A Dirty Job

By: Christopher Moore

Narrated by: Fisher Stevens

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy. A little hapless, somewhat neurotic, sort of a hypochondriac. He's what's known as a Beta Male: the kind of fellow who makes his way through life by being careful and constant, you know, the one who's always there to pick up the pieces when the girl gets dumped by the bigger/taller/stronger Alpha Male.

But Charlie's been lucky. He owns a building in the heart of San Francisco, and runs a secondhand store with the help of a couple of loyal, if marginally insane, employees. He's married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normalcy. And she, Rachel, is about to have their first child.

Yes, Charlie's doing okay for a Beta. That is, until the day his daughter, Sophie, is born. Just as Charlie, exhausted from the birth, turns to go home, he sees a strange man in mint-green golf wear at Rachel's hospital bedside, a man who claims that no one should be able to see him. But see him Charlie does, and from here on out, things get really weird.

People start dropping dead around him, giant ravens perch on his building, and it seems that everywhere he goes, a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Strange names start appearing on his nightstand notepad, and before he knows it, those people end up dead, too. Yup, it seems that Charlie Asher has been recruited for a new job, an unpleasant but utterly necessary one: Death. It's a dirty job. But hey, somebody's gotta do it.

©2006 Christopher Moore (P)2006 HarperCollinsPublishers

Critic reviews

• 2006 Quill Award Nominee

"Moore's enthusiasm and skill make it convincing, and his affection for the cast of weirdos gives the book an unexpected poignancy." (Publishers Weekly)

Christopher Moore is a genius!

This story is a very different view on the thought of what happens after we die. The dialogue is so cheesy that it sounds like a perfect everyday conversation. It is enjoyable to read and or listen to over and over again.

Was a really good book

I was very surprised at this story. it was funny, entertaining and well written. they could have done away with the music between sections. but otherwise great book looking forward to the second book.

One of my favorite books ever

I have listened to this at least 20 times, every character is joy
I waited years for the follow-up.
it was worth it

Not the Best Job of Narration

I read a number of Christopher Moore's books before I started listening to audiobooks. A Dirty Job was in fact the first and I liked it enough to go on and read most of his other books. I've also gone on to re-read some of the best ones in audio under the theory that a professional narrator has better comic timing than the voice in my head. Unfortunately, Fisher Stevens doesn't live up to that maxim, making the audio version of A Dirty Job a lesser experience than the print edition.

I already listened to the sequel, Secondhand Souls, in audio and found the writing not quite to my expectations of Moore, so I let Stevens off the hook even though his narration didn't grab me either. A Dirty Job is better because it introduces the characters and sets up a semi-supernatural world in which Charlie Asher is a "death merchant" (a collector of souls), his young daughter is big-D Death itself, her protectors are the Hounds of Hell, and their nemeses are the Morrigan, shape shifting goddesses from Irish mythology.

The story is a funny amalgamation of contemporary San Francisco and the mythological elements, but it does go off the rails at the end, with too much crazy action between the supernatural forces (and then Secondhand Souls continues the off the rails ride). A narrator with better comedic instincts would have enhanced the experience. My recommendation is, read A Dirty Job in print, listen to the audio editions of Moore's Shakespeare parodies (Fool, Serpent of Venice, and the forthcoming Shakespeare For Squirrels) and his quintessential novel, Lamb.

Great book

I loved this book I never laughed so much in my life! Fisher Stevens did such an awesome job bringing all those characters to life ( I loved him in Short Circuit)

Abrasive in a few surprising ways.

The story was interesting and kept a solid pace. There are some moments where the way females are written sound like a teenaged boy's point of view which felt forced, disingenine, and clueless,and overly embarrassing.

The narrator isn't bad, but absolutely has some abrasive elements.

Overall, worth listening to but only once.

one of his better books

What made the experience of listening to A Dirty Job the most enjoyable?

i'm guessing the book was inspired by personal experience which gives it a bit more heart. strange to saw about a comedy, but it helps. strangely reminiscent of harold and maude, i reread after losing a loved one, it helped.

Have you listened to any of Fisher Stevens’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

i was initially disappointed with the reader, the third person narration seemed a bit flat, but he did a surprisingly good job with a snarky teenage girl and the more bizarre characters

First review ever-

Loved this book- I laughed so much over the craziest subjects! Highly recommend this book, story, narrator.
Buying all the rest!!!

fun plot, pretty overly sexualized

the plot was actually pretty solid. plenty of the book though was definitely NSF work, kids, or your parents.

I liked it

Narrator wasn’t boring at all and this was a funny book. I like the characters.