Give dad a laugh

Press, 28 August 1979, Page 3 (Supplement)

Give dad a laugh

For fathers who have been blessed with a sense of humour, there are as many books as there are tastes. Whether your father laughs at the absurd, the slapstick, the satirical or the bizarre, he will find hours of pleasure in the pages of these books, some by wellknown . comedians, others by newcomers. Newly released on to a helpless public is A. K. Grant’s book, “I rode with the Epigrams” — a selection of writings from “The Press” and the “Listener” containing some of his best work to date. Varying between the absurdly funny and the bitingly satirical, “I rode with the Epigrams,” is guaranteed to raise a laugh. It is published by John Mclndoe in soft-cover, and sells at $5.95.

A most unusual book that lovers of the extraordinary would appreciate is entitled simply “A.H.A.” The book has two fronts, two backs, two introductions and two ways of being opened. It is a portrait gallery of “characters” and there are two ways of looking at each. Rex Whistler drew the caricatures; his brother Laurence wrote the accompanying stories in verse. Published by J.M. and selling at $7.25, A.H.A. is a conversationpiece, to say the least. In the words of one of the introductions: “However you put this book down it will lie face up, which is to say face down. And upside down is how it can never be slipped into a bookshelf.”

Everyone has a favourite comic-character and the range of cartoon books on the market is wider than ever. “Inside Woody Allen” features selections from the comic strip and makes some profound comments in the guise of comedy. In hard-cover, the book sells at $8.95.

Yachting fathers will be amused by Mike Payton’s new book, “Come Sailing Again.” Payton’s cartoons are acknowledged as leaders in the field of sailing humour. “Come Sailing Again” is published in paper-back and sells at $5.55.

The followers of Leunig are a very specialised breed, and'this cartoonist’s sense of humour will not appeal to everyone. For devotees of the bizarre, however, “The Penguin Leunig” is

sure to please. Sometimes gruesome, sometimes naughty, often biting in its humour, this soft-cover version is priced at $4,20. For fathers with a more whimsical sense of humour, Jean Jacques Loup’s “Patatrac” would make a delightful present. There is no text to this book, which is a cartoonist’s work of art. Each doublepage has a different theme and a busy, colourful scene drawn in minute detail. Published in hardcover, “Patatrac" sells at $7.95;