Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Cooking up humor

Cooking Up Humor

I have noticed in reading some sections of Amy’s book again, that here writing style is very different from David’s. His has a hidden moral at the end of each short story, while she can be put into the slapstick category. Some sections (an example being the vagina part) can borderline on humor that can be considered mean and/or offensive. But most of it I took for just fun and enjoyment for both herself and the reader. The fact that it is a cookbook supports this case even more.

The pelvic exam was my favorite. However, I felt that if I had a friend who was African American read this they might be offended when she makes the joke about how she likes how they dress in the nurse’s uniforms. There is a way about Amy that has you laughing, even though you know it is offensive. I found myself forgetting all the political incorrectness (unlike other authors we have read) and having fun just laughing. Unlike David where there is a clear lesson involved in his stories, Amy does not seem to care about what the rest of the world thinks. She knows how to make people laugh, and feels that that is the most important thing.

The example of the elderly I saw some morals being showcased. She talks about how everyone is different and all of your guests have specific needs. She breaks this moral streak she is on when she adds “except the elderly”. I don’t think she’s trying to be nasty; it’s all about showing the humor, and putting it all out there. After all, she does remark how we are all “headed there” and she is right.

Another funny part of the nurse section Is her idea of a sick room. This chapter I felt had every right to be a little serious. Again Amy can’t be serious here either. I am going to attempt over Easter break to make a homemade bell just for fun. Still who would think to have a bell if someone in the family is sick? Not me until I read this part of the book. You can see she is a little sensitive and even serious in the same section when she brings up having a change of sheets for alcoholics. Again, I felt that there was a small amount of her serious side, but then she goes right back to comedy.

Amy is in a league of her own as far as her writing goes. I have only seen one book that is designed like hers, and it is not by a humorist. I actually own the book, and they are both equally annoying to read because they are not travel size like most normal looking books are. I also found it hard to stay on task because the recipes looked so good.

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