There are special words and expressions that give brightness, emotionality to speech, serve as an expression of the author's attitude to the depicted. They are called speech means of comic or speech means of humor. First, it is a monologue and dialogue. A monologue is a detailed statement of one character. Dialogue is a conversation between two or more characters. To this it should be added that there is a so-called "internal monologue", when the author seems to be talking to himself. For example: “It must have happened! Dunno has never been in a similar situation. It was the first time." "Wow! Was I right? Conversational speech is, first of all, oral, unprepared, free speech. This is how we talk to friends and parents. That's what the heroes say humorous stories. They do not "talk", but "chat", do not shout, but "yell" and often do some speech errors. But the author needs to accurately reproduce this free, colloquial speech in order to create a comic effect so that we “believe” him.
Secondly, it is imperative to name as a means of creating a humorous work - both a fable and a story - expressively colored words. They make speech bright, interesting, and most importantly - immediate. Speech in this case, of course, is called expressive. It can be particles: Wow! Yah! Oh what is this?; words and expressions: The cat jumped - and onto the closet; Try to get it out of the closet! What could we do!
Thirdly, not only expressively colored words, but also comparisons give brightness, figurativeness of speech. Comparison is a technique based on comparing one phenomenon or object with another. When we play, we also compare our friends to someone or something. For example: "Petka puffs like a steam locomotive"; “The bow on Button’s head looked like a butterfly. It seemed that she was about to fly away”, “They, like donkeys, did not want to give way to each other.” And finally - this is hyperbolization as one of the speech means of the comic. Hyperbolization - “exaggeration”, that is, “above the usual, familiar”. She often causes a smile: "I'm about to die of laughter" - this is an exaggeration. We often say: "Fear has big eyes." The eyes of laughter are just as big.
Let us turn to the story of V. Dragunsky " Enchanted letter Let's try to determine what features of a humorous story the author implements in his work. This story can be called funny, since the guys' misunderstanding of each other and everyone's confidence in their own rightness cause a smile. The comic effect is created due to the fact that the guys incorrectly pronounce the word bumps. The children are still small, and they do not know how to pronounce all the letters correctly. This happens because each of them “does not hear himself from the outside” and considers his “pronunciation” to be correct.
Language and humor are so closely related
So, we are convinced that satirists and humorists have their own completely accurate and definite speech means and tricks. Let's dwell on some of them. Let's compare for reception the words warrior and warrior, soul and little soul. It is quite obvious that the suffixes -yak - and -onk - give these words a disparaging, mocking connotation, causing an ironic smile in relation to what they mean: Oh, you warrior! Or Petty, cowardly little soul! Here are some more suffixes of this kind: - ishk - (people, passions), - nya (squabble, cooking), - shin-a (storming), - il-a (thug, boss), - yag-a (dealer, dude ) and etc.
There are also prefixes that, under certain conditions, give an ironic or playful connotation of speech: once - (ras -): beautiful (in A. Gaidar's story "Chuk and Gek" the mother calls the boys who have been in trouble her beautiful sons), cheerful (too, overly cheerful and therefore cheeky), for example: a cheerful company, etc.; by - + suffix - willow - (-yva -): pee, read (jokingly - ironically about frivolous attitude to writing or reading), etc.; pre-: much (for example, ironically: thank you very much), etc.
A large group of words with an ironic or humorous tinge is formed by word composition. They are made alive folk speech: rotozey (onlooker or idler), scoffer (mockery), stingy (stingy, petty person), empty talker, windbag (chatterer), etc. There are many such words in colloquial and literary book speech: stilted (pompous), base (low quality ), scribbler (prolific, but a bad writer), sentimental (sentimental, overly sensitive), new-found, newly minted (recently, just created, appeared), etc.
There are also lexical means. Let us recall Igor's characterization from A. Rybakov's story "The Adventures of Krosh": "Igor works in an office, rubs himself near his superiors, loves to hang around among his elders." Let's try to replace the highlighted words (colloquial and colloquial) with neutral, general literary ones: "Igor is often near his superiors, he likes to be among his elders." As you can see, the dismissive, mocking coloring of the characteristic has disappeared. This means that irony is achieved in these phrases by the selection of colloquial everyday and colloquial words that aptly characterize Igor as a sycophant seeking an easy life.
So, one of the means for giving irony and humor to a speech is apt and figurative colloquial and colloquial words-synonyms for neutral words: instead of talking, rant (to rant or be pompous, pompous); instead of drawing - to paint (about inept, mediocre drawing); instead of a picture - daub (about a bad picture); instead of writing - scribbling, scribbling (he scribbled a slander, sprinkled verses, i.e. bad poetry); place like-minded person - sang along, (about someone who dutifully repeats other people's words); instead of an assistant - an accomplice (usually - in an unseemly deed, in a crime). Some words of this kind (for example, accomplice) were originally taken from vernacular (where help means "help"), and then entered the general literary language, firmly establishing a negative connotation.
To give speech an ironic or playful tone, archaisms are also used, most often from the Old Slavonic language. For example: instead of sitting - sit; instead of wanting - deign; instead of said - spoke; instead you are your grace; instead of coming, appearing - welcome; instead of inventing - inventing; instead of the fault of someone - by grace.
For the same purpose, some words of foreign origin are also used opus (jokingly - ironically about an unsuccessful, poor-quality work), chimera (an unrealizable, strange dream, unrealizable fantasy), sentiments (inappropriate, excessive sensitivity), maxim (ironically about thoughts with a claim to wisdom ), battle (jokingly about a fight, quarrel), fanfaron (braggart, braggart).
To give the statement a touch of irony, ridicule, are widely used figurative meaning words and metaphorization. So, the location of the enemy is called the lair (in the literal sense, the lair is the dwelling of the beast); a group of criminal elements - a pack (cf .: a pack of dogs); decomposed, anti-social elements - scum (in the literal sense - the remains of the liquid at the bottom along with the sediment); about the one who became dissolute, lost all restraint, they say - unbelted (literally - took off his belt); about having reached the extreme limits of self-will, arbitrariness - unbridled (unbridled initially - free the horse from the bridle, then give full rein to something).
One of the most common subjects of irony and humor is the juxtaposition of disparate words, in which there is a discrepancy between form and content. This is what is achieved comic effect. On such a comparison, such ironic expressions as pearls of illiteracy, a certified philosopher, and others are built.
An important means of humor and irony is the use of humorous and ironic phraseological expressions in speech. Many of them are nothing more than frozen expressions built using the above means, as well as well-aimed comparisons, hyperbolas. Here are some humorous phraseological units: flies are dying, dying (about the unbearable boredom caused by something), a week without a year (most recently), on their own for two (that is, on foot), your money was crying (about a missing debt, wasted money) , not everyone is at home (out of their mind), the nose has not grown up (it’s too early to do something), history is silent about this (something remains unknown, they prefer not to talk about anything), etc. Ironic phraseological units can be attribute: in person (himself, personally), from the height of his greatness (with excessive importance, with disdain for others), hide in the bushes (cowardly, dodge something), filkin's letter (illiterate or invalid document), veal delight (too violent delight), veal tenderness (excessive or inappropriate expression of endearment).
Weapon of laughter M. M. Zoshchenko
M. M. Zoshchenko is a writer not only of a comic style, but also of comic situations. Not only his language is comical, but also the place where the story of the next story unfolded: a commemoration, a communal apartment, a hospital - everything is so familiar, familiar, everyday. And the story itself: a fight in a communal apartment because of a scarce hedgehog, a scandal at the wake because of a broken glass.
Some of Zoshchenko’s phrases have remained in Russian literature as aphorisms: “as if suddenly I smelled the atmosphere”, “they will rob me like sticky and throw them away for their kind, even if they are their own relatives”, “lieutenant wow, but a bastard”, “disturbs the riots” . Zoshchenko, while writing his stories, laughed himself. So much so that later, when I read stories to my friends, I never laughed. He sat gloomy, gloomy, as if not understanding what he could laugh at. Having laughed while working on the story, he then perceived it with longing and sadness. I took it as the other side of the coin. If you listen carefully to his laughter, it is not difficult to catch that the carefree-joking notes are just a background for the notes of pain and bitterness.
The hero Zoshchenko is a layman, a man with poor morals and a primitive outlook on life. This inhabitant personified the whole human layer of the then Russia. The writer ridiculed not the man himself, but the philistine features in him.
Consider some of the writer's works. The story “Case History” begins like this: “Frankly, I prefer to be sick at home. Of course, there are no words, in the hospital, perhaps, it is brighter and more cultured. And the calorie content of food, maybe they have more provided. But, as they say, houses and straw are eaten. A patient with a diagnosis of typhoid fever is brought to the hospital, and the first thing he sees in the room for registering new arrivals is a huge poster on the wall: “Issue of corpses from 3 to 4”. Having barely recovered from the shock, the hero tells the paramedic that "the patients are not interested in reading this." In response, he hears: “If you get better, which is unlikely, then criticize, otherwise we will really betray you from three to four in the form of what is written here, then you will know.” an old woman is bathing.
It would seem that the nurse should apologize and postpone the “bathing” procedure for a while. But she was used to seeing patients, not people, in front of her. And what to stand on ceremony with patients? She calmly invites him to get into the bath and not pay attention to the old woman: “She has a high fever, and she does not react to anything. So you undress without embarrassment. The tests of the patient do not end there. First, he is given a dressing gown that does not fit. Then, a few days later, having already begun to recover, he falls ill with whooping cough. All the same nurse tells him: "You must have inadvertently ate from the device on which the whooping cough child ate." When the hero finally recovers, he can’t escape from the hospital walls in any way, because they forget to write him out, then “someone didn’t come, and it was impossible to celebrate,” then the entire staff is busy organizing the movement of the wives of the sick. At home, the last test awaits him: his wife tells how a week ago she received a notice from the hospital demanding: "Upon receipt of this, immediately appear for your husband's body."
“The Case History” is one of those stories by Zoshchenko in which the image of rudeness, extreme disrespect for a person, spiritual callousness is brought to the limit. Together with the author, we laugh merrily, and then we become sad. This is called “laughter through tears.”
A reminder for a beginner to write a humorous story.
In order to determine how a humorous story differs from a regular story, we will turn to the "Reminder for a beginner to write a humorous story."
First of all, consider the plot of your story;
Do not forget that a humorous story is based on a comic situation or a funny misunderstanding (they are created due to the appearance of participants in the events that are unexpected for the hero of the story, due to an unexpected turn of events, due to an unexpected denouement, the nature of the events that took place).
Remember that the title is of great importance in the story: the title is the key to unraveling the plot; the title can express the author's attitude;
Use in a story language tools creating humor: interesting dialogues, funny names (nicknames), names of characters, author's humorous assessments;
The situation of the game is the next feature of the humorous story at the story level. The game is always laughter, cheerful mood. The game is always putting on some kind of mask, attributing to oneself someone's role. Daniil Kharms says this beautifully in the poem "Game".
It is the presence of funny characters that is another feature of a humorous story at the plot level. Always those characters that are presented in the story cause a kind smile or grin.
For example, in the story "Chicken broth" by V. Dragunsky, by chance, the boy and his dad are forced to cook food, that is, to do the work that they never did. In N. Nosov's story "Knock-knock-knock", the unexpected appearance of a crow, which was mistaken for a robber, led to the "creation of a protective structure" in order to avoid a collision with the robber. In the story of V. Dragunsky "Glory to Ivan Kozlovsky" main character believes that good singing is loud. “I sang well, you can probably even hear it on the other street.”
Conclusion
M Twain wrote that humorous stories require "the same ability to see, analyze, understand, which is necessary for the authors of serious books."
So, we think that we have proved that you can learn to ridicule what interferes with our lives. Of course, for this, first of all, it is necessary to have a sense of humor, observation, the ability to see shortcomings.
“Brevity is the sister of talent” is one of the writer’s favorite phrases. The short stories were very capacious in content. This was achieved by a striking title; meaningful names and surnames; a plot that was built on an unusual situation or event; dynamic development of action; expressive detail; scenic dialogue; simple, clear speech of the author.
Thus, summing up the analysis of Krylov's fables, we can conclude: a prerequisite for the funny in them is a comic situation, based on which unexpected turn in the plot, a comic hero, a discrepancy between something, a caricature display of some character trait of a character or a situation based on allegory, hyperbole, metaphor, personification, comparison.
In the “Reminder for a beginner to write a humorous story”, we tried to highlight the main artistic techniques creating a humorous story. Using this "Memo" and "Scheme-sun", the guys composed stories. Of course, it is impossible to include all the details of the funny, the rays of the “merry sun” in one work. In order for the story to turn out to be funny, humorous, training is needed, as in any business, you need to hone your skills. How this is done, we tried to show on the example of the works of satirical writers, humorous writers.
We wish our peers not to stop there - to write - to write funny, with humor, with a share of irony, and even satire. And then, perhaps, our own Saltykov-Shchedrins, Chekhovs, Zoshchenkos, Zhvanetskys will appear in our life and literature.
Those who like to immerse themselves in book worlds will agree that sometimes there is a desire to start reading serious literature that touches on important social and life topics. But sometimes you just want to relax and cheer yourself up with the help of literary creation. In such situations, humorous books become relevant.
Such works are incredibly popular, because thanks to comic tricks, funny storylines and charismatic heroes create positive stories filled with light and good mood. Many books are simply collections of humorous stories that are designed to distract from problems and charge with positive.
You should not look for deep meaning or something serious in such works. They are created for completely different purposes. Many girls love to read love prose with a touch of humor, because what could be better than a beautiful love story combined with comic situations and outlandish jokes.
The best books of this plan turn into desktop books and always play the role of an assistant in getting rid of melancholic mood and depression. Authors produce whole series of novels that are popular, but only those writers who have a very subtle sense of humor and can boast of excellent writing talent reach this level.
Humorous books are considered easy to understand and allow you to carelessly "plunge" into the world described by the author, filled with vivid emotions. Today, this category includes children's stories, detective novels, and even some classics.
Modern writers try not to use features of other genres in their work so that there is no temptation to move from comedy to drama. It should be noted that not all writers become recognized creators in the genre of humorous prose. Not everyone is able to create a high-quality story and competently frame it with funny elements.
Therefore, many young writers who try themselves in this field do not always release good things from under their feast. In any case, it is necessary to get acquainted with the works of eminent and popular authors, because their works are presented on our portal.
For many book lovers, the site site is well known and studied in detail. Beginners are pleasantly surprised, because here you can read online or download for free without registration directly from the site or via torrent excellent humorous stories. The files are available in epub, fb2, pdf, rtf and txt formats.
