Fool

Helloooooo Megan!

So as you know, originally I had planned to read a far more ambitious, academic text for our blog.  However, little 'ole me neglected to account for returning to school and having all sorts of responsible reading to do.  So, unfortunately, I'm going to have to put Neil Gaiman's American Gods back on the bookshelf for a while--but hopefully not for long!  Perhaps that will be my Winter Break book of choice.

In its stead, I've selected Fool by Christopher Moore, a book added to my collection courtesy of Tara, from our thesis class. When she was getting ready to move about a year and a half ago, she held a book giveaway via facebook, and I was quick to snatch up Christopher Moore's texts.  Mind you, I had no idea what this was about.  I just really wanted a copy of Bite Me, about, you guessed it, vampires to add to my growing collection of modern vampire fiction. Happily, this was HI-LAR-I-OUS, and I can't wait for you to read it. :)

Credit for the picture goes to these lovely folks. 

Now, since you have not had the pleasure of reading King Lear, you definitely need to check out the Sparknotes for the text before delving into this find, since it's a spectacular interpretation of The Bard's original work.  Fool is the story of King Lear told from the perspective of, you guessed it, the fool, who is a significant, not-so-minor character in the original play.

First things first: LOTS of raunchy humor. I mean, LOTS of it.  But that's part of the fun.  Actually, that's all the fun. I mean really, the book does not cease to entertain--even with the plot is particularly dark and twisted, you know that somewhere, someone's getting shagged, and Pocket (our Fool extraordinaire) is going to poke fun at them.

Which brings be to the genius of the novel.  Though this is satire, it's done in the spirit of Shakespeare. Take the opening to the book, this warning to the reader Moore presents before even reaching Chapter 1:

WARNING
This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as non-traditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank. If that sort of thing bothers you, then gentle reader pass by, for we endeavor only to entertain, not to offend. That said, if that’s the sort of thing you think you might enjoy, then you have happened upon the perfect story!

Does that scream Shakespearian monologue or what? As my beautiful, thespian-minded friend Deirdra pointed out, it's very similar to Puck's closing monologue in A Midsummer Night's Dream (and she'd know, since, you know, she played Puck back in high school).  The world Moore describes is synchronous with the world Shakespeare would have known and described.  Not only does he draw from Midsummer, but those three witches in the woods seemed very Macbeth-ian to me, with maybe a touch of the comedy of the three Fates in Disney's Hercules?

All Shakespeare aside, I also enjoyed those parts of the story unique to Moore's vision of this fictional world.  Pocket's history is unique, heartwarming, and, at times, tragic.  While the original Fool couldn't be ignored, since the Bard gave him the juiciest lines in the play, Pocket is a Fool you can't help but love.  Oh, and I should point out that, yet again, we have a story where the time jumps around a bit (that's how many now?).

Anyways, I don't have much to say about this one. It's just a great, light-hearted read, and I enjoyed reading it for the fun of the experience.  Maybe all my powers of analysis have been monopolized by the demands of grad school...hmm...

Extra bit of fun! A shot of D 'n' Me from Midsummer back in the day :)

Keep Calm and Read On,
Becca