He had a sense of deep personal injury that very occasionally manifested itself in self-mockery, which honestly brought him a step closer to a sense of humor than any of the other POV characters ...

I am honestly amazed by the concept of an eight-hundred-page book with no sense of humor. I'm sure they exist beyond this author, but I'm still not sure how it doesn't sneak in even accidentally. Ordinary, unstructured life is frequently quite funny, or at least has a high irony quotient, which is closely related! I feel like you'd have to make a point of keeping it out and why would you do that?