Fool

A Novel

By: Christopher Moore

Narrated by: Euan Morton

Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Christopher Moore, much beloved scrivener and peerless literary jester, now takes on no less than the legendary Bard himself (with the utmost humility and respect) with a twisted and insanely funny tale of a moronic monarch and his deceitful daughters, as seen through the eyes of a man wearing a codpiece and bells on his head.

Pocket has been Lear's cherished fool for years. So naturally Pocket is at his brainless, elderly liege's side when Lear demands that his kids swear to him their undying love and devotion. Of course Goneril and Regan are only too happy to brownnose Dad. But Cordelia believes that her father's request is kind of...well...stupid, and her blunt honesty ends up costing her her rightful share of the kingdom and earns her a banishment to boot.

Well now the bangers and mash have really hit the fan. And the only person who can possibly make things right . . . is Pocket. Now he's going to have do some very fancy maneuvering: cast some spells, start a war or two - the usual stuff - to get Cordelia back into Daddy Lear's good graces, to derail the fiendish power plays of Cordelia's twisted sisters, and to shag every lusciously shaggable wench who's amenable to shagging along the way.

Pocket may be a fool...but he's definitely not an idiot.

©2009 Christopher Moore (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

Good for a laugh or sixty...

If you could sum up Fool in three words, what would they be?

Naughty, Hilarious, "Fool"ish

Who was your favorite character and why?

Oh, come on, what kind of question is that? The fool of course! Pocket is naughty and derisive, yet his wits pull you into the character. You can't wait to find out who he will insult next.

Which character – as performed by Euan Morton – was your favorite?

Same as above. Pocket. I have to take a moment here to convey the best part about this audiobook. The narrator does an amazing job. Pocket's character is complex and almost always sarcastic. The narrator reads the lines purposefully to capture the essence of what Pocket is saying each and every time. Sometimes he's serious, and it can be unexpected, yet the narrator lets us know at the beginning of EVERY dialogue how we should take the words being read to us (as well as in the narration). Comedy books can be the hardest of all types of books to narrate, but this narrator nails it perfectly.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I'd have to say no... Only becasue humor is usually more throughouly enjoyed in smaller courses. Or maybe I'm just making this up as I go...

Any additional comments?

This book was hilarious...but very naughty. How else can I explain the human found within? It's funny, sure, but raunchy as all get-out... I only mention this so that the readers of this review know what to expect from the book. There is swearing aplenty, and quite a bit of inappropriate sexual content.

As a matter of fact it got to be too much at points. Normally, I try to avoid such "base" stories, but Moore is such a master of character that I had to "read" it. Esepcially, when it was a blatant spoof on Shakespeare's King Lear.

I do have to mention one other little negative that may bother some readers (including myself). The book pokes fun at the Catholic church quite a bit. At times it goes beyond poking fun and turns into Making fun of Christianity as a whole. As believer, this did bother me more than it should have, but I tried not to let that slant my review in anyway. If you can take this stuff as a joke and understand it wasn't meant seriously, then you can ignore it without too much trouble.

If you're in the mood to laugh at some "inappropriate" humor, this is the book for you.

Completely inappropriate fun!

Laugh Out Loud! The story of King Lear with all kinds of wrong and debauchery done with snark, cleverness, vulgarity, and a lot of naughtiness. Completely inappropriate fun!

Masterpiece

This audio book is a comedy masterpiece. Great writing. Great reading. Great characters.
All a romp!

King Lear Like You Never Heard it Before

When American author Christopher Moore decided to write a humorous book about King Lear's fool, people might have thought him a little mad himself. Lear, after all, is the epitome of a Shakespearean tragedy.

Moore, however, was more that up to the task. If you are looking for the funny side of tragedy, then look no farther. This book combines real scholarship with a laugh-out-loud interpretation of the human foibles that abound in the story. It even provides a happy ending at least for Cordelia and the fool. Euan Mortin does an excellent job of bringing the book to life.

Possibly My Favorite C Moore Book So Far

I think my 5th of his books. Love Willy Shakespeare. Love buggering the French etc.

Great book, great narration

This book is a work of love. So much research, thought, and snark went into this book that it would make anyone laugh. Well, if you like jokes about bonking and such. Euan Morton does an amazing job as our reader as well!

Loved this book!

I really loved this book, so much that I listened to it two times in a row. I'll admit that some of it passed over my head the first time because it is fast paced and occasionally jumps back to the past without much warning so if you have a lapse in attention you can miss the change. But the story, the baudiness and the narration all made it a joy to listen to again. I have never done that before, listened to a book two times in a row. Highly recommended (if you are tolerant of a lot of slangy profanity).

Loved

Listened to Serpent of Venice first. Had to go back to Fool. Had a hard time getting into Serpent of Venice but Fool was heard almost nonstop.

Never get tired of listening to this story

This was one of my first audio books. It hooked me immediately. Between Christopher Moore's irreverent prose and Euan Morton's fantastic narration this is one of my all time favorites. A must listen to anyone wanting a good laugh.

good

solid book no complaints as usual its got great dark comedy with a dramatic characters.