The text offers a distinctive understanding of the function of comedy and how literature connects to it. The book demonstrates how comedy may have political overtones and even act as a catalyst and change agent. It also offers light on concerns surrounding free speech in comedy more broadly at a time when much discussion has focused on appropriateness and some long-running television shows are being reassessed. The Comic Turn in Contemporary English Fiction proposes not only that there is a comic tendency in contemporary fiction and that much of the most interesting contemporary writing is humorous, but also that this humour allows contemporary fiction writers to push themselves further and may in turn inspire readers. In my book, which addresses this imbalance, I argue that comedy may be the genre best suited to tackle today’s extremely serious crises and controversies. Through a number of author-focused studies, it examines the political, ethical, and emotional significance of humour and laughter, providing fresh perspectives on how comedy functions in contemporary fiction as well as in broader contexts of social and cultural life. The book provides a number of original critical and theoretical frameworks for discussing issues of literary genre, style, and politics through an analysis of contemporary writers’ works. It shows how comedy, despite being frequently overlooked, is a mode that is present in a lot of the most compelling contemporary writing.
