The Mercantile Library in Cincinnati is sponsoring a series of lectures and discussions moderated by independent writer and researcher Richard Lauf on the subject of Making Us Laugh: Four Comedic Literary Novels. The series will begin on Tuesday, 30 August at 6pm in the library and the first novel considered will be Waugh’s Scoop:
August 30 Evelyn Waugh – Scoop
Waugh gives us a satire of the major news media of his day, the Fleet Street Press, as they cover a small war somewhere in Africa. The misunderstandings that drive the plot make us ask how much the news reports are likewise a series of misunderstandings. The question remains timely.
Subsequent discussions will follow at two-week intervals and will include Philip Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint, John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces and John Barth’s The Floating Opera. Bookings can be made through the Library’s webpage at the link above.
