Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23244 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03
• Format: Large Print
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Customer Reviews

A Bawdy Romp Where the "Fool" Uses His Brains to Get What He Lusts for

In high school, I wrote about the fools in all of Shakespeare's plays. I remember thinking that Shakespeare should have expanded the fools' roles, for they were better than the various leading characters for wit, wisdom, and all-around entertainment value.

Clearly, a lot of the so-called wise people were in fact fools. King Lear is a prime example. What kind of an idiot would give away all of his wealth and power to his two lying daughters based on their willingness to tell him what he wanted to hear?

Shakespeare clearly understood that fools were valuable in kingly courts for providing wise advice as "foolishness" while others had to go along with the king's idiocy. Christopher Moore understands that point even more profoundly and places Lear's fool, Pocket, at the center of the Lear tragedy . . . recast as a dark comedy.

Usually, this is all great fun . . . especially when Moore chooses to add aspects to the Lear story that expand it in new directions such as by borrowing the witches from Macbeth. But Moore has a predilection for making the book as prurient and disgusting as possible. I assume that he's a great fan of Gargantua and Pantagruel. Needless to say, some of the gutter's smell attaches to the book and will repulse you at times. I'm sure this will increase the book's appeal to those who like "broad" humor.

Overall, I was quite satisfied with the experience. This fool is no fool, even if he is overly attached to his apprentice fool, the "natural" Drool. You may find yourself drooling with laughter in places.

Ye Olde Funne
In a wickedly sharp take on Shakespeare 'Fool' dusts off Moore's usual San Francisco setting and offers up King Lear v2.0. There's humour akin to a Pratchett novel, where satire arises from the transposition of current terminology and culture in to a historical setting. Although it would be more so, if Pratchett was a complete potty mouthed pervert. Fool takes no prisoners in its delivery of adult humour and it never seems forced, simply funny. Knowledge of King Lear is not required and Moore's persistence to include as much British slang and expletives in his presentation is certainly a fresh, although unexpected turn. Funny and immersive, Fool is genuinely good reading.

Moore delivers again
I am an unabashed fan of Christopher Moore and will buy any new novel he comes out with sight unseen and synopsis unread. It was with particular delight I found out this one was based on "King Lear", which is bar none my favorite Shakespearean play.

"Fool" takes "King Lear" and applies it to the masses, while yes, engaging in some fairly crude humour. It's with particular amusement that Moore chooses to explain what some of the British vernacular means, and the footnotes themselves are worthy of a laugh.

Overall, I felt that "Fool" paid good homage to "King Lear" and means, at the very least, that such a fabulous drama will reach a broader market. It was a very funny re-telling of a not-so-funny play. Now if only Amazon.co.uk would actually sell the real print of this book and not make those of us who are Moore fans on this side of the pond purchase large print editions, we'd be getting somewhere.