I was shocked recently to notice a whole set of shelves in a bookshop devoted to "Tragic Life Stories." This is not one of those. Conversely, it's not jokey in the relentless facetious way of much that I see filed under "Humour." The tone is generally light: one reader of an early draft called it "a pleasant easy read", which is just about what I was aiming for.
Whether you find it humorous or funny (not the same thing) will depend on your definition of humour (or fun). Characters make jokes to or about one another that you may find funny, although the characters on the receiving end may not. Situations occur that are humorous in part, although the humour may be alloyed with loss, thwarted design or jeopardy. If you can hear the humour in the songs of Richard Thompson or Leonard Cohen, you should appreciate the humour in ENGRAVITATION. Alternatively, if you like the way the blurb alludes to "sex and drums and rock and holes", you will probably like the contents of the book too.
[Warning: I wrote the blurb when the book was about three-quarters complete. I'd been immersed in writing one of the less humorous sections, and needed a different viewpoint to lift myself out of the mood it engendered. That worked; and I was pleasantly amazed at how different the story could look from another angle.
Like all blurbs, this one takes a little liberty, so if you read "SEX and drums and rock and holes", you've got the emphasis wrong. But thank you in advance for buying the book.]
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