The Material

'Utterly charming ... Bordas is an invaluable new voice' George Saunders 'A disquisition into the nature of comedy and creativity. Like the best comedians ... Bordas is alert to the deeper joke' Sunday Times 'Marvellously engaging and entertaining ... full of terrific moments and cutting dialogue' Independent Every comedian knows that any moment in life, however painful or triumphant, has the potential to become a punchline. At the Chicago Stand-up School, students and teachers alike are trying to find success through new material. But the students are afraid of judgment, their teachers are afraid of failure and the arrival of visiting comedian - the famous and controversial Manny Reinhardt - could turn any of them into a punchline. Set over the course of a single day, and shifting exquisitely between several points of view, The Material examines life through the eyes of a band of outsiders bound together by the need to laugh, and the desire to make others laugh even harder. 'This novel is so smart. Camille Bordas has exposed the "material" of stand-up by making stand-up her material. Brilliance is on display here' Percival Everett, Booker-shortlisted author of James