I paced in a circle around our little tower room. “What a wimpled wagon of nun wank this is. I’d rather juggle fire blindfolded. I’m not built for these dark dealings — I’m better suited for laughter, children’s birthdays, baby animals, and friendly bonking. The sodding witches got it wrong.”
“And yet, you’ve set a civil war in motion and sent an assassin after the king,” said Kent. “Grand ambition for a children’s birthday clown, don’t you think?’
“You’ve become bitter in your dotage, you know?”
“Well, perhaps my duties as food taster will end my bitterness.”
(from Fool, pages 189-190)
Fool, an absurd rendition of Shakespeare’s King Lear by Christopher Moore, is told from the point of view of Lear’s jester, Pocket, a humorous little man who went from being raised by nuns to entertaining the king’s daughters in all possible ways. As in the original play, Lear foolishly asks his daughters, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia, how much they love him. Goneril and Regan exaggerate their feelings for him and are amply rewarded, but Cordelia — the only one to truly love her father and to honestly express her love — is thrown out of the kingdom. This event creates much chaos and sets into motion a plan to destroy Goneril, Regan, and the horrid Edmund, bastard son of the Earl of Gloucester — with Pocket acting as mastermind and helped by the three witches and the ousted Kent. There is talk of wars, ghosts (“There’s always a bloody ghost”), betrayals, revenge, murder, and lots and lots of plotting.
When Serena suggested Fool as our book club pick (our book club of four — the two of us and our husbands), I was a bit hesitant, but overall I’m glad I gave Moore a try. Pocket, his jester’s scepter Jones, and his apprentice Drool are so stupid, they’re hilarious. But Pocket isn’t dumb; he’s a puppet master with the entire kingdom in his hands. There are a lot of people who, for one reason or another want him dead, but Pocket can talk himself out of any situation, and if he can’t, the daggers hidden behind his back should help him escape. However, the blinded Gloucester steals the show, hoping to commit suicide by jumping to his death…from a very short ledge, and then believing he’s a ghost.
I did get a lot of chuckles out of Fool, especially at the beginning. But the bathroom humor and sex jokes get old after awhile, and the Shakespeare-esque language makes it hard to keep track of the goings on. However, I put the book down for a few days when the plot started to slow, and when I picked it back up, I was able to finish the last half of the book fairly quick. My husband thought the book started to drag a little more than a quarter of the way through, and he never finished it, though he was interested enough in the story to make me tell him how it all turned out.
Having taken a couple of courses on Shakespeare as part of my English major, I was able to pick out and appreciate the various references Moore makes to other plays, such as the three witches from Macbeth. But I enjoyed the original parts of the story, too, especially Pocket’s tales of coming of age amid the nuns and the vision he receives that reveals the truth of his parentage.
If you’re a fan of Shakespeare, King Lear in particular, or love books that poke fun at classics, you’ll want to give Fool a try. Although it was only an okay read for me, I’d consider reading another Moore book in the future.
Disclosure: I borrowed Fool from the library. I am an Amazon associate.
© 2010 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
I also liked parts of this, although I didn’t really love the book as a whole. I’m not all that familiar with King Lear, so that probably didn’t help.
I really enjoyed the other Moore that I’ve read, which was Fluke: Or I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings. It was a truly bizarre book, and I’m told it isn’t really representative of his other books, which I guess are bizarre in a way more like Fool, but different. Shrug.
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From what I understand, all Moore’s books are bizarre in some way. 😉
King Lear wasn’t fresh in my mind when I started Fool, but the parts I remembered were enough, thank goodness.
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I’ve never read King Lear, so I wonder if I’d understand this book.
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I think if you haven’t read King Lear but have read a basic synopsis of the play, you’d be fine. Because honestly, the basics are all I remembered from reading it years ago!
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I normally love Shakespeare but I am not good at adaptations! This sounds different.
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This one is different because it focuses on a minor character. I’m not even sure how much of a role the king’s fool played in the actual Shakespeare play, as I read it many years ago.
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I enjoyed reading your review of Fool. Your book club sounds perfect!
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Thanks! It works for us. At least it’s very laid back and we’re willing to wait until everyone has finished the book, reading at their own pace. It’s not like I don’t have other books to read while we wait! 😉
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I loved Lamb, so I might give this one a try although it doesn’t sound as good.
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I can’t say, as this is the only Moore book I’ve read. I think it’s worth giving a try, as I found it amusing enough. Putting it down for a week or so when it started to slow really helped.
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Nice review, I think I’d like to have a look at it at least, but perhaps then realize that it’s not for me, lol
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It’s definitely worth giving a try. My rule of thumb is, if I’m not enjoying a book after 20 to 50 pages, stop reading.
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I’ve seen a few other reviews that also said the low-brow humor in this got to be a bit much. I’m not sure if I’ll give this one a try, but I did really enjoy Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal. If you don’t mind a completely irreverent look at the world’s major religions (and if the title hasn’t already turned you off!) you might enjoy that one as well.
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I’m not against reading a different take on religions, so maybe I’ll give Lamb a try.
I’m not one for bawdy humor in the first place, but when it’s page after page after page, it can be too much. It did fit the Fool’s character, though.
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This is not my favorite of Moore’s books, but I really enjoyed this one and highly recommend listening to his books on audio. They are hilarious and the narrators they choose for the books are almost always perfect.
I think if you try another one you should pick up Dirty Job!
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I don’t think I’m ready to pick up another Moore book just yet, but I’m glad you chose this one for the book club because I never would have read it otherwise. It was an interesting reading experience for sure.
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Everytime I see Moore at the used bookstore I want to pick him up but I’m afraid of the lewdness (like you, I think it just gets old sometimes). I didn’t realize this one was based loosely on King Lear. Not my favorite Shakespeare but I’ve read it. Maybe I’ll test the waters with this one. Thanks Anna!
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I think it’s worth giving a try, especially if you want to read something by Moore anyway.
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I think if I were to try Moore, I’d go for the vampire books, per suggestion from Jenners. She is certainly a fan of that series.
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Serena loves the vampire books, too. I’m not big on vampires, but I might give them a try at some point.
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Hmm, I’m with Sandy. I think if I try Moore (which I really would like to one of these days!) I’d probably go with another of his books. I enjoyed your review Anna but I think the same things that got old for you would get old for me too!
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You’ll have to let me know if you read one of his other books!
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Oh, I so wish my husband would be in a book club with me, what a great idea!
I do want to read some Christopher Moore because I never have but I’m not sure this one is the right one to start with. Thanks for the review!
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I was very surprised when my husband agreed to be in the book club, and that fact that he’s stuck with it has made me so happy!
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I love Moore. My fave book so far has been A DIRTY JOB. So funny!!
Here’s my review: http://www.monniblog.com/2009/07/fool/
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Serena told me that’s the one Moore book I have to read. We’ll see…
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I keep thinking I need to try something by this author but I think I will start with his earlier work.
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That might be a good idea, based on what other readers have said about his other books!
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I do enjoy the few Moore books I’ve read so I hope you’ll give him another try. I really enjoy Shakespeare so I’m guessing that I’ll like this one.
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I’d love to hear your thoughts on Fool, especially since you’re read other books by Moore. I hope you do give it a try!
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