Would That Be Funny? Growing up with John Clarke

It's hard to believe that John Clarke died way back in 2017. I can still feel the shock and hollow grief when I heard the news, sentiments shared by many others, as his daughter Lorin Clarke attests. Like the many strangers who have accosted her, I also 'grew up with him,' I also 'loved him so much' that he felt like a part of my family. From Fred Dagg monologues on The Science Show to the brilliant satire of The Games and of course the regular Clarke and Dawe interviews, it felt as if he'd always been part of the furniture.

Would That Be Funny? is a gorgeous tribute to a unique talent, a man filled with gentle mischief and rapier-sharp wit, who delighted in pricking the pomposity of authority and in playing with words and absurdity. The Clarke family home was a place brimming with in-jokes, wordplay and laughter. (Yes, says Lorin, he was just as funny at home.) We also learn about Clarke's rather unhappy childhood, lost youth and eventual rescue by friendships forged at university and his long supportive marriage (albeit low-key on the romance front, to the frustration of Lorin's sister Lucia).

Lorin Clarke is herself best known for the hugely successful Fitzroy Diaries, similarly grounded in everyday observations, quiet humour, gratitude and the quirks of ordinary people. Even if she wasn't John's daughter, she seems like the perfect person to memorialise Clarke the human, complementary to Clarke the comic genius. I stumbled across this book by accident on the shelves of the good old Athenaeum, and I'm so happy that I did. I can't believe that I hadn't heard anything about it before. (It was published in 2023.) Highly recommended.