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

Always excellent

I put off this book because I had not read Lear yet. But it was excellent as is all his work.

Bloody Amazing!!!!

When I received the email from Audible announcing this was on audio I jumped for joy. I started looking last week at the library to see if had been ordered there yet. Thank you audible for making this a special, I am broke and did not want to miss this book. After listening I would have paid full price, it is typical Christopher Moore. Funny, intelligent, brilliant. Everything you expect from him and more. It makes me want to actually read King Lear, but I won't so as not to ruin Moore's version. I just finished it this morning and plan to start it again to catch things I might have missed the first time.
There are quite a few characters to keep track of but the reader does an excellent job with the voices so you can tell them apart. I love Drool, and Pocket. Do not pass this one by, it might just become my favorite!

The Cream Always Rises!

This is the funniest book I have read to date. When I got to the end of the book, I flipped back to the front and started again!

Funny, Intelligent and Rewarding

I have enjoyed Christopher Moore since reading The Lamb some years ago. Fool continues the same commitment to humor while remaining true to the story. Christopher Moore has managed to take a very famous play and weave a tale within, around, and all with minimal changes to the original text. I found myself laughing at Pocket and his friends as they trip along the story. I must make a quick warning that the story contains a large amount of swearing. However, please overlook the use of language and enjoy the weaving of Mr. Moore.

Hilarious

This was the first Christopher Moore book that I had read/listened to, so I was in for a great surprise to find out that this American author has such a knack for British humor. FOOL was not only amusing in it bawdyness, but also in its thumbing its nose at classic drama. And Euon Morton is the best possible reader for Pocket. Incredibly entertaining.

Bloody Brilliant!

(But not for the faint of heart)

Shakespeare meets Monty Python. The only thing better than the writing is the way Euan Morton narrates. Careful though, this is, after all, a bit bawdy. Better put your fingers in Grandma's ears while you listen, she will turn an interesting shade of harlequin and start speaking in iambic pentameter.

Just download it now and make yourself happy.

King Lear revisited

What a naughty, bawdy romp! I loved it. I read it just three weeks before I went to see King Lear on stage at Trinity Rep and it was the perfect appetizer.

The Audible edition also includes an interview with the author and that just added to the pleasure of the read. Don't skip the interview.

Good but not his best

I thoroughly enjoyed the book - plenty of laugh out loud moments as usual with Christopher Moore. However, for me it does not rank up there with Lamb and A Dirty Job - in particular I thought parts of the second half of the book dragged out a bit.

Brilliant mash up, Moore's best

Moore has been steadily improving as a comic writer and catapults into brilliance with this one. With Abby Normal, he really began to focus on the secondary characters. And now Lear's Fool, a secondary character in someone's work, is his main character.

Shakespeare meet Tropic Thunder. Cadfael meet Austin Powers. If Shakespeare in Love sailed through clever anachronisms, Fool is an America's Cup contender.

The narration was perfect and I was grateful that I had not bought the hardcopy-- the accents, the timing, the general demeanor would have been somewhat lost by reading.

Christopher Moore talking about writing Fool at the end is well worth the price alone!

Dogsnogging Funny!

I absolutely loved this book--I laughed out loud many times, and I can't stop saying "dogsnogging." The narrator is perfect, and the book pulled me in from the introduction.