The Human Comedy Novelist is William Saroyan, an American playwright and novelist of Armenian descent. He is best known for his works set in the San Joaquin Valley of California, which often focus on the struggles of the working class. His most famous novel, The Human Comedy, was published in 1943 and tells the story of a young boy growing up in a small town during World War II. Saroyan was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940 for his play The Time of Your Life.