Book review: Joyous, uplifting, but not funny
I’ll be the first to admit that there have been occasions where a joke will go over my head. And even more times when I’ve read or heard something that I knew was trying to be funny but which, to my mind, didn’t achieve what it set out to do. But reflecting upon Rosanna Pike’s excellent debut novel, I’m reminded of John Cleese’s brilliant response to Malcolm Muggeridge attempting to compare The Life of Brian to Chartres cathedral: ‘Not a funny building… not even intended to be a funny building’. What does any of this have to do with A Little Trickerie? Well, the reason I read the novel is because it has been shortlisted for the 2025 Everyman Bollinger Prize for comic fiction. Having read and greatly enjoyed the book, I am utterly stumped as to why. This is not a funny novel and not intended to be a funny novel.
Tibb Ingleby and her mother are vagrants in early 16th century England, when Henry VII has tightened vagrancy laws such that, ironically, vagrants need to do more vagranting since, as Tibb teaches us, ‘here is the first rule of vagrancy: do not stay long in one place else the fuckers will catch on’. You might say, this is a funny line. You’d be right. There are plenty of funny lines in the novel; it’s written with wit and good humour, and I have no doubt its writer would make both good company and a good comic novel if she ever wished to write one.
But this isn’t it. Tibb’s mother dies, leaving Tibb in possession of her newborn sister, Henrietta, who she vows to keep alive. She fails. Tibb’s mother spent much of her shortened life selling sexual favours for the dream of a roof of their own, but was undone by her love of drink and ‘that naughty game of throat slitting’ which she got into after learning of Tibb’s prolonged sexual abuse at the hands of her mother’s former lover.
Not funny. But the novel is ultimately joyous and uplifting. Tibb finds happiness first with Ivo, a boy fleeing an arranged marriage forced on him by parents who won’t accept his homosexuality, then with a band of travelling players who incorporate Tibb’s gift of contortionism into their act. The climax comes when Tibb hatches a plan to impersonate an angel in Leominster church and thereby scam wealthy sinners out of donations to allow Tibb, Ivo and their little household of the marginalised to escape England once and for all.
Things get very tense, extremely smelly, often touching, and sometimes even a little funny. But don’t read this book for laughs. Read it because it’s terrific.