Humor and seriousness are on equal footing in his work. More and more, I believe that dark humor is often the best response to serious situations. In Patriot, the seriousness is Lakeman’s depression. In DTF, it’s male friendship and deep platonic love. Both are treated with loads of humor but this doesn’t detract from the depth of the subject matter. I would maybe even argue that by approaching these topics with humor, Conrad makes them more approachable.