Average of 3.5 / I suspect those who enjoyed _Eats, Shoots & Leaves_ will like the _Making the Cat Laugh_ collection of columns. The same language and sense of wit and fun are also in the comic novels, but at times too ridiculous.

Enjoyed most: _Tennyson's Gift_, and several of columns of in _Making the Cat Laugh_

There are three novels in this book, and a collection of articles. The first novel had me snorting laughing, snickering, and just enjoying it. I tried starting the second, and it followed almost exactly the same format (to me, anyway) as the second novel. So I skipped ahead to the articles and once again found myself laughing hard. My favorite part of one of her columns was when she describes sitting with a boyfriend and suddenly looking at him and saying, "Why aren't you a pony?" That's just about the awesomest thing I've ever read. I've finished the columns, and I *might* give the third novel a shot. And maybe not.

It's been on the shelf for years...and I've even opened it...and yet it has not yet been read.

Have only read two of the novels, but am completely hooked. The first one "Seed Packets" was hilarious. I stayed up until 4am to get to the end. The action's pace was ridiculously crazy, and the situations near impossible; yet, seemingly realistic given the characters.

Always funny

OK I may say I "read" this book, but honestly, I couldn't finish it. I could barely get through the first comic novel and I didn't have the stamina to finish. Maybe it was just the topic of the novel (a man who works part-time at a magazine about sheds and the "hilarity" which ensues after a mixup of shed interviews) or the disjointed character development, but I found myself shaking my head and wondering what happened to the Lynne Truss I knew and loved? Sadly, I think her writing is only witty and funny when she is commenting on life experiences instead of attempting to create humor where there is none. Truss should stick to non-fiction, or at least stop touting her fiction as "comic".

Pass along from Mom Mar 2008

mwah

The Lynne Truss Treasury: Columns and Three Comic Novels by Lynne Truss (2005)

I skipped to the last quarter of the book and read the columns/essays first. I intended to read just one, but loved it so much I read the entire lot. Then my only choice was to chuck the book (it's "dense and weighty!" to quote the author) or launch into the novels encompassing the first part. Never one to take the easy path, I launched. I'm only on page 45 and have already had more laugh-out-loud moments than I can count. I've missed wonderful witty writing on this scale since Doug Adams passed away, and I daresay she's surpassed him (sorry, Doug, but I know you'd be laughing too). I *so* want to develop this ("One Lousy Packet of Seed") as a movie script...

"Tennyson's Gift" is an amazing romp, part Twelfth Night, part Fawlty Towers, all parts educational. I had no idea these Victorians were so intertwined. The subtle humor is amazing. Lynne Truss is a master. Even moreso than "One Lousy Packet of Seed" this novel(lette?) needs to be put on the screen. Where are the Hollywood agents? They've missed the boat with this writer. Forget Hollywood. Only the BBC could do this right.

"Going Loco" is another mistaken identity farce, a modernization of Shakespearean comedies with many laugh-out-loud moments. There is more tenderness than satire, a field trip to Scandinavia, a murder mystery... it covers a lot of ground.

Excellent reading. My usual metric for greatness is the impression a particular character leaves on me... that I will remember them for years to come. Truss creates a world that I will remember anytime I see a garden shed, superficial cat or hear someone say "Hej!"

As compared to other books described as "funny" and "entertaining," this book delivers. I only wish I could get BBC4...

As this is four books in one I've had Ms. Truss's voice in my head for over a month, and I'm afraid I might just miss it. Her voice is smart, humorous, and well crafted; I want to reread Eats, Shoots & Leaves now.

I would like to rate the novels and the columns separately. I would give the columns four stars and the novels two...one and a half if I could.

I read the Garden Shed novel and found it fairly amusing, but rather tedious and occasionally vulgar, with over-the-top quirky characters (something I love to see in a few characters, or in limit doses, but not full-time in every cast member). It was one of those stories where I just forced myself to continue. So when I started the Tennyson themed second novel and found it to be equally tedious, I started skimming, and then gave up on it. I didn't even bother reading past the first pages of the third novel. I could see it wouldn't be to my taste.

But the author's over-the-top approach to her quirky characters that made the novels seem tedious to me is probably the same talent that made the dryly witty columns fun to read. If you enjoyed Eats, Shoots & Leaves, you will probably really enjoy these, even though the subject matter is completely different. I didn't care for their pseudo-topical groupings (chronological or maybe random would have been more enjoyable), but time after time, I appreciated Truss's dry wit, even when many of the British references went completely over my head.