Fool by Christopher Moore – Review

Fool: A Novel by Christopher Moore

This book was pretty much exactly what I was expecting. It was uproariously funny and deliciously vulgar, and Pocket and his friends are likeable characters in their own right.

Pocket is a great narrator. He’s a little full of himself, and he delivers some good one-liners, and, like all good heroes, ends up in the middle of all the action. And through Pocket we get to meet all the other characters, from Pocket’s large idiot apprentice Drool, to the steadfast if not terribly bright Earl of Kent, to Lear and his daughters themselves. Not all these people are likeable, and even the ones we root for aren’t immune to the jabs of Pocket’s wit. And yes, there’s a lot of shagging and wanking, not all of which was strictly necessary, but anyone who knows me at all knows I’m not opposed to a bit of shagging.

Moore does take a few liberties with the original play, but for the most part, he hits the highlights. He also pokes fun at other Shakespeare plays. (the witches in Macbeth appear briefly, and there are lots of references to Hamlet.) I’m sure a Shakespeare scholar–provided he had a decent sense of humor–could probably cite other examples.

via Review: Fool by Christopher Moore | Flight into Fantasy.