I don't believe I received the whole file - but what I did get is very funny! Sounds like there's a bit for everyone in this collection.

DNF Review - Similar to some other DNFs, I requested this when I was on memoir kick and quickly realized I didn't care much for them unless I already adored the author/subject. This honestly wasn't funny to me and I didn't feel like continuing.

This book is a collection of standalone outrageous and comical essays and stories. I love reading, watching, and listening to anything humorous. Comedy is important these days—we all need to be able to laugh with all the insanity going on around us! And I have an extremely random, sarcastic, and silly sense of humor. However, this collection actually ended up being a bit too random and bizarre even for me, which was a huge surprise. Don’t get me wrong, there were a number of funny stories in this compilation, but there were also plenty that I just didn’t find much humor in. Even the stories that did crack me up were not “laugh-out-loud” funny—they were just okay.

Unfortunately, I ended up feeling rather unsatisfied overall with this collection. I was eager to read it, and maybe I went in with higher expectations than I should have—this was my first experience with Luchs’ writing. Though it did get some laughs out of me, none of the stories really stood out to me, and even now, I can’t remember much of them. There were some parts that did connect with me and my cynical and silly style of humor, but I wish it had been a little bit more consistent all the way through. In the end, it was a bit slow to get through and not as memorable as I had hoped, but it still provided me with a bit of comedy.

I read this title free thanks to Net Galley. Here's my conflict. On the one hand, I like The Onion, and some of these essays are very droll. On the other hand, some are just straight-up offensive, and I find myself wondering whether perhaps they are dated material, since public perception in the Western world has changed, particularly with regard to gay, bi, trans, and gender fluid people. Once upon a time it was common to see these traits lampooned in the mainstream press and even sometimes in alternative publications, but now it's too disturbing to smile at. So on the whole, if I were to review this piece publicly and rate it, I would have to say all of these things.

What caught me up short is the author's note at the end, a surprisingly sentimental afternote explaining that he has written for The Onion for a lot of years, and that this is his life's work. I can be as cold as the next reviewer and sometimes more so, but I blanche at the thought of laying waste to a writer's entire career via blog, commercial, and social media.

If the publisher really wants me to post this in spite of everything I've said here, say the word and I can do that, but my impulse is to withhold this one out of decency.

This was funny, but I don't believe I received the whole file.

Sagging Meniscus Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of It's Funny Until Someone Loses and Eye (Then it's Really Funny). I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

The only way I can describe It's Funny Until Someone Loses an Eye (Then it's Really Funny) is that it is not unlike Uncle John's Bathroom Reader. Both are completely random, but somehow the stories seem to fit together. I found the book to be entertaining, but it is not something that I would point to as being totally memorable. At the end of the day, I might retain a couple of laughs, but the book will be quickly replaced in my memory with something else. It's Funny Until Someone Loses an Eye is successful in that its quirky humor has the power to make even the most stoic person break down and laugh in places. I am not sure I would recommend it, but I did get a few chuckles from reading it.

This book is hilarious. I really enjoyed it and will be looking into more work by this author.

While I recognize comedy is rather subjective, I found this collection of short writings to be laugh out loud-able. Would I buy it as a gift in my social circle? Absolutely. It's sarcastic and biting. Would I be shocked if you told me that many don't find it nearly as funny as me? Not at all. I think my favorite piece was "Mangler Mall", though "Your Falling Stars" and "UFO's: The Secret Air Force Files" were both close seconds.

Exceptional Word Play

The blurbers for this book have invoked, as comparable writers, such diverse talents as P.G. Wodehouse, Woody Allen, and S,J. Perelman. O.K., I'll play along. To me this feels a good deal like Woody Allen, especially if Woody had written more for The Onion.

Like good stand up this type of humor writing requires the printed version of "timing". The set up is followed by a brief throwaway, or an extra beat, or an aside, or a surprise parenthetical that suddenly twists the sentence and sends it somewhere unexpected. And the timing here is exceptional.

So, these pieces aren't "jokes", and they aren't shaggy dog stories. It's not really observational humor, and you don't have to read pages of dry cuteness just to get to the punch line. They are bits, but written with care and real regard for how words and sentences work. To paraphrase Chesterton, it's easy to be heavy but hard to be light. Luchs can do light right - and that's a real treat.

Of course, some premises work better than others. But even the "usual", (like a letter of recommendation for a terrible employee), is remarkably fresh and very tightly constructed. And, since every piece runs only about 2 to 4 pages this is like a humor sampler, or a bag of very funny mental potato chips.

That was all fine by me, and I enjoyed and admired this collection. A nice find.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)