The Book of Witty Women by Kathy Lette et al

The Book of Witty Women is a good read, especially if you aspire to be a witty woman yourself. All of the stories are clever and well written, and smart one-liners and hilarious throwaway lines appear throughout the book. I am saying this at the start because the rest of my comments may seem negative, even though they are intended as constructive criticism. My defence is - I was given a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Labelling this anthology of humorous stories by women writers as ‘laugh-out-loud’ has done it a serious disservice, because one person’s ‘laugh-out-loud’ moment is another person’s moment of boredom. For example, I cannot abide slapstick, but my partner thinks Home Alone is the funniest film ever. On the other hand, I giggle all through Have I Got News For You, while he watches it stony-faced. The Book of Witty Women contains 15 stories written by 15 very different personalities, in 15 very different styles. There is no way on earth all of them could make everyone laugh out loud.

That said, I laughed a bit at most of these stories, and a lot at some of them. Even the ones which did not make me laugh caused me to crack a wry smile. I briefly laughed out loud at You Can’t Get There From Here by J.Y.Saville and Glue by Clare Shaw, because I found the situations relatable. The only story I can honestly describe as joyful is Care Home Capers by Wendy Hood. Of the others, I preferred the stories where a slow pace builds up to a strong punch line or a big reveal. Several stories, such as Ways With Mince by Kathryn Simmonds, contain very funny incidents but have an underlying sadness. Perhaps women’s humour is a defence against sorrows which men do not experience.

I am a big fan of Comedy Women in Print, and I look forward to their future endeavours.