Satire is weird. It's a device used to expose and criticize, often though humor, but also through irony, exaggeration, and ridicule. It's not always "ha-ha" funny, but it does tend to be interesting. It's also pretty tied into the times in which it's written, which makes it difficult to read decades after the fact--at least in my limited experience. 
 In Pym, Mat Johnson reframes Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (Which I haven't read, and am now extremely torn on the question of whether I should) to satirize American society and race politics. Accordingly, this is probably the first satirical novel where I've gotten almost all the jokes. There are so many tropes about Blackness and Whiteness and American politics packed into these pages--some better executed than others--that I found myself snickering near-constantly. Even at the absolutely ruthless parody of Thomas Kinkade, for all that it's a bit of a cheap shot. 
 Oh, and there's also a Dalmatian named White Folks. 'Nuff said. 
 After the first 150 pages or so, things tone down. The satire doesn't go away, but the funny part of it leaves the building in favor of other forms of messaging. Still good, but far more sobering. 
 It's kind of funny, kind of beautiful, and definitely thought-provoking. I'm still not sure how much I 'liked' it, but I do appreciate it.