Fool by Christopher Moore

“There’s always a bloody ghost, inninit?” It was very difficult for me to stop laughing after reading (the audible.com version on my iPod) Fool by Christopher Moore. I know reviews are few and far between on this site- but this book was so entertaining, I had to recommend it to you. To sum up (and you know as a former English major, and married to an English major, I don’t say this lightly): if Will were around today, he would have busted a gut laughing from the sheer hilarity. Truly, this book pays excellent homage (and only a little bit of fromage)  to the nature and spirit of Shakespearean comedy.

So what does Fool have to do with Shakespeare? Well, Fool is a parody of Shakespeare’s King Lear, written from the perspective of one of the more minor characters: the court jester (the fool). If its been a while since you have read King Lear- think Shakespearean historical tragedy- ghosts, betrayal, and royal intrigue.

The basic plot of the original is this: King Lear, getting old, decides to give his kingdom to his daughters. Being rather vain- he decides to parcel it out according to how much his daughters love him and he asks them as much. His two older (read: evil) daughters, Regan and Goneril give him as much flattery and praise as they can to win a half the kingdom each, but his youngest daughter Cordelia sees through them and refuses to participate, and is so banished to be married to King Geoff of France, even though she actually is the daughter that loves her father the most. Of course, both Regan and Goneril turn on the king in their ever increasing greed, but through the manipulations of Edward of Gloucester (a bastard heir to the Duke of Gloucester) , the two daughters are pitted against each other to their eventual downfall.  Pretty standard tragedy, and a piece of excellent literary work as is everything by Will.

Moore follows the plot of the original with a few slight historical and literary alterations to the effect of changing the tragedy into a bawdy comedy (at one point the characters even discuss whether the story is a comedy or a tragedy). And when I saw bawdy: I don’t mean school children are taught that Shakespearean comedy is bawdy and they don’t get it; I mean the book is full of monkey spunk, ghost shagging, wart-bummed witches, and all manner of prank and villainy. The puns are hilarious, and as long as you are ready for a PG-13 read, you will be rolling on the floor soon enough. What made Fool even funnier for me- is the use of modern English language in the context of 11th century England. Note- that you Americans will have to understand English slang, but since my stint bar tending in a pub, I was well prepared. Given that Moore is an American, it makes it that much more funny.

So my dear reader, head to the library or the bookstore and pick up Fool, by Christopher Moore- the adventures of Pocket the Fool will entertain you in no small measure!