- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Penguin (27 Sep 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0141025158
- ISBN-13: 978-0141025155
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
109,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #91 in Books > Humour > Jokes & Riddles
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More About the Author
Product Description
London Lite, November 14, 2006
This entertaining little book will give you a better understanding of a joke's important place in the world.
David Baddiel, The Times Online, November 4, 2006
It's the best book about jokes ever...
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Some people are better joke tellers than others. In a hilarious book Jimmy Carr explores the art of joke telling, why stand-up comedy appears to be a male dominated profession,taboos on joke telling (with examination of Jerry Springer the Opera, the career of Lenny Bruce and faith adherents' sensitivities towards jokes).
Each page is laced with the jokes that Jimmy and his co author decided were their personal favourites so this book is both a joke book and an academic insight into the mechanics of humour.
I couldn't put this down. See what you think.
Each page is laced with the jokes that Jimmy and his co author decided were their personal favourites so this book is both a joke book and an academic insight into the mechanics of humour.
I couldn't put this down. See what you think.
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A comedian writing a book about jokes could be a disaster but Jimmy Carr carries this off beautifully, with help from Lucy Greeves.
Although there is a lot of analysis of humour in the book, they made the great choice of sticking lots of jokes in as well - one at the bottom of every page and then pages of them at the end of each chapter. There is no doubt he takes jokes seriously and the book is intended to be read all the way through. However, it also makes it possible to dip into the book for a few minutes and leave with a smile. Everything from Bob Monkhouse to Denis Leary is here and he throws in a few of his own as well.
As you would expect if you know his act, he does not shy away from controversy, with sex, race, religion all covered without pulling any punches. He strongly defends the right to free speech, and for humour to cover the darker aspects of life. It is for the reader to decide if he pushes the boundaries too far, but it is clear that he causes offence deliberately to get laughs. He is no fool.
Well worth reading and would make a great stocking-filler for anyone who appreciated live comedy.
Although there is a lot of analysis of humour in the book, they made the great choice of sticking lots of jokes in as well - one at the bottom of every page and then pages of them at the end of each chapter. There is no doubt he takes jokes seriously and the book is intended to be read all the way through. However, it also makes it possible to dip into the book for a few minutes and leave with a smile. Everything from Bob Monkhouse to Denis Leary is here and he throws in a few of his own as well.
As you would expect if you know his act, he does not shy away from controversy, with sex, race, religion all covered without pulling any punches. He strongly defends the right to free speech, and for humour to cover the darker aspects of life. It is for the reader to decide if he pushes the boundaries too far, but it is clear that he causes offence deliberately to get laughs. He is no fool.
Well worth reading and would make a great stocking-filler for anyone who appreciated live comedy.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Germans have the perfect word for Jimmy Carr's face. His is a Backpfeifengesicht. It's a face you could happily punch until the cows come home. Sadly though, after reading this wonderful book there's an audible lowing at the farmyard gates, and that over-exposed smugness suddenly seems almost tolerable. Almost.
`The Naked Jape' is a warm, lucid and delightfully enlightening look at the history of The Joke, its mechanics, and its place in human culture. The authors deal with the entire spectrum of humour, from the childish to the bigoted. Where the humour is off-colour, the authors explain rather than revel in the shock, and they have a real knack for condensing academic and amateur studies of jokes and condensing them into an argument that's both cogent, readable and very human. They also get points for not resorting to hagiography when mentioning legends such as Bill Hicks and Lenny Bruce. Theirs is a very balanced view.
After finishing this book I think I understand more clearly why we laugh, and why that's important. I'd like to think Lucy wrote all illuminating bits, but Jimmy and his face probably provided a fair share. His evocation of what it takes to be a standup - putting yourself up there in the hot glare of an audience's expectations and judgment - is especially vivid.
If you're curious about comedy and its wider cultural resonances, put to one side that wave of nausea at seeing that name on the cover, read the book, and you may well change your view of the man and his - gulp - art. But just in case you don't I'll keep my foot on his neck `til you're finished...
`The Naked Jape' is a warm, lucid and delightfully enlightening look at the history of The Joke, its mechanics, and its place in human culture. The authors deal with the entire spectrum of humour, from the childish to the bigoted. Where the humour is off-colour, the authors explain rather than revel in the shock, and they have a real knack for condensing academic and amateur studies of jokes and condensing them into an argument that's both cogent, readable and very human. They also get points for not resorting to hagiography when mentioning legends such as Bill Hicks and Lenny Bruce. Theirs is a very balanced view.
After finishing this book I think I understand more clearly why we laugh, and why that's important. I'd like to think Lucy wrote all illuminating bits, but Jimmy and his face probably provided a fair share. His evocation of what it takes to be a standup - putting yourself up there in the hot glare of an audience's expectations and judgment - is especially vivid.
If you're curious about comedy and its wider cultural resonances, put to one side that wave of nausea at seeing that name on the cover, read the book, and you may well change your view of the man and his - gulp - art. But just in case you don't I'll keep my foot on his neck `til you're finished...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
not tell much about why jokes are funny
I bought this book because it said on the back "find out what's funny and why" and also says that this book is "a lesson in joke-making" and "a joke book that makes you think about... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. Roberto Ferraro
Comedy and Science DO go together
In this very entertaining book, biritsh comedian Jimmy Carr and his fellow joke-aficionado Lucy Greeves try to explain comedy and humour by looking at it from different angles. Read more
Published 13 months ago by gamblor
Fun way to learn
Naked Jape is well designed, a joke on each page and loads between each chapter. A valuable read if you're into sociology but don't want stuffy, dry academics. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Felix
Jokes! Jokes! Jokes!
As a joke writing teacher I know a lot of students come to class clutching this book hoping it will tell them how to write jokes. It doesn't. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Sally Holloway, Author: Joke Writing (Serious Guide to)
Bit of a yawn
The book is well-written, but I struggle to find much in it to deserve more than 3*. I agree the earlier review by Anthony: what's the fuss?
Published 19 months ago by Roger Cavanagh
A good Jape
Book Arived in good condition and on time, the book itself is a good read and full of jokes and thought proviking subjects.
Published 21 months ago by Gogscot
What's all the fuss?
I'm not sure why The Naked Jape has had so many five star reviews. It's not that the book is bad, it's just that the book isn't anything really. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Anthony M
Hilarious
Though not a particular fan of Jimmy Carr (manly due to the stiffness of his joke, joke, joke formula of stand up and occasional over-reliance on shock humour) I did find this book... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Fergus Pearson
The Naked Jape
A Great book,chuckleworthy and informative. It fulfilled a gap in presents for men and teenage boys this year, and delayed my present wrapping as I leafed through it, so much so... Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2009 by J. M. Richardson
A must!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyone who is studying comedy or is generally interested in the subject must read this book!
Apart from the academic text's available surrounding the subject, this is a... Read more
Apart from the academic text's available surrounding the subject, this is a... Read more
Published on 21 Nov 2009 by A. D. Towlson
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