I had no idea what I was going to write a blog post about this week until I finished reading Forrest Leo’s The Gentleman and cannot stop thinking about it. This book checked all of my boxes and is the first 5-star rating I’ve given on Goodreads in a while. The Gentleman is, at it’s most basic, a funny book about a man accidentally selling his wife to Satan and, upon realizing what he’s done, trying to get her back. This doesn’t necessarily sound like the premise for comedy gold, but in my humble opinion, it is this and so much more.

This book takes Victorian literary tropes (check), makes fun of them (check), has two strong female characters (check), offers fictional footnotes that reminded me of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell in the best of ways (check) and features the devil as a somewhat hapless gentleman who finds calling his home “hell” distasteful and refers to it instead as Essex Grove (All The Checks). In essence, this book made me happy, while reading it, after reading it and thinking about it, and since we’re at the end of August which is “Admit it, you’re happy” month, talking about this fantastic debut novel seemed only appropriate.

If for some reason, my enthusiastic ramblings have not convinced you to pick up this book immediately, allow me to expound for a moment on the literary merits of this. Leo employs the use of two, somewhat two narrative voices (the man telling the story and the voice in the aforementioned footnotes often used to clarify, dispute or offer a alternate viewpoint) that are, in most cases, opposite, but uses them with fine-tuned comedic timing that footnotes feel less like an interruption and more like running gag delivering acerbic punchlines. Despite the staunch Victorian setting of the novel, Leo also manages to at least somewhat introduce diversity with the bookshop owner Tompkins (who, incidentally, runs a 24-hour bookshop and is a genius). In addition to the smart, strong women introduced in the story, we also have Simmons, the family butler who is the very essence of Wodehouse’s Jeeves delivering a straight-man performance amidst a fair amount of silliness. And then there are the illustrations which are richly detailed somehow both illuminate and mystify the text simultaneously. Clearly I could go on, but if you’ve stayed with me through my ecstatic gushings, you deserve something in return.

As such, here are some books that are similar to The Gentleman, in some way and are likely to also make you happy in some way:

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

It should come as no surprise that topping this list is a book by two favorites of the Free for All. This book is a delightful romp about the Apocalypse with similar satirical tones as The Gentleman. An angel and a demon (who unlike most fallen angels didn’t “so much fall as he did saunter vaguely downwards”) must work together to stop the Apocalypse with a cast of characters only the combined imaginations of Pratchett and Gaiman could dream up. This book makes the Apocalypse seem as fun as such a topic possibly could be.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

While this book won’t necessarily leave you in stitches, it does have some quirky characters and when I read about Tompkins disappearing into the stacks, I immediately thought about this book and Mr. Penumbra’s towering stacks of books that are easy to get lost in. Mr. Penumbra is also a wealth of knowledge like Tompkins. This book is more whimsical (some of the covers glow in the dark!) than funny, but it has it’s moments and for anyone who loves books, this story is bound to make you happy.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

How can you go wrong with a modern classic of humor. This book is pure fun between the covers. If at all possible, I highly recommend the audiobook narrated by Stephen Fry whose comedic timing and ability to fluctuate his voice to differentiate characters is unparalleled. Just don’t forget your towel.

So Anyway… by John Cleese

While I was reading The Gentleman, some of it’s sillier, more slapstick moments reminded me of some of the best Monty Python sketches. Who better than to talk about silly and Monty Python that John Cleese, one of the masterminds behind the show. This book covers the majority of his comedy career, including the Monty Python years, and with his trademark wit, this book is bound to leave readers smiling.

Till next week, dear readers, I encourage you to spend a few moments of what’s left of this month to think about what makes you happy and act on it in some way. Even if it’s just by reading a book that will make you smile.