The Material by Camille Bordas

Every comedian knows that there's a line between sharp and cruel, that sad becomes funny at the right angle, that any moment in life, however painful or triumphant, can be turned into a punchline.

But at the Chicago Stand-up School, it seems as if the students and teachers are just too wounded, mixed up, self-involved or fearful to land the joke.

It's unclear whether the visiting tutor - successful, controversial Manny Reinhardt - will help or hinder their progress. Set over the course of a single day, The Material examines life through the eyes of these misfits bound together by the need to laugh, and 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.