Writers Read: E. J. Copperman

Saturday, February 15, 2025

E. J. Copperman

E.J. Copperman is the nom de plume for Jeff Cohen, writer of intentionally funny murder mysteries. As E.J., he is the author of the Haunted Guest house series, the

Agent to the Paws series and the Jersey Girl Legal mysteries, as well as the Fran and Ken Stein mysteries. As Jeff, he is the author of the Double Feature and Aaron Tucker series; and he collaborates with himself on the Samuel Hoenig Asperger's mysteries.

Copperman's latest novel is Good Lieutenant.

Recently I asked Cohen about what he was reading. His reply:

When life starts piling on, I tend to look for a comfort read, something I’ve read before that will take my mind off… everything… and restore my general sense of humor. Most often, it is the book I’m re-re-re-rereading right now.

Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo: A Celebration of the Marx Brothers and a Satire on the Rest of the World, by Joe Adamson. Probably not what you were expecting is it?

First, it helps to be a fan of the bros, and I am a sterling example thereof. Seeing Horse Feathers for the first time when I was in high school (just after the earth cooled) changed my life and my thinking permanently, and I’m grateful for that. But even beyond the exhaustive research that was clearly done in the preparation for this thick non-fiction book, which is extensive, is the writing. For me, it’s written exactly as it should be: admiring without being reverent, funny without being a collection of jokes, informative without being dry.

Consider the first paragraph of the book, after a series of quote about the Marx Brothers, ending with one from Arthur Sheekman, stating that there has never been a book about humor written by a funny writer:
Rational people are sometimes very nice, but they tend to be frightfully dull when they try to explain things like what makes us laugh. Arthur Sheekman is one of the Marx Brothers’ better writers, and he should know. Some day he must write a book on the subject, and then his statement wouldn’t be true anymore, and then he wouldn't know, and we’d be back where we started.
It goes on like that for 484 pages, because yes, I have read the footnotes more than once, and I love almost every word of it.

I’m not sure what I’ll read next, but if things go on as they are (personally and in the world), it will be something I’ll be using to make myself feel better. Maybe another of the Slough House books by Mick Herron. Few things are as satisfying as Jackson Lamb being sarcastic.