Literary Blog Hop: Fun in Literature

Literary Blog Hop is hosted by The Blue Bookcase. If you features book reviews of literary fiction, classic literature, and general literary discussion, you too can join in!

This week's question is:

Can literature be funny? What is your favorite humorous literary book?

When I read this question, Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome instantly came into my mind.

Three men in a Boat, written in 1889,  is about Jerome, Harris and George and their dog, Montmorency. The three are bored with their life and need a break to dispel it. So they plan a holiday together. After much discussion, they agree on travelling from Kingston to Oxford on Thames river. A boating holiday was rare in those days. 

It was intended as a travel guide with humorous anecdotes. However, the comic portions took over. It became a delightful read with the idiosyncrasies of the travellers along with their dog. The friends are very much real. However, the dog is a fictional character.

The interactions between the friends is interesting. The narrater at times goes off in a tangent taking us along with him. His insights are wonderful, albeit with comic effects. They have disasters on the way but can see the humourous side of it. Maybe the author sees it more often than the other two and the dog as he continues to rib them. Certain passages are worth reading again and again. Especially about the plaster of paris trout in an inn and also the preparation of Irish Stew.

There never is a dull moment reading this book. I have read it many times. In the present times, Bryson fits the bill for writing great travelogues.