The Bottle Factory Outing by Beryl Bainbridge

I think it takes a very special kind of mind to write successful black comedy, and probably the same kind of mind to properly appreciate it. I'm not sure I have quite the required mindset, because not all books proclaimed to be black comedies are humorous to me. But this one is.

Freda and Brenda are two young English women, unlikely roommates who work in a wine bottling factory where most of the other employees are Italian. Timid Brenda and bold Freda face the prospect of a work picnic with opposite reactions --Brenda is worried about how she will be able to escape unwanted attentions from a fellow employee, and Freda is excited at the opportunity the outing may provide to secure the attentions of another fellow worker. But what begins as a farce-like account of misunderstandings and misadventures suddenly veers into something else entirely, and into some very dark comedy indeed. Suffice it to say it involves a dead body and a creative solution for its disposal.

Much of the humor is owing to Bainbridge's deadpan style of delivery. The novel is horrifying and funny at the same time, and it is all relayed in a very matter of fact manner. And somehow it works -- wonderfully. I personally consider William Faulkner the Grand Master of this genre, and I think Beryl Bainbridge would make him proud.

Note: I came upon this book from the Guardian list of the 100 best novels. It was #80.