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    Fool: A Novel
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    Fool: A Novel
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    Fool: A Novel
    Ebook346 pages5 hours

    Fool: A Novel

    By Christopher Moore

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “Hilarious, always inventive, this is a book for all, especially uptight English teachers, bardolaters, and ministerial students.”
    —Dallas Morning News

    Fool—the bawdy and outrageous New York Times bestseller from the unstoppable Christopher Moore—is a hilarious new take on William Shakespeare’s King Lear…as seen through the eyes of the foolish liege’s clownish jester, Pocket. A rousing tale of “gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity,” Fool joins Moore’s own Lamb, Fluke, The Stupidest Angel, and You Suck! as modern masterworks of satiric wit and sublimely twisted genius, prompting Carl Hiassen to declare Christopher Moore “a very sick man, in the very best sense of the word.”

    Editor's Note

    Utterly Entertaining...

    Moore’s spin on a classic Shakespearean comedy is bawdy, tawdry, raunchy, vulgar, blasphemous, but most of all, utterly entertaining.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 6, 2009
    ISBN9780061974779
    Unavailable
    Fool: A Novel
    Author

    Christopher Moore

    Christopher Moore is the author of eighteen previous novels, including Razzmatazz, Shakespeare for Squirrels, Noir, Secondhand Souls, Sacré Bleu, Fool, and Lamb. He lives in San Francisco, California.

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    Reviews for Fool

    4/5

    159 ratings93 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Hilarious story of King Lear told from the Fool's perspective.
    • 4/5
      I don't care much for Shakespeare, but I really dig Christopher Moore!
    • 5/5
      This is my favorite Christopher Moore. Of course, if you've talked to me about him before, then you've heard me say that... about The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror]... and about Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal... and possibly about another book of his. The trouble with Moore is that whichever book of his I've read most recently is my absolute favorite Christopher Moore.
    • 5/5
      Bawdy Shakespearianesque satire is one of the weirder things I've had to say to describe a book, but it was funny and cheeky in the best way!
    • 3/5
      I had hoped to like it more. But it was funny, and the description is quite accurate.
    • 4/5
      This was not only my first outing with Mr. Moore's novels, but with the storyline of King Lear as well, and I must say, I'm damned impressed. The writing is brilliant and tricky, and keeps you from knowing just what he'll throw out next. The wordplay is wonderful, and I found myself often nearly bursting out in laughter (but as I was at work while reading it, I held it back somehow).I loved Pocket - he was an interesting character that, while you might have felt for him due to his past, you couldn't truly feel pity for him. He was strong willed and devious in all the best ways. This was, I think, a wonderful introduction to the way Christopher Moore writes, and I am looking forward to picking up another of his novels soon.
    • 3/5
      This is a humorous book loosely based on the fool from Shakespeare's King Lear. I am not very familiar with King Lear so I can no comment on how close it follows the play but there are author's notes at the end of the book for that. Taken as an adult fiction book, it is a fun read.
    • 5/5
      A mash-up of Shakespeare and Pratchett, with a helping of Tyrion Lannister thrown into the mix. Great fun.
    • 3/5
      I suppose it was entertaining enough, but it wasn't very funny.
    • 4/5
      This book made me smile a lot, and even a few chuckles, though it wasn't as funny to me as some other books I've read by Moore. As a disclaimer, I read most of the book while on airplanes, and that does tend to make me a bit cranky. I liked the book more after reading the author's note at the end, though, and as a writer, I was impressed with the level of Shakespeare/Lear study that went into the book. I love Shakespeare, and this was a very interesting re-imagining of not only Lear, but other plays as well. I liked the anachronistic language and the down and dirty style of the narrator, though there were some parts where the narration seemed to get a little wandering and the jokes a little tired. Overall, though, a silly, sexy romp of a good read.
    • 2/5
      My least favorite of all Christopher Moores books. I found it incredibly crude, confusing and not much fun to read. A big disappointment for me as I absolutely love the other books I've read by the author. Sorry - can't recommend it.
    • 3/5
      Christopher Moore takes on Shakespeare by translating the tragedy, King Lear, into a comedy.
    • 3/5
      in general, i love christopher moore books. after reading something heavy, i turn to christopher moore book for well-crafted humor. with this book, however, the humor feels a bit flat. unlike "lamb," where wit and plot flowed smoothly to achieve a well-written humorous book, this story feels as though the author was thinking too hard to make it seem funny. you could say it feels contrived. to be sure, to turn a shakespearean tragedy into an understandable, modern-day satire is no small feat. and unfortunately, i think the author didn't quite achieve his usual, natural cadence of his witty story-telling. as you can tell from other reviews, i think mr. moore was trying to achieve humor by bawdy language. but that gets tiresome -- he did not employ repeated phrase of well-coined curse words to achieve a great humorous tale in other books. thus, if you read all of mr. moore's books, you might be a bit disappointed with this latest work (have little expectation.. that might help). if you have not read any of his books, i highly suggest you read "lamb" and/or "a dirty job" -- his better works. to date, i believe his best work is "lamb."
    • 1/5
      Just couldn't get into it. Didn't finish.
    • 2/5
      Christopher Moore's re-telling of Shakespeare's tragedy of King Lear has great comic potential. It's just too bad that this novel doesn't come close to its potential. Told from the point of view of Lear's court jester, there are some genuinely amusing moments in this book. However, as I read the book, I kept thinking this was like a Saturday Night Live skit that had been stretched beyond its initial humorous value and just kept going and going and going.
    • 5/5
      Are you a fan of an offbeat sense of humor? Of the completely warped? Of witty but completely irreverent re-writings? Of hilarious bawdiness? Have you made the reading acquaintance of Christopher Moore yet? I stumbled on his writing completely by accident but I should be upfront and honest and say that I have been in love ever since. This man has never yet failed to truly make me laugh out loud when I am reading one of his books. For him, I will even read vampire novels (and that's really going some). So it was inevitable that I would start reading Fool just about six nanoseconds after I walked in my door with it in my hot little hands. (I would have started earlier but reading and driving at the same time are too much of a challenge for this can't walk and chew gum at the same time kind of girl.) So, a re-write of King Lear from his fool's perspective. Could be a tricky undertaking, at the very least one that will have Shakespeare scholars with their knickers in a knot. While a re-telling, Moore isn't overly concerned with absolute fidelity to the original, cleverly bringing in the witches from Macbeth and his own warped and delightfully nefarious twists. Pocket, Lear's fool, narrates the events of the novel and he's wildly entertaining, as befits a fool. He's also obsessed with sex and intrigue and naughty language (well, naughty anything really). He plays Regan and Goneril like harps, engineering much of the action familiar to Lear readers. Moore is truly a wordsmith and he has crafted a sly and witty book (mostly) within the confines of Shakespeare's original. He has created some of the most wonderful insults in print today (a true talent given the difficulty of developing entirely new insults that are both effective and memorable) and throughout the novel, you can't help but have the sense that Moore, like Shakespeare has a real and appreciable love for language, its uses and the ways in which to manipulate with it and create things anew. I could rave about this one nigh on forever but I'll spare you the gushing. If you aren't easily offended by potty humor, like British slang (despite Moore's Americanness, his British narrator is believable and authentic sounding--although not terribly Shakespearean), appreciate likable characters, and are amenable to re-writings of the Bard's famous works, this might just be for you. But only if you have a wonderful sense of humor and don't mind perfect strangers looking at you oddly as you guffaw in public should you be so foolhardy as to read this anywhere but the privacy of your own home. And once you've read this (and have come back here and duly thanked me), go on out and try the rest of Moore's entertaining oeuvre.
    • 4/5
      Of course having had to read King Lear in High School and always feeling so sad for all the tragic things taht happened to the characters i was very happy to read this wonderful sroty about his outrages Fool. Again good job Mr Moore.
    • 5/5
      Let me just start off by saying this book -and bits of my review- contain adult language (and heinous fuckery most foul!), and might not be suitable for younger audiences.Pocket is a fool in the service of King Lear and his three daughters - "selfish, scheming Goneril, sadistic (but erotic-fantasy-grade-hot) Regan, and sweet, loyal Cordelia." In a fit of madness (or maybe hubris?) Lear demands that his daughters declare their love for him before his court, in order to divvy up his lands to his "most deserving" daughter. "But Cordelia believes that her father's request is kind of...well...stupid" and she is banished because of it. Pocket must keep the realm from falling into the wrong hands, try to bring Cordelia back into Lear's good graces and generally avoid being murdered. He has the help of his devoted friend Drool, as well as a bit of magical aid from the witches three, and of course, a ghost! (There's always a bloody ghost.)What I liked:I'll start right off by announcing that this is my second time reading this book and I've yet to read a Moore book I didn't like. I breezed through this again in anticipation of the sequel, The Serpent of Venice which was just released.That possible bias aside, what I loved most is that I haven't read Shakespeare's King Lear, and I don't feel like I'm missing out. Moore actually references this in his author's note:"A few who have read Fool have expressed a desire to go back and read Lear, to perhaps compare the source material with my version of the story...While you could certainly find worse ways to spend your time, I suspect that way madness lies. Fool quotes or paraphrases lines from no fewer than a dozen of the plays..."Personally, I know enough of the general outline of the story, and I wasn't concerned with the details. This definitely meant to be a parody and Moore did an excellent job. Several times he had me laughing out loud at Pocket's wit.There are even footnotes, both humorous and educational:"Curtain wall - the outer wall of a castle compound, usually surrounding all of the buildings.""Slag - British slang for slut, tramp.""Saturnalia - the celebration of the winter solstice in the Roman pantheon, paying tribute to Saturn, the 'sower of seeds.' Celebration of Saturnalia involved much drunkenness and indiscriminate shagging. Observed in modern times by the ritual of the 'office Christmas party.'"What I didn't like:I really don't have much to say. I suppose there were some scenes regarding Drool masturbating that were fairly descriptive and disgusting. Eg: "...said Shanker Mary, rolling her eyes at the spunk-frosted wall." A bit more of a mental image than I needed!If you're a fan of Christopher Moore, humorous novels, or you're interested in reading a Shakespeare parody (although this book feels like so much more than just a parody), then check it out!
    • 5/5
      A bawdy re-telling of King Lear from the clever Fool's point of view. Moore's hilarious satire introduces us to King Lear's fool, Pocket, and through his eyes we see the tragedy unfold. Moore infuses humor into the dire situations, which breathes life into the story. In this version the Fool plays a pivotal role in the drama, prodding the characters to make certain decisions and suggesting solutions to others. Pocket and his apprentice Drool have a very "Lenny and George" style relationship. Pocket is small and clever, while Drool is large and dim, but their friendship is sweet. Pocket is hilarious and the language throughout is so clever. Moore showers his readers in puns and plays with words just like Shakespeare himself loved to do. "Carpe Diem!" "What? The Fish of the Day?" This was my first taste of Moore's work and I will definitely be back for more. Sometimes satires based on a classic can fall flat, but this one only enhanced my reading of the original Lear.
    • 5/5
      Fool is, roughly, Shakespeare's play King Lear, from the fool's point of view, and here lies the crux of the issue. Much of the shock value of Shakespeare's fools is lost on modern readers and viewers, because our standards of propriety have changed over the past five hundred years. Moore modernized his fool just enough to make me say, "Oh, no you didn't just say that!" at least once every few pages. For the first time, I truly understand the irreverence of the fool's role.You have to be in the right frame of mind to find this guy funny, though. (In fact, he gets banished from Lear's kingdom for speaking his mind too plainly). Moore's irreverent sense of humor is in the same camp, to my mind, as Monty Python, so I think an appreciation for Python is a pretty good guage of whether you'll find this book the least bit funny.
    • 3/5
      The reading-voice-in-my-head had no trouble reading this in a strong British accent. Of course, the voice did have trouble reading aloud because it kept laughing.

      I probably wouldn't have picked up this book up without prompting, but I won it from one of the Goodreads first look offers. I'm quite glad I did. Bawdy humor isn't usually my realm -- I tend to think of it as guy stuff, but there were some lines in this so stupidly funny I had to read them aloud to my husband. I turned all Beavis-y reading this: "Ha ha, he said 'balls'".

      Plus there were some disarmingly touching and beautifully written passages that had me checking the cover to make sure I was still reading the same book.

      Now I'm going to need to pick up a copy of Mr. Moore's "Lamb", as well read King Lear, so I'll understand even more of the jokes of "Fool".

    • 3/5
      My least favorite Moore book.
    • 3/5
      Very easy read. I read most of it while waiting for my husband to get out of surgery. Good thing, in a way, I guess, that it was light and stoopid, as it saved me from fretting - as I would have done had I been trying to read a quieter book that required more concentration. The vulgarity was the main point, though, not the means of making a point, and I wish that it had been richer.
    • 3/5
      Venturing into Shakespeare. A different version of King Lear. Funny but also a fun way to explore Lear in an alternative style. Quite different in some ways from his other stuff.
    • 4/5
      I absolutely loved this book. I hate Shakespear and everything he wrote(just can't get into it), so having a new rendition helps. I love Christopher Moore's books. He adds so much humor and smartass-ness that I can't help but call him one of my all time favorite authors. If you think crude sexual humor is hilarious and witty come backs are the best way to have a conversation then you should definatly start reading not only this book but all of this authors books. Pocket (the books hero) is fantastic and his side kick Drool half-way makes me want to walk over to special-ed class to find a friend half as good he is. I don't like writing about what the book is about cause you should just read it sooooo Sally forth and get to it!
    • 4/5
      Leave it to Christopher Moore to turn one of Shakespeare's most tragic of tragedies into an irreverent, fun filled festival of laughter. This 'retelling' of the terrible tale of King Lear from the point of view of Lear's Fool had me often snorting with laughter and quickly looking around to see if anyone had noticed. Moore admittedly takes a few liberties with the plot, but I found his new and improved conclusion much more satisfying and much less melancholic than that of the Bard. If you want to laugh, read this book. Seriously.
    • 5/5
      My Rating: AMy Review:This is a most excellent comedy, another genius work by Mr. Christopher Moore. The characters are alive and well rounded, and horribly lovable. The humor is to die for, often you'll be laughing out loud while reading. Don't be surprised if you get looks from across the room if you're reading this in a public place.The story is full of intrigue and isn't just a comedy either. Like any Shakespeare it's also a bit of a tragedy. Characters that you grow to love, though they may annoy, die and not always nicely.As much as I loved the main plot of this book, I loved the back story more. It was not only laugh out loud funny, but endearing and sweet. I am amazed at how the author can pull this off so well.The only issue I had with the book was that I often got confused as to who was doing what and why? Who was killing whom and because they wanted what? But, I think to be honest, that this is my fault, not the authors. I also think that it'd be a lot easier to keep track in this version, than in Shakespeare's himself.I highly recommend this to any Moore fan, and to anyone looking for a book that they just might pee themselves while reading.
    • 3/5
      I read this book after A Dirty Job and was really let down. Moore is a great writer, and he continues to refine his craft with Fool, but the subject matter was too sophomoric for me to enjoy it. While I can appreciate the irony of the premise, for me it was not an enjoyable literary experience.Like Lamb, Fool read to me as one incredible overstated dirty joke. I miss the witty dialogue, unique characters, and fantastical plots of You Suck and A Dirty Job.
    • 4/5
      Hilarious!
    • 4/5
      If your'e easily offended, stay clear of this book. It is crude, rude and somewhat disgusting. It is also very witty and entertaining. Moore's satirical take on Shakespeare displays his quick mind and great (if not crasse) sense of humour. I thought the dialogue in this book was so cleverly written and I really enjoyed the discussions between the characters. This is certainly not a book that everyone will like, but if you appreciate very witty humour, and can tolerate the constant off-colour dialogue, than this is a great book to sit down with.