This is a Book

This is a Book

Demetri Martin is best known for his stand-up comedy, work on The Daily Show and his TV series Important Things with Demetri Martin. His first book is an unusual mix of drawings and written comedy sketches, similar to his deadpan stand-up style. It raises the question of how well you can capture a stand-up comedy style in a book – very well, it turns out.

There’s no overall story in This is a Book; it is just a collection of funny material. There’s a piece about someone being stung by a bee, told from the perspective of various objects and people including the person stung, her friend, the bee, a magazine used to attack the bee, a lawn chair and a nearby squirrel. There’s also the story of how Martin’s life changed when he started using a megaphone all the time, and a deleted scene from A Christmas Carol where Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Future Perfect, “here to show you what shall have happened to you on a Christmas that will have passed at some point  in the future”. There’s a palindrome poem over 500 words long which has to be seen to be believed.

Snowglobe of a frustrated man trying to shovel driveway

It’s not all short comedy sketches. Martin is also a master on one-liners and quirky line drawings, managing to make some unusual but amusing observations.  There’s no great depth to This is a Book, but something most people will enjoy for a few hours. Definitely worth a look if you’re a fan, and even if you’re not a fan this book should still make you laugh.

 

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