Re: "Humor" as used in the book?"

Use this forum to discuss the July 2019 Book of the month, "Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream" by Dr Frank L Douglas.
User avatar
Ferdinand_Otieno
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 3369
Joined: 03 Jun 2017, 12:54
Favorite Author: Victor Rose
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 1749
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ferdinand-otieno.html
Latest Review: Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker
fav_author_id: 78026

Re: "Humor" as used in the book?"

Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

There are many instances in the book where the author uses humor in general. I particularly liked "Governor My Wife and I," how the author "logiced" his way out of committing suicide, the open and widespread use of familial titles like "Auntie Gertrude", "Daddy", and so many others.
Where in the book did you encounter humor, either in a descriptive scene or general sentence?
User avatar
BrittaniDJ
Posts: 120
Joined: 30 Dec 2018, 15:19
Currently Reading: The Heart Has Its Reasons
Bookshelf Size: 119
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-brittanidj.html
Latest Review: Yesterday by Samyann

Post by BrittaniDJ »

I found it kind of funny when little Frank was at the market looking at the crabs who tried and tried to get out of the baskets but could not, then he says that he is sure ants would have solved the problem. I found it such a funny comment. It absolutely makes sense, but just to even think that way, is not something I would have been able to come up with. I wonder what the difference is between ants and crabs. Are ants brains more developed? Or is it the team work? Or their ability to stick to surfaces they walk on?
Latest Review: Yesterday by Samyann
User avatar
Ferdinand_Otieno
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 3369
Joined: 03 Jun 2017, 12:54
Favorite Author: Victor Rose
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 1749
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ferdinand-otieno.html
Latest Review: Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker
fav_author_id: 78026

Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

BrittaniDJ wrote: 01 Jul 2019, 19:28 I found it kind of funny when little Frank was at the market looking at the crabs who tried and tried to get out of the baskets but could not, then he says that he is sure ants would have solved the problem. I found it such a funny comment. It absolutely makes sense, but just to even think that way, is not something I would have been able to come up with. I wonder what the difference is between ants and crabs. Are ants brains more developed? Or is it the team work? Or their ability to stick to surfaces they walk on?
Think he figured that for ants, the anthill must have been made going up meaning that ants would have used team workvto get out of the barrel. It was funny his mind quickly jumped to ants on seeing the crabs in the bucket.
User avatar
Stephanie Elizabeth
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2989
Joined: 18 Jul 2018, 15:41
Currently Reading: We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
Bookshelf Size: 212
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-stephanie-elizabeth.html
Latest Review: Do You Remember Me? by Wm M Crouch

Post by Stephanie Elizabeth »

Apart from feeling so terrible for him when he was thinking about committing suicide, I had to laugh when things kept getting in his way.
I also laughed at the comment about the crabs being inferior to ants.
User avatar
Ferdinand_Otieno
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 3369
Joined: 03 Jun 2017, 12:54
Favorite Author: Victor Rose
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 1749
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ferdinand-otieno.html
Latest Review: Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker
fav_author_id: 78026

Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Stephanie Elizabeth wrote: 02 Jul 2019, 09:22 Apart from feeling so terrible for him when he was thinking about committing suicide, I had to laugh when things kept getting in his way.
I also laughed at the comment about the crabs being inferior to ants.
He used logic to go farther out to the sea, them logic and information on drowning scared him from that too and it was a funny contrast to the resolve he exhibited when he had arrived. As to the crabs, that was funny indeed. He saw struggling crabs and immediately summised ants would have solved the issue. It was a funny place for his mind to jump after seeing crabs.
User avatar
Kibet Hillary
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 3636
Joined: 26 Jul 2017, 01:48
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 3018
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kibet-hillary.html
Latest Review: Nimue by Ayn Cates Sullivan

Post by Kibet Hillary »

BrittaniDJ wrote: 01 Jul 2019, 19:28 I found it kind of funny when little Frank was at the market looking at the crabs who tried and tried to get out of the baskets but could not, then he says that he is sure ants would have solved the problem. I found it such a funny comment. It absolutely makes sense, but just to even think that way, is not something I would have been able to come up with. I wonder what the difference is between ants and crabs. Are ants brains more developed? Or is it the team work? Or their ability to stick to surfaces they walk on?
This is absolutely humorous. I wonder what might have evoked such a comment.
“It just hurts too much to admit what is wanted so badly when there’s no guarantee of its availability.”
- Dr. Larry Crabb
User avatar
Ruba Abu Ali
Posts: 971
Joined: 01 Jul 2018, 09:47
Currently Reading: Notes on a Nervous Planet
Bookshelf Size: 111
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ruba-abu-ali.html
Latest Review: Grammar for a Full Life: How the Ways We Shape a Sentence Can Limit or Enlarge Us by Lawrence Weinstein

Post by Ruba Abu Ali »

BrittaniDJ wrote: 01 Jul 2019, 19:28 I found it kind of funny when little Frank was at the market looking at the crabs who tried and tried to get out of the baskets but could not, then he says that he is sure ants would have solved the problem. I found it such a funny comment. It absolutely makes sense, but just to even think that way, is not something I would have been able to come up with. I wonder what the difference is between ants and crabs. Are ants brains more developed? Or is it the team work? Or their ability to stick to surfaces they walk on?
The brain is indeed a strange thing! It wouldn't have occurred to me to make such a humorous, albeit valid, comparison between crabs and ants.
User avatar
Kristy Khem
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 738
Joined: 20 Feb 2018, 13:22
Favorite Book: Carmela
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 183
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kristykhem.html
Latest Review: Hattie Vavaseur by M. Rebecca Wildsmith

Post by Kristy Khem »

I adored the childlike humor at the beginning of the book. I sympathized with the author when he wanted to drown himself in the sea because he was flogged; I could tell he was acting simply on his raw emotions and hurt feelings at that time. However, it was a little humorous the way he thought about drowning and went all the way to the jetty. Then he starting rethinking it in such an amusing way, asking himself what if he were attacked by crows before making it to the sea and wondering how long he'd take to drown.
User avatar
Ferdinand_Otieno
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 3369
Joined: 03 Jun 2017, 12:54
Favorite Author: Victor Rose
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 1749
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ferdinand-otieno.html
Latest Review: Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker
fav_author_id: 78026

Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

KristyKhem wrote: 02 Jul 2019, 20:40 I adored the childlike humor at the beginning of the book. I sympathized with the author when he wanted to drown himself in the sea because he was flogged; I could tell he was acting simply on his raw emotions and hurt feelings at that time. However, it was a little humorous the way he thought about drowning and went all the way to the jetty. Then he starting rethinking it in such an amusing way, asking himself what if he were attacked by crows before making it to the sea and wondering how long he'd take to drown.
I had used the term Logic-ed to express the way he kept refining his initial plan to drawn. First he question whether he would go out to sea or get stuck in the mud, this led him to move out to the Jetty. Then he recalled how long it took to drown and this shocked him out of the entire enterprise. It not highlighted his intelligence but also his resilience.
User avatar
Ferdinand_Otieno
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 3369
Joined: 03 Jun 2017, 12:54
Favorite Author: Victor Rose
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 1749
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ferdinand-otieno.html
Latest Review: Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker
fav_author_id: 78026

Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Ruba Abu Ali wrote: 02 Jul 2019, 12:48
BrittaniDJ wrote: 01 Jul 2019, 19:28 I found it kind of funny when little Frank was at the market looking at the crabs who tried and tried to get out of the baskets but could not, then he says that he is sure ants would have solved the problem. I found it such a funny comment. It absolutely makes sense, but just to even think that way, is not something I would have been able to come up with. I wonder what the difference is between ants and crabs. Are ants brains more developed? Or is it the team work? Or their ability to stick to surfaces they walk on?
The brain is indeed a strange thing! It wouldn't have occurred to me to make such a humorous, albeit valid, comparison between crabs and ants.
The authors thought process saw crabs uncooperative in trying to climb out of the barrel and jumped to ants. It is a funny thought to jump to and to suggest ants mightier in that particular task just showed more of the author's unique humorous personality.
ChaosofaMadHatter
Posts: 72
Joined: 28 Dec 2018, 21:13
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 31
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-chaosofamadhatter.html
Latest Review: From Drift to SHIFT by Jody B. Miller

Post by ChaosofaMadHatter »

BrittaniDJ wrote: 01 Jul 2019, 19:28 I found it kind of funny when little Frank was at the market looking at the crabs who tried and tried to get out of the baskets but could not, then he says that he is sure ants would have solved the problem. I found it such a funny comment. It absolutely makes sense, but just to even think that way, is not something I would have been able to come up with. I wonder what the difference is between ants and crabs. Are ants brains more developed? Or is it the team work? Or their ability to stick to surfaces they walk on?
This was definitely a moment where I had to bite back my laughter (was reading in the break room), just because both the randomness and the intuitiveness of the comment.
User avatar
Nisha Ward
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2311
Joined: 04 Feb 2019, 15:00
Favorite Author: Garth Nix
Favorite Book: Binti Home
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 321
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nisha-ward.html
Latest Review: Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute by Jeff Meyer
Reading Device: B0794RHPZD
fav_author_id: 4351

Post by Nisha Ward »

I don't quite know how yo describe it but the author's style in general is quite humourous. Moments that should be serious in any other context, like his stories about his patients, tend to becoming amusing simply because he writes in such a personable, humourous way that you don't really notice until you're already smiling.
"...while a book has got to be worthwhile from the point of view of the reader it's got to be worthwhile from the point of view of the writer as well." - Terry Pratchett on The Last Continent and his writing.
User avatar
Ferdinand_Otieno
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 3369
Joined: 03 Jun 2017, 12:54
Favorite Author: Victor Rose
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 1749
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ferdinand-otieno.html
Latest Review: Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker
fav_author_id: 78026

Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Nisha Ward wrote: 05 Jul 2019, 19:55 I don't quite know how yo describe it but the author's style in general is quite humourous. Moments that should be serious in any other context, like his stories about his patients, tend to becoming amusing simply because he writes in such a personable, humourous way that you don't really notice until you're already smiling.
His style is unique and it converted this book to one of my favorites. I was always amused at how his perspective would draw a smile from me.
User avatar
Nisha Ward
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2311
Joined: 04 Feb 2019, 15:00
Favorite Author: Garth Nix
Favorite Book: Binti Home
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 321
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nisha-ward.html
Latest Review: Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute by Jeff Meyer
Reading Device: B0794RHPZD
fav_author_id: 4351

Post by Nisha Ward »

Ferdinand_otieno wrote: 06 Jul 2019, 05:11
Nisha Ward wrote: 05 Jul 2019, 19:55 I don't quite know how yo describe it but the author's style in general is quite humourous. Moments that should be serious in any other context, like his stories about his patients, tend to becoming amusing simply because he writes in such a personable, humourous way that you don't really notice until you're already smiling.
His style is unique and it converted this book to one of my favorites. I was always amused at how his perspective would draw a smile from me.
Not just that but he always manages to learn something from his experiences while finding the positive, adding to that distinct sense of humour that the book is imbued with. It's actually quite inspiring in that respect.
"...while a book has got to be worthwhile from the point of view of the reader it's got to be worthwhile from the point of view of the writer as well." - Terry Pratchett on The Last Continent and his writing.
User avatar
Ferdinand_Otieno
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 3369
Joined: 03 Jun 2017, 12:54
Favorite Author: Victor Rose
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 1749
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ferdinand-otieno.html
Latest Review: Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker
fav_author_id: 78026

Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Nisha Ward wrote: 06 Jul 2019, 14:56
Ferdinand_otieno wrote: 06 Jul 2019, 05:11
Nisha Ward wrote: 05 Jul 2019, 19:55 I don't quite know how yo describe it but the author's style in general is quite humourous. Moments that should be serious in any other context, like his stories about his patients, tend to becoming amusing simply because he writes in such a personable, humourous way that you don't really notice until you're already smiling.
His style is unique and it converted this book to one of my favorites. I was always amused at how his perspective would draw a smile from me.
Not just that but he always manages to learn something from his experiences while finding the positive, adding to that distinct sense of humour that the book is imbued with. It's actually quite inspiring in that respect.
I understand what you're saying, to have faced the challenges he did, survive them and come out with a wicked sense of humor is truly inspiring.
Post Reply

Return to “Discuss "Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream" by Dr Frank L Douglas.”