American Humorist Novelists

I am at the Mayo Clinic this week, for my son's yearly appointments. School is done for the semester, so I have time to kill, without homework to fill it. I picked up a Terry Pratchett novel. Ever laughed out loud in waiting rooms? or explained to a nurse what you found so funny?

I have found that the best humorist Novelists seem to be English, and not American (of course, it is very hard to read a humorist novel that is not in your native language and understand it well enough to find it funny).

So I looked  up a list of American Humorist Novelists- the list seems to start and stop at Mark Twain- yeah there was a few stand up or TV comedians who wrote books and made the list- but I discount them as not being primarily novelists, as they don't make their bread and butter from it.

So why can't Americans write funny novels?
Perhaps it is National Health Care (Ok, does anybody know if Canada has any humor novelists?)
Maybe Americans are too concerned with earning enough money from their books so they can afford health insurance, that they can not be as off-the-wall funny?

If you look at the English Humorists Novelists, they are zany, they know they can have fun with words and ideas, whereas Americans always try too hard to make things make sense.

When was mark twain funny? When he was taking things lightheartedly- when he was making fun of things or just wondering. This question could make a fun Ph.D thesis. THis the
y can have fun with words and ideas, whereas Americans always try too hard to make things make sense