Cheaper than a movie, coffee optional
When is the last time you picked up a good novel and buzzed through it, unable to put it down? If it’s been a while, that’s a shame, and I’d like to help you find something worth reading.
When is the last time you picked up a good novel and buzzed through it, unable to put it down? If it’s been a while, that’s a shame, and I’d like to help you find something worth reading.
There’s a particularly humorous author, one Christopher Moore by name, of whom I’ve grown very fond over the past few years. To summarize, he’s utterly hilarious. I’ve read five of his 13 novels, but each one has been fantastic and worth every moment. He is possessed of a razor-sharp wit, but his characters are relatable, partially because of and partially in spite of that.
His humor waxes juvenile at times, but not in a dumb, gratuitous Hollywood-comedy kind of way as much — it’s more like he’s acknowledged the fact that archaeologists found “your mother” jokes in ruins in the birthplace of human civilization. Most of it, though, comes from delightful absurdity and his aforementioned wit.
Story-wise, he’s got a bit of a formula: Take a few ordinary people, and put them in an extraordinary situation with one character at the center of the whole mess. But he switches things up enough that it works without becoming tired. For instance, his third novel “Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story,” is the tale of a Jack Kerouac wannabe from the Midwest who moves to San Francisco and meets a pretty redheaded local woman; they fall in love over the course of the book. Of course, she’s just been turned into a vampire and is caught between fleeing and finding the one who sired her. And the only help they’re getting is from a latter-day analog of Emperor Norton I — the first and only Emperor of the United States of America and Protector of Mexico — and the night crew at a local supermarket. For the more cultured reader Moore wrote “Fool,” a bawdy satire of Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” His most acclaimed novels, though, are “Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal,” and “A Dirty Job.” Both of these are worthy of their acclaim. The latter won the Quill Award for Best General Fiction in 2006, while the former is a fan favorite.
One word of warning, though. These books aren’t for children. Don’t let the bright pop-art covers fool you — these books do contain objectionable humor and should be saved for teenagers and adults. Still, they’re delightful reads for anyone who doesn’t consider dirty jokes a call to set spears and prepare for a cavalry charge on their moral high-ground.
Movies remain expensive and occupy maybe two or three hours of time. A paperback novel costs less than a new DVD, occupies more time and can be taken anywhere. Pick one up and get out of your head for a while; Moore’s work is worth a laugh or two.