Fool
Ratings38
Average rating3.9
I wish 4 and a half stars were an option. But since I consider the average rating to be too low for this work, I will opt for awarding it 5 stars, in the hopes of playing my part in the elevation in rank of this glorious and unashamedly rowdy piece of modern and irreverent literature.
A Christopher Moore book is always good for a few laughs. Mostly, the writer is a lot of fun if you're looking for an easily readable story with light but entertaining characters. This is a nimble Shakespeare-inspired adventure with a brave, underdog antagonist, the titular Fool. Like a Shakespeare play there's lots of intrigue, violence, and sex (TONS of sex) and a little bit of clever wordplay. It's a tribute to pretty much all of Shakespeare, not just King Lear.It was a page-turner for sure. I was dying to see just how Fool was going to get things to work out for his friends and allies. There was a lot of dark stuff, torture, murder, attempted suicides, maiming–you name it. Fitting for the Shakespeare theme. I would have liked more creativity in the wit and fewer sex jokes, but maybe I'm not the intended audience for this. Nothing wrong with it, except that after a while it's not as funny. Subtle and/or unexpected use of dirty jokes is more effective because you either have to think about it for a bit, or it jolts you into laughter. I can't help but compare this to my favorite comical Shakespeare tribute, [b:Wyrd Sisters 34504 Wyrd Sisters (Discworld, #6; Witches #2) Terry Pratchett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1275974472l/34504.SY75.jpg 1494222] (Discworld). Fans of that book might enjoy this one as well, and vice-versa.
I enjoyed this version of “King Lear” as told by the Fool, with various cameos from other plays (witches from “Macbeth”). I especially liked Pocket's interactions with Lear and Cordelia.
I was disappointed with this book. I expected something more...interesting? I'm not sure what I really expected, but I know this was not it. [b:Lamb 28881 Lamb The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal Christopher Moore http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1284487065s/28881.jpg 3346728] was my favorite book of 2010. This just could not compete. It did help me remember the plot of King Lear, which I had stored away in some dark recesses of my brain, but other than that I really can't say that I learned anything or even enjoyed it that much. Sure, I smiled at some of the jokes but it was not nearly as funny as I was hoping it'd be. I'll read more Moore, of course, in search of something as good as [b:Lamb 28881 Lamb The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal Christopher Moore http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1284487065s/28881.jpg 3346728], but I won't get my hopes up.