Librarian in the Living Room

Caveat Emptor: I truly mean nothing horrible toward fallen drama students, rennies, and Monty Python enthusiasts in the following review:

Dear Fallen Drama Students, Rennie, and Monty Python Fans,

You will likely truly enjoy Christopher Moore’s new book, Fool. I have been waiting for this book for what feels like forever, but I could only make it halfway through and that was a bit disappointing. Let me first say, sometimes stereotypes are true. I have found fallen drama students, Rennies, and Monty Python fans to be three stereotypes that have more often than not turned out to be true in my experiences of them — that feeling of wanting to visibly grit my teeth when I hear say a fallen drama student turned Rennie quoting Monty Python in my face (and seemingly most often when I can least deal with such behavior) … this was my feeling in reading Moore’s Fool.

As much against my nature as it is to stop midway through a novel, especially a novel by a favorite author, I had to stop if I wanted to keep my teeth. And my sanity. I see this book being wildly successful with great reason, but like Monty Python, Rennies and fallen drama students screaming for the spotlight in the middle of the grocery store, I just end up feeling irritated and that I am missing a great joke everyone else seems to be getting. But also being a fan of Shakespeare’s King Lear I was excited to read Moore’s modern-day, crackpot version, but this aspect was either flat or trying too hard to be a homage / satire / modern take on the Shakespearean tragedy.

I wait anxiously for Mr. Moore’s next book.